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Input Devices Media Music Entertainment Games

Guitar Hero, On a Real Guitar, To Hit Shelves In 2009 120

Posted by timothy from the it-looks-like-you're-playing-a-guitar dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Minneapolis Star Tribune features an article (with photos) about a prototype electric guitar that doubles as a Guitar Hero controller. It is not just another guitar-shaped controller with buttons: it is an actual, playable guitar, shown in-action. The startup company, Zivix, LLC, intends to bring the product to store shelves in 2009. Web searches indicate that the company may have raised around $800K for the venture. The company is also working on technology that enables finger sensing on a real guitar that would allow your computer to teach you how to play chords or evolve into a future guitar synthesizer."
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Guitar Hero, On a Real Guitar, To Hit Shelves In 2009 More

Guitar Hero, On a Real Guitar, To Hit Shelves In 2009

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  • Wasn't this idea thrown around when the MIDI interface was created, 20+ years ago?

    • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

      by Hatta ( 162192 )

      You mean this thing [usatoday.com]?

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      MIDI guitars and guitar interfaces were available in the 90s, probably earlier. Here's one I remember:
      Parker MIDIFly [harmony-central.com]

    • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday March 06, 2009 @05:43PM (#27099001)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Long time coming (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 06, 2009 @08:18PM (#27100801)

        Having worked on a similar project, I can say this .. encoding analog signals created by guitar strings is tricky. Especially if you're modifying your standard electric guitar.

        It doesn't seem like that difficult a problem (just make a ADC, right?), except you run into interesting problems such as: for low E, if you wait for the full cycle of the vibration to finish, it's already too long to create a satisfying user experience (i.e. even with no processor overhead, by the time you conclude the wavelength matches, there will be noticeable delay to actual sound); the string affect each other; the amplitudes can vary wildly (which can force a large encoding size; strumming looks very different from plucking, etc.

        By the time you can throw enough processing power at the problem, you have a very expensive device on your hands. The keyboard, on the other hand is a much more precise instrument, and you can map any sound onto it, making it much more prevalent than guitars in the MIDI world.

        Thus, for a long time, there just wasn't much demand for MIDI guitars. However, with the advent of guitar hero/rock band, it turns out many people have collectively slapped their foreheads and realized the potential. I know of at least 3-4 other companies working on this problem.

        Whoever can create first a low-cost MIDI interface with a compelling game will reap in large sums of cash.

        There are, however, a few important factors involved. For example, does it make sense to create a device for gaming only, or do you want it also to be able to do studio quality work.

        On one side of the equation, you have a cheap device that doesn't track the player's notes 100% of the time, and is somewhat lossy in general. However, in a game-scenario, you know what notes are coming your way, so you can implement a few intelligent algorithms that can decide which note you most likely meant to play. Additionally, even if you have delays in your system, you can retroactively score the player's performance.

        On the other side of the equation, you have no idea what note should be next (actually, this isn't entirely true .. it's a problem not entirely disimiliar to the iPhones adaptive keyboard). You also need want to be able to reproduce as many of the attributes of the vibrating string as possible. This can be a complex issue, especially considering that the strings will vibrate differently if you strum up or down. Again, you might be able to guess what note the player meant to play (think auto-tuning), but it's still no easy feat.

        So, the first choice is easy, cheap and lossy. The second choice is hard, expensive, but useful outside of the game world. If it's really only games fueling this endeavor, it's more about coming up with creative hacks than trying to make a MIDI guitar.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mevets ( 322601 )

          To do a retrofit, you have to interpret the strings. If you went from scratch, though, you could use the metal-metal contact of the guitar string to fret to give note placement and stress on the string to give bend. Gets you half the way there. The other half is measuring the amplitude of the string vibration to produce the envelope. It doesn't sound, if you'll mind the pun, that bad.
          You wouldn't need to actually tune the guitar ( although the dissonance of the faint, naturally produced sound over t

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by MadAhab ( 40080 )

            I was wondering the same thing - about the metal-metal contact being used to pick out what's being fretted.

            And one could *hear* the actual sound coming from the guitar in a game with virtual amps.

            The other tricky part concerns how clever the gameplay is. If you can sound great but get terrible scores, it's not necessarily going to be that much fun.

            I play guitar, not Guitar Hero. The game's going to have to be fun for people like me to be anything more than a gimmick variant of guitar hero. But a good game -

        • I think the problem of encoding the analog signal as midi data is pretty much solved for the guitar. I've found the terratec axon guitar->midi system great in terms of accuracy and latency between striking the note and hearing the MIDI sound. It (supposedly) uses a neural net to learn the sounds your pick makes hitting the different strings when depressed at different frets. These sounds are slightly different from each other, so it can tell from the attack alone (no waiting for complete cycles of the fu

    • Re:Long time coming (Score:5, Informative)

      by caffeinemessiah ( 918089 ) on Friday March 06, 2009 @06:03PM (#27099295) Journal

      Wasn't this idea thrown around when the MIDI interface was created, 20+ years ago?

      But of course...we're now coming full circle when people realize that they can do this Guitar Hero stuff on real guitars, and without the buttons either. Turns out, guitars actually make music all by themselves (with possibly just an amp)!!! But I digress--for those interested in music, here are the relevant things that precede this in time and in awesomeness:

      Yamaha MIDI pickup for guitars [zzounds.com] -- turns the note you're playing into a MIDI note that can then control a synth on your computer. And I don't mean the 80's era crappy "synth" sounds, modern sound synthesis engines are INCREDIBLY realistic.

      Alternatively, you could skip Guitar Hero completely and do the following:

      1. buy yourself a real guitar
      2. Get Guitar Pro 5 [guitar-pro.com] with it's "Realistic Sound Engine" or use TuxGuitar [tuxguitar.com.ar] on Linux.
      3. Download a Guitar Pro file of your favorite song / use TuxGuitar to import a MIDI file -- the modern software synthesizer sounds nothing like what you might remember from the 80s. Bass and drums are very realistic.
      4. Mute the guitar track in Guitar Pro/TuxGuitar, and play along with full drum/bass accompaniment. The software even scrolls as you play along.
      5. If you like eye candy, route your sound card's output into Winamp and run a visualization.

      This is the method I use and it's incredibly satisfying if you don't happen to have a band lying around. Plus it also lets you choose which part you want to play along with, speed up/slow down the song. Sure there aren't any vocals, but it's still mucho fun and way better for impressing people with.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Machtyn ( 759119 )
        I've only ever been interested in the drum kit for these games because it is teaching me how to play the drums in a fun and non-tedious way. Granted, I may be picking up some bad habits, but I don't have any aspirations of joining a band. For a real student of the drums, Guitar Hero/Rock Band will not be their sole source of information... hopefully, they will have a teacher.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Chabo ( 880571 )

          IMO, it's perfectly acceptable to use RB/GH drums as a learning tool.

          Get a practice pad at the very least though, and "Stick Control For The Snare Drummer", by George Stone. That will teach you the fundamentals for controlling your hands, especially since RB/GH basically have no concept of dynamics on the drums. You need to learn how to play accents, and how to hit lightly when necessary. A practice pad doesn't have the cost or bulk involved with a full kit. Pad-work is a bit tedious, but it's worth it in t

      • Mad props to guitar pro. I use Powertab because it's free.

        Why buy sheet music when you could open MIDI files with $TAB_EDITOR? It's a convenient way to arrange other instrument parts for guitar. Just don't get too vocal about it, or else we'll see the RIAA try to ban MIDI files like they went after Tabs.

        If the game is designed for teaching with guitar-triggered MIDI then they'd have to redo the entire UI to a more traditional music or tablature staff with notes flying right-to-left instead of top-to-

      • # Get Guitar Pro 5 [guitar-pro.com] with it's "Realistic Sound Engine" or use TuxGuitar [tuxguitar.com.ar] on Linux.

        RealStrat and RealGuitar are better for synthesis. But are good for what you're suggesting.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MrKaos ( 858439 )
        MOD PARENT UP

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by tackledingleberry ( 1109949 )
        But does it tell you that YOU ROCK! if you get most of the notes right?

      • Was that Yamaha pickup any good? I remember seeing it in a music store some years ago and wondering if it actually worked. It seems like a relatively trivial problem to solve if you can attach a pickup, as they did. Transforming the audio into some kind of useful MIDI information in realtime seems horribly difficult but also doable... just not without immense processing power.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by caffeinemessiah ( 918089 )

          Was that Yamaha pickup any good? I remember seeing it in a music store some years ago and wondering if it actually worked. It seems like a relatively trivial problem to solve if you can attach a pickup, as they did. Transforming the audio into some kind of useful MIDI information in realtime seems horribly difficult but also doable... just not without immense processing power.

          I tried it in a music store and it seemed to be capturing basic pitch and velocity pretty well for each string, which is pretty neat. I don't imagine that it would take too much computational power, since the underlying computation is basically just doing an FFT on the audio signal and picking up the fundamental frequency. That translates quite well into a MIDI note on/note off command. FFTs can be done really efficiently in hardware I believe.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chabo ( 880571 )

      MIDI controllers have been available in all shapes and sizes, introduced in new variations every year. A few years back I even saw a woodwind MIDI controller, meant to emulate a flute, clarinet, or soprano sax. It responded to changes in breath, in addition to the obvious finger controls. Looked cool, but I have no idea how it worked in practice.

    • 'The future is already here - it is just unevenly distributed.' -- Gibson
    • Guitar Hero wasn't around until a couple years ago...

    • There's been quite a few guitar controllers for synths over the years, even pre-MIDI. Their biggest stumbling block is that most guitarists expect them to play like a guitar.
      It's a new style of instrument and needs to be approached that way. Same thing with other alternative controllers, like the wind controllers. I've had a Yamaha WX5 and, while it's a very expressive instrument, it doesn't play like my clarinet.

  • The problem I see with it is that unless you turn your TV's sound way up, you're going to hear the tinny off-key strings of the guitar while you play. It'll just be random notes (chromatic scales on a lot of the runs) that will be very off-putting beyond the first few minutes. I appreciate the feel of a real guitar, but the Guitar Hero controllers feel just about perfect for what they're asked to do.

    • The problem I see with it is that unless you turn your TV's sound way up, you're going to hear the tinny off-key strings of the guitar while you play.

      And what about the bloody click-click-click-click noise a Guitar hero controller do every time? That thing drives me crazy.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Chabo ( 880571 )

        The Rock Band controllers don't click, which is great for being less annoying as a "spectator" watching people play. The downside of this is less tactile feel on the "strum bar" when you're playing.

    • I'd bet that more than likely, they'll have one of the colored buttons map to a real chord... so while the chords may not go together to match the song, at least it'll be "musical".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chabo ( 880571 )

      Playing an electric guitar "for real", you'll hear your strings over your amp if you have the amp really quiet, so there's not much difference IMO. If you don't want to hear the strings, you'll want it loud in both cases.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by pkluss ( 731808 )
        Completely different. In the case of playing real guitar, the unamplified string sounds you are playing are on pitch with whatever is coming from the amplifier. When using a real guitar as a game controller, the actual frequency that the string rings at will clash with the sound that emanates from the TV.

  • while you can't use a fretlight guitar with Guitar Hero, it is an excellent teaching tool when you are just starting out. LEDs for each string/fret position that light up as you play a specially formatted midi tune for the guitar. You can get a fretlight strat knockoff for about 300 bux off ebay.

  • Isn't the point of the game to pretend/act like you can play guitar? I don't want to learn how to actually play guitar. I can barely be bothered with learning the controls.

  • http://www.fretlight.com/ [fretlight.com] looks like the wheel has been reinvented.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Zakabog ( 603757 )

      http://www.fretlight.com/ [fretlight.com] looks like the wheel has been reinvented.

      Finger position sensing technology in a guitar is not the same as having some LEDs light up where your fingers should go.

      I've often wondered why the computer can't just audibly detect what note you played with a visual indication of where your fingers need to be to play the correct note (I'm sure there's a simple explanation though.)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MagicM ( 85041 )

        On a guitar there are many different ways to play the same note. There are even many different ways to play the same chord (group of notes).

    • Not entirely. With the fretlight, you have to look at the guitar. With this new setup, it'll be through your computer, so you won't have to watch your fingers while doing it, you can concentrate on reading the music and following what's going on and just get feedback if you do something wrong.

    • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

      by Willy Wong ( 905014 )
      I accidently the whole fretlight :-(

  • It's cool, but... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Jabbrwokk ( 1015725 ) <[grant.j.warkentin] [at] [gmail.com]> on Friday March 06, 2009 @05:41PM (#27098985) Homepage Journal

    It's cool, but I highly doubt it will convince many people to really learn the guitar. Guitar Hero is a game. You can pretend to be Slash or Jimmy Page with minimal effort. That's why people play it.

    I smell Christmas cash-in on parents who worry little Johnny and Susie are wasting too much time on a video game. "Now they can REALLY learn music... the FUN® way!"

    People would be better off putting that money into a month's worth of guitar lessons at the music shop down the street. That's about the amount of time it would take for someone to decide they're serious about learning to play, and also about the amount of time it would take to get sick of playing this "Headliner."

    • Re:It's cool, but... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Kelbear ( 870538 ) on Friday March 06, 2009 @05:55PM (#27099175)

      I think it can be done. One of the driving forces behind Guitar hero aside from accessibility is the fact that it scores you.

      We can tell when we hit the wrong note of course, but mistakes weigh heavily in the mind of a new player, and frustration can easily kick in before fascination. That's how so many new players just end up quitting.

      With scores, you can see progress with a concrete metric. You may have only managed 1 more note correctly, or ran your scale .5 seconds faster, but it's an improvement you can see that you might not have noticed. This can give them the encouragement to give it one more go to see if they can do better.

      And the fact that they're fretting actual strings instead of buttons goes a long way in teaching them to successfully work their way around a guitar.

      You could even modify the game to teach real guitar concepts. Add scale time-trials, at harder levels, remove the note indicators so they have to memorize it, then transfer between scales midway through...the player could pick up quite a bit.

      You can have the game accept different variations of notes as correct inputs. Like instead of a vanilla D, let them play a Dsus4 and recognize that as a successful note as well. Everybody in Guitar Hero plays the same song by default, they can try their own combinations and impress their friends.

      It's an idea with a lot of potential, and also an idea that's been around for a long time. The devil's in the details and the successful will all pivot on how well they execute this product. (My bet is that they will fail completely and fade into obscurity).

      • The ideas you entertained in the above post really inspired me. Those are some GREAT ideas! I can only dream of a video game future that awesome.

      • Re:It's cool, but... (Score:4, Informative)

        by dunkelfalke ( 91624 ) on Saturday March 07, 2009 @03:53AM (#27103131)

        actually most new players quit is because they bought a guitar thinking "now i'll buy a cheap guitar and try whether all this guitar playing stuff is fun or not". cheap guitars are difficult and painful to play, though, so the fun is over fast.

        • fender squire--just about the cheapest it gets...if your good though, you can rock it all day. throw in some new pickups and take on the road.

          • only if you are lucky. some of them are okay, but most of them - as practically all cheap guitars have bad necks with uneven frets.

        • Speaking as someone who's played around with my friend's cheap guitars and toyed with the idea of getting one myself... what is it about a cheap guitar that makes it "difficult and painful" to learn on?

          Personally, I haven't bought myself one because 1) I don't have a lot of time for yet another hobby, and 2) I do get frustrated just trying to do very basic stuff on guitar as it is.

          Finally, whatever happened to these guys? http://www.guitarrising.com/ [guitarrising.com]

          • mostly uneven frets. to compensate for uneven frets the strings must be raised very high. that means in turn, that the player needs to apply much more pressure to fret the strings, which at this point starts to hurt his fingers. you can pay a luthier for a fret job, but it is often cheaper to buy a real guitar in first place.

            there are also other problems like twisted necks (you'll again need to raise strings to compensate), sharp fret ends (could slice your fingers), bad tuners (the guitar goes out of tune

    • Re:It's cool, but... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by GMFTatsujin ( 239569 ) on Friday March 06, 2009 @05:57PM (#27099203) Homepage

      Getting "serious" about learning to play foists a lot of your hopes and dreams onto a kid who probably just wants to have a good time with tunes. "Serious" is where you live. "I'm interested enough to play with it" is where the kid lives. I say if a little extra expense might open some real doors for the kid, go for it.

      Speaking from experience, the best way to kill little Johnny's musical enthusiasm is to stick him into a cramped room with some old bastard who -- right or wrong -- makes you play scales instead of have fun with the music. "Serious" kills in the creative realm, at least until comfort, experimentation, and dedication settle in. And yeah, they're all different qualities from "serious."

      In my younger days I walked away from the viola because I hated my music teachers and the expectations that my parents shoveled onto me. I wish I'd had the sense to keep it up in my own time, but the teenage years: you know they're all about rebellion. Now I'm thirty-five and wishing I could play now like I used to. If there was a Viola Hero with a real viola, I'd zip out and get one in a moment.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by ciderVisor ( 1318765 )

        If there was a Viola Hero with a real viola, I'd zip out and get one in a moment.

        It's a shame you hadn't been learning the sousaphone [theonion.com] when you were younger.

    • I've read about a couple people trying to do this in some form (basic idea of "like guitar hero but using a real guitar") but personally I'm waiting to see someone go the opposite direction: turing the guitar hero guitar into a real musical instrument.

      I know that probably sounds silly, but between all of the buttons, the strumming switch, and an analog wammy bar, it seems like there should be enough different controls to do something. I bet you could feed the input into a computer and have some of the con

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I just started to learn the guitar a few months ago. The biggest hurdle by far is the lack of finger strength and flexibility. This is what will prevent casual playing. Pressing buttons is something anyone can do. Pressing hard with your pinky or ring finger is something most people can't.

    • I don't understand...

      When did groupies become inadequate motivation to learn guitar?

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Why not? I liked Guitar Hero so much I bought myself an electric guitar. I'm not great yet but I have a blast messing around and I've learned to play a few songs. (As a side note my fingers got much stronger and faster from playing a real guitar and consequently my guitar hero scores improved as well.)

    • It's cool, but I highly doubt it will convince many people to really learn the guitar.

      A lot of people already do want to learn to play the guitar. There are zillions of instructional videos, books, and (obviously) guitars sold every year. The market is there.

      Guitar Hero is a game. You can pretend to be Slash or Jimmy Page with minimal effort. That's why people play it.

      Some people [youtube.com] have put far more than minimal effort into guitar hero. Whenever I see these, I think it's a shame all that practice coul

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      Well, the first step in becoming interested in learning to play an instrument is listening to music. I know my kids weren't all that interested in rock until these games started to get popular, although early on their knowledge was a bit -- let's say idiosyncratic. They'd know who Deep Purpose was, but when I offered to play some Rolling Stones the name drew a blank.

      One reason to think these games might be a bridge to musicianship is that players really listen to the music in a way they don't if it's just

  • Just imagine a guitar teaching you how to place your fingers on the strings. A little negative feedback for misplaced fingers maybe? As long as the current is limited, it shouldn't kill anyone. :)

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Well, a real guitar too gives you immediately some unmistakable negative feedback. ;-)
  • Neal Schon, of Journey riffing fame, originally though he'd like to be a part of Guitar Hero, but eventually decided not to contribute when he found out the guitar used in the game was a fake. He was hoping that the game could be used to teach a person guitar and was disappointed when he learned the truth. Chicken and egg here?

  • According to South Park... (Score:5, Funny)

    by VampireByte ( 447578 ) on Friday March 06, 2009 @05:51PM (#27099125) Homepage

    Real guitars are lame [southparkzone.com]

  • The biggest problem I see is that Guitar Hero is not designed to be played with a real guitar, and the colored buttons do NOT correspond to real string/fret positions, or to real chords. There's nothing in the game that says "the first three notes are a D chord, the next note is an A chord", only "the first three notes are the red button, the next note is the green". How is this product going to map real chords into something the game can understand?

    Or will it just use one string (or allow the player to u

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Chabo ( 880571 )

      Well, I can imagine being able to plug this controller into a console running Rock Band or Guitar Hero, and using the first five frets as if they were controller buttons. Then if you plug it into a PC or console running a game designed for this controller, you could use the whole range of "controls" available.

      That's what I'd do anyway, if I designed the hardware and software.

    • I'd guess any string on a given fret maps to that button and any and all strings strummed maps to the strum bar. There by a real chord of some sort could actually map to something in Guitar hero although there would be several different chords that would map the same way.
      • Except the chords are different across songs and chords are grouped into different buttons for different difficulties, you'd have to re-write every song at every difficulty and redo the whole interface. If they're really going to do this, they either need to lease the technology out to harmonix or make their own game and try to convince everyone to buy a third music simulator.

    • The biggest problem I see is that Guitar Hero is not designed to be played with a real guitar, and the colored buttons do NOT correspond to real string/fret positions, or to real chords.

      It goes farther than that. Anyone who plays guitar and has spent some time with GH (any version) knows that the timing of when to play in the games doesn't correspond to the actual timing of the song music. There are quite a few songs in GH that I can play on a real guitar (picture Randy Marsh playing Carry on my wayward son) that I know aren't even close to the strum timing for GH.

      • Just going to offer this tidbit of information (if you were unaware of it previously) that you can calibrate the timings for both the audio and video in these games (and that will cause your playing to correspond to the actual music you hear). As far as using an actual guitar to play
      • Bleh computer hiccup...as I was saying as far as using an actual guitar to play a game like GH or RB, I think the idea has merit, however the implementation would be very difficult...but if a 'simulator' like RB/GH came out in video game form for one of the consoles complete with real instruments and was geared to take advantage of this fact while providing an easy and interesting learning curve, I bet the market would be huge. Of course, the RIAA would have a field day with all of the new budding artists

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by edremy ( 36408 )
      This is a solved problem, and in fact an utterly trivial one- there are multiple games out there that have workable interfaces. See LittleBigStar [littlebigstar.net] or Guitar Rising.

      Guitar tab notation is six lines, one for each string with the fret position indicated by number. Simply have six lines on your game, one for each string, and put numbers on each "button" to indicate the fretting. LBS even has a multiple view- you get guitar tab along the top and the usual GH interface on the bottom.

      The hard part is chord r

    • It'll build strength and calluses on your fingertips indeed. Which is another problem with making a game with a real guitar controller. Playing guitar hurts. When you first start, you basically flay away the skin on your fingertips and only after you develop calluses are you able to play for more than a short time without severe discomfort. How many people are going to want to go through that in order to play when they can just use a normal controller?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Phroggy ( 441 )

        How many people are going to want to go through that in order to play when they can just use a normal controller?

        Anyone who's interested in actually learning to play guitar, as opposed to those who merely want to play a game. And, if you develop the calluses and finger strength while playing a game for fun, when you progress to actually learning to play a real guitar, you'll have a head start.

  • now with real heroin!

    to be followed with Rehab Hero w/Dr. Drew!

  • I'll be impressed when you can just plug in any guitar, and the software can interpret what you're playing and if it's in sync. Games could have different rules - some would require strict following of written music, whereas others would allow room for interpretation and improvisation. The direct feedback from the software could really accelerate the process of learning to play.

  • I would be interested in getting this if the price and availability meets my criteria. Too bad this seems like a very niche idea.

  • The article makes no mention of how someone actually controls the game with the guitar which is a very important detail. If it's too hard for a beginner to get started then it's not likely that it will sell. If there is a slow gradual path of learning (rather than jumping in and being required to play the actual chords from the songs) then I could see it doing well. I would even get one for myself, I've always wanted something just like this to learn how to play.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Zakabog ( 603757 )

      Found a video [youtube.com].

      Basically it seems like they just put 5 touch sensors to represent the 5 buttons from the plastic guitar onto the fretboard of a real guitar. It doesn't look like it'll do much to teach you how to play if you're just playing one of the 5 button plastic guitar based games. Perhaps their own software has some more stuff to it but they'd need to put touch sensors everywhere on the guitar for it to work as an instructor.

      Looking at what the product really is I'm not interested, perhaps if they do r

  • Not only would this help you with your calluses, finger strength and picking skill, you'd be able to translate the rhythm of the game to your own guitar playing. I've found that guitar hero with its layout helps me to visualize rhythmic structure which helps a lot in song writing (I never have bad rhythm, but I'm not a big counter).

    The game component will probably be the first thing they check out when they get the axe, and they'll probably use it for awhile since they paid a bit more money for it, then ma

  • The lawsuit they brought against the makers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero was tossed out as the judge agreed that the toy controllers were not capable of making music on their own (or something like that). This time, I wonder if Gibson may have a better chance of winning. But then, I doubt that these guys will do all that well so what would Gibson possibly gain other than make themselves look more stupid? Anyway...

  • That nobody has mentioned Guitar Rising [guitarrising.com] yet or Little Big Star [littlebigstar.net] yet.

  • Unfortunately I'm probably sufficiently stupid to make the version of the game I suggest very unenjoyable.

  • From TFA: "(First-time players might spend $500 for a quality electric guitar.)"

    If you're a first time player, you aren't likely to go out and buy a "quality" guitar for $500 unless you're a rich kid or something.  More likely, you'd go out and buy a $50 used strat from the pawn shop.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by photomonkey ( 987563 )

      Not trying to be argumentative, but those prices are a little out of touch with reality, I'm afraid.

      A quality instrument is going to start at around $700 USD these days, with lesser quality products starting at about $300.

      Like most other arts, the biggest factor is the artist, but you need an axe that will hold a tune and handle the stress of being played.

      I have never seen a $50 strat in a pawn shop or anywhere else. The cheap, Mexi-strats start at a minimum of $300, and a used one (that works) will comman

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rossz ( 67331 )

      A smart person will go on cragslist and get a used guitar that's hardly been touched for a fraction of it's retail price. There's an endless supply of quality instruments sitting in people's closets gathering dust. That happens when they discover they won't play like a rock god after just a couple of lessons. I picked up a beautiful Epiphone Les Paul for $300 that way. I also own a genuine Gibson Les Paul.

      A Mexican made Fender Strat can be had for about the same price. An American made version costs at

  • I have an older mint condition Charvel a family friend gave to me years ago. I never learned to play but it would be fun if this game could somehow let me use my real guitar. I still would like to learn. I am sure it is possible to develop a box that houses a preamp and a USB A/D converter. Then implement a tone decoder in software to detect the notes so you don't have to mount anything on your guitar. What better way to learn than an interactive video game so you can learn the basics and then move on to pl

  • In the meanwhile... (Score:2, Informative)

    by migla ( 1099771 )
    try this: http://pianobooster.sourceforge.net/ [sourceforge.net] An equivalent for the midi piano, I presume. I haven't tried it, but it's free software, so you can make it better if it sucks.
  • I've been joking around for a while with friends that GH/RB is a decent warmup exercise before a real practice, and that someone would be making a "tab hero" game that you can play a real guitar to very soon. Now after reading all these comments, I think I'm going to buy a better sound card and try some of these MIDI progs. Mad props to slashdotters for spreading good info. And yes I must be new here XD

  • Guitar Hero must be one of the most overrated, unexciting games I've ever played. I thoroughly agree with the subtle point being put across in South Park's Guitar Queer-o [wikipedia.org] episode; why waste hundreds of hours of your life playing this game, when you could learn a real guitar? And the clicking of the keys sounds ridiculous.

    Hopefully this device will actually help some kids learn to play a guitar properly.

    [Note: I can't play the guitar or any other musical instrument at all, for that matter. This isn't elitism

    • I imagine you feel the same way about football, hockey, soccer, basketball, shooters, role playing, and hentai games, right? I mean, why play these games when you could be out there really playing football, hockey, soccer, basketball, shooting people, dressing like mario, or raping people with your tentacles.

      • The difference is likely that those games might actually be fun.

        Guitar Hero is just dull: wow, hit the right colours at the right time. A modern day equivalent of "Simon". They must have put /so/ much thought into that.

    • It's quite fun, easier to coordinate a "game" with, vs just "fucking around", which can get tiring.. and re-uses a lot of the same skills (none of the fingering skill, but a lot of the plucking and finger placement and rhythm skills). You're really in no position to have a useful opinion about Guitar Hero vs Guitar if you haven't actually played. But thanks for the 2 cents.

      • I'm in a perfect position to make a comment on a game that I consider to be dull, boring and pointless. There's nothing to this game - people would be /far/ better to go and learn a real guitar than play this dross; or play a better, more interesting game instead.

  • While it is possible to design a game from first principals to be playable from an electric Guitar - and I eagerly await the release of GuitarRising in that regard, unfortunately, the buttons pressed on GH and RB controllers are not directly mapped to the equivalent concepts on a real guitar.

    Basically, at its core, at various times in various songs, the red button can imply a fret that in a different song is played by holding (for e.g.) green.

    There is thus no way for the guitar software, even after its

  • See: http://www.guitarrising.com/ [guitarrising.com]
    They've been doing that stuff for a while. With an actual guitar
    And they say on their website that the game is going to be released this year. I seriously can't wait.. xD

  • Zivix guitar, explained (Score:5, Informative)

    by zivix ( 1494303 ) on Saturday March 07, 2009 @11:12AM (#27105015)
    I work at Zivix. The comments here (both positive and negative) are helpful for us to figure out hw best to explain what we've developed. Here's a few points: - Our core technology is proximity-based fingertip sensors that can be installed in a fretboard. The Headliner just has 12 on the first string, but other models can populate up to a full guitar - The challenge with Guitar Rising and other methods that work with a normal guitar is to analyze the signal, possible with one string, really really difficult with more than 1 string at the same time, which is why Midi guitars have separate pickups. Delay is a big issue, since analysis is always done after the fact - Guitars only allow 1 note per string. Playing the game across more than 1 string would be pretty hard, our guitar allows "chords" on one string, just like the plastic controller - On the Headliner, you don't really learn to play guitar, but you do learn to fret and pick a string, and end up with a real guitar when the game is over. Bundled software will let you trigger loop combinations interactively to play on top of, makes practicing a lot more fun. - On our other products coming out, you can learn to chord, and view the result on the screen, chords can be seen before picking a note, so delays are minimal - hope this helps....

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