Seen this ? Looks pretty amazing.

[richard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=19&v=y9UO8QXjbok

[Kiichi]

I am not quite sure where the time to use something like that is. Some interesting ideas, but as a whole....not convinced. Probably just a practical toy in the end that puts many things in a small package.

[Dave Sloven]

What's the weight of this thing?  It looks really uncomfortable to play

[AndyR]

It is pretty amazing.

I don't think I'd go for one myself (although I know a couple of creative folks who are GASing for one).

I mean, from my own perspective:

- It looks like one of those blow-up guitars
- It's made of plastic!
- It has one of those awful telephone things attached to it
- Does it even work without the awful telephone thing?

But then, I'm an old git, stuck in my ways, buying "proper gear".

The concept of "quick wins" when learning is very powerful, though. And some youngster starting out isn't going to be so hung up on <insert guitar name> or tonewoods, or A5 versus A4 magnets, etc, etc. I do think it could be an INCREDIBLE learning tool... but I kinda imagine a 14 year old, with the amazing chops he or she has learned already, turning up to a band practice with it and getting laughed out the room... "Hey mum - I need a proper guitar and amp now".

The folks I know who want one are my age, songwriters, not particularly "into" guitars, and they already use their "awful telephone" things to write and record stuff (that actually sounds amazing!).

[Telerocker]

This thing will be outdated in no time. For the rest I second Andy R's reply.

[Philly Q]

I think certain aspects of it are doomed to failure - guitars with built-in speakers will never take off - but I do think we'll see more guitars, amps, musical instruments that can interact with smartphones.  I don't know very much about the musical/recording apps available for smartphones (I don't totally understand what "apps" actually are, to be honest), but the little snippets of information I've picked up do seem very impressive.

I don't have an "awful telephone thing" either, but they are increasingly becoming a big part of people's lives.  Many of their uses are trivial, but I'll grudgingly admit they seem to be pretty useful too - and in the long term I see them replacing bank cards, travel tickets, various forms of ID.  It may become essential to own one.  And after all, they're not really just phones any more, they're astonishingly powerful tiny personal computers.

[Kiichi]

Thinking about what has been said here I might see a bigger future for a guitar that sends itīs signal to a smartphone, hopefully a rather open output to not be outdated, the signal then is transformed there, as with this thing, and then is send out through a mini jack, allowing it to go to headphones, speakers (even those portable ones everyone seems to have these days around me).

I do realize that there is software and interfaces around which are not bad, but a decent budget guitar designed with a space to hold the phone, similar to here with a straight mini jack output in addition to the usual might be an often more appealing and generally not as quickly outdated concept.

Does that make sense or am I just talking sh*te here?

[AndyR]

I don't have an "awful telephone thing" either, but they are increasingly becoming a big part of people's lives.  Many of their uses are trivial, but I'll grudgingly admit they seem to be pretty useful too - and in the long term I see them replacing bank cards, travel tickets, various forms of ID.  It may become essential to own one.  And after all, they're not really just phones any more, they're astonishingly powerful tiny personal computers.

This is my thinking too - and I am beginning to warm to the idea of owning one (actual ownership may still be some months/years off, though!)

Does that make sense or am I just talking sh*te here?

A little bit of both, maybe?!

[gwEm]

Well, it doesn't look good aesthetically thats for sure..

But as Richard says, it is pretty amazing, when you look at what it can do.

Theres a few ideas taken from Steinberger guitars, the headless design, and body construction. And also from the Floyd Rose speedloader concept with that false headstock.

A guitar with speakers will never take off I agree with Philly.

But, some of what Kiichi is saying is already available with some of the iRig devices.

Personally, I have been running my live show off an iPhone for a few months now. Not the guitar part, but the electronics and backing. I've even written a few song ideas on the thing.

Maybe I am stuck still in the late 1990s, but I can't see me changing from Sansamp gear for the live show. It just seems totally wrong to me to use digital gear for guitar tone. I am sceptical from the fizzy first generation Pod, my unreliable tonelab, and the latency of early computer based modelling.

Its interesting to see peoples views on this, because everyone has a different take.