VIDEO: First iPhone Instrument

Interested in learning an instrument but can’t decide which one? Mike Butera, the inventor of a new electronic instrument might have the answer. Introducing the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1.

Butera, a Sociology professor from Belmont University who holds a PhD  in sound studies, invented the new instrument drawing on his life as a multi-instrumentalist and touring musician. ”I wanted to make something that people at all skill levels could play, a device as agnostic to musical style as the piano but as expressive as a violin.” The idea came to Butera during a late night iPhone jam session (who hasn’t had one of those?). It actually uses the iPhone as its brain. Artiphon.com describes the instrument:

Drawing on the genealogy of multiple species of stringed instruments, we’ve designed the INSTRUMENT 1 with a six-string, six-fret virtual fingerboard for your left hand and a velocity-sensitive strum section for your right. High-fidelity stereo speakers, 30-watt amplifier, and lithium-ion battery are onboard. An iPhone or iPod Touch docks in the heart of the instrument, providing easy access to synthesizer, studio, and configuration apps.

Will it take off like the Synthesizer or will it flop like the SynthAxe? Check out the video below and decide for yourself:

 

 

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