The gTar Brings Guitar Playing To The iPhone Masses
by Brent Dirks
May 21, 2012
While I’ve always wanted to play a real guitar, the actual process is definitely not for the faint of heart. But Incident is looking to make it easy by combining the instrument with an iPhone.
The gTar Kickstarter project is touted as a full digital experience that makes it easy for anyone, regardless of their music experience, to play the guitar. To use the instrument, you simply dock an iPhone in the body, load the iOS app, and an array of interactive LEDs along the fretboard will show you how to play.
Here’s a quick video about the gTar. Click here if you can’t see the video.
Incident showed off the gTar at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York City today. And TechCrunch said that the instrument seemed to work as advertised.
There are three different modes – easy, medium, and hard. In easy, you only need to play the open strings to get a feel for the instrument. Medium sees a user play the frets and strings at the same time. With the hard setting, the gTar will display every note of the song.
The gTar also has a feature called SmartPlay, which mutes out incorrect notes as you play while nudging a user through difficult songs.
Since the device is powered by an iPhone, it can also sound however you’d like with Free Play. In the mode, you can choose from a variety of guitar models, keyboards, synths, and even drums. FreePlay also has an expression pad for tweaking sound effects and a panel for full control of the LEDs.
As of today, gTar has raised $26,352 of a $100,000 goal on Kickstarter. There are 34 days left to go in the project. For a pledge of $350 or more, you can score one, white gTar. The instruments are slated to ship 2-3 months after goal completion.
While I like the idea, I think the price is a little steep for people who want to learn how to play the guitar. If I need my music fix, I think I’ll stick to GarageBand for now.
