Guitar Hero Eat Your Heart Out – Misa Digital Guitar
Posted by Tom Cheredar | January 19th, 2010 at 12:06 am
I never really got into the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band craze that has transcended the atypical gamer profile and allowed everyone to jump on board.
Perhaps this is because music was acting as a gateway to video games that could otherwise not be achieved on its own. Non-musicians can pick up an instrument and gain enjoyment despite their lack of talent. But really, regardless of music, there’s something appealing about picking up a guitar with buttons.
When I see the video for the Misa Digital Guitar, which is an instrument that is neither guitar or controller, it makes me want. Just want.
Electronic music cannot be played effectively with such constraints. In electronic music, the timbre (or colour) of the sound can be morphed in an infinite number of ways. For a guitar to accommodate this, the right hand needs more control than just plucking strings. You need to be able to control elements of the sound, such as sustain, pitch, filter cutoffs, contour or any other synthesizer parameter, in a way that has no physical constraints. This was my thought process when designing the Misa digital guitar. There are no strings on this instrument. The right hand doesn’t pluck strings, it controls sound.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
I never really got into the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band craze that has transcended the atypical gamer profile and allowed everyone to jump on board. 
