Fusing Power and Portability-The Fusion Guitar

From the early analog synths of the late 1960s to the laptop-driven sound libraries of today, keyboard players have usually been quick to embrace and incorporate new technology into their live and studio equipment rigs.  Guitar players, however, have typically taken a more traditional view of technology, eschewing things like automatic tuning machines, digital outputs, and amplifier modeling, in favor of designs based on technology introduced more than 50 years ago.

But the folks at Outerspace Design’s Innerspace Development Program believe that with the introduction of their flagship product, the Fusion Guitar, even purists will see the value in mating technology with tradition. The impetus for the product, according to Sam Lodge, Product Design Engineer at Fusion Guitars, is bringing the portability of the acoustic guitar to an electric platform.

“The acoustic guitar is completely portable, and you can take it down to the beach for a weekend away, so why not the electric guitar?” Lodge asks. “We love playing electric guitar, and wanted to be able to play anywhere. This was the original inspiration for the Fusion Guitar.”

At first glance, the Fusion Guitar bears a passing resemblance to a typical headless electric guitar, such as those produced by Steinberger and Carvin, albeit with a much thicker body.  But the guitar’s thicker profile allows the instrument to house a pair of hi-fidelity, full-range speakers with a rated output of 30 watts, a 3,200mAh high-capacity lithium-ion battery yielding a claimed play time of 12 hours, and, most notably, an Apple MFI Certified dock. The dock is compatible with the iPhone6, 6 Plus, 6S Plus, 5, 5S, 5C, and iPod Touch Gen 5, and the company says it will be releasing docks that will be compatible with future generations of iPhones and iTouch models.

The inclusion of the dock permits the guitar to seamlessly integrate with various guitar-centric modeling and recording applications, allowing the player to model and adjust the guitar’s output to sound like any number of traditional – or not—guitar and amp combinations, from a sparkly Telecaster into a 1960s Fender Twin, or a crunchy Les Paul into a Marshall Plexi. Many apps will allow even further sound processing, allowing the guitar to sound like a folk acoustic guitar, and 1930s archtop, or even other instruments, limited only by the quality of the sound modeling technology included in a particular app.

Furthermore, by supporting a number of recording applications, the player is free to lay down backing tracks, loop parts, and even record full songs, without being tethered to an amplifier, recording software, or power source.

Lodge says that because the guitar will integrate with any iOS-based music app, it provides more freedom for musicians to pick and use the platform on which they are most comfortable, including modeling, recording, and even guitar tutorial apps.

“We didn't design any apps ourselves, because there are so many fantastic iOS guitar apps out there that work with guitar interfaces,” Lodge says, indicating that the designers’ personal favorite was JamUp by Positive Grid, while using Apple’s own Garage Band for recording demos.  “We recommend using those apps, but the Fusion Guitar will work with any app that works with an iOS guitar interface,” Lodge notes.

Despite the radical appearance and functionality of the guitar, Lodge says that product will appeal to both novices and advanced guitar players, with both types of players seeing immediate benefits to the platform.

“The Fusion Guitar is certainly very disruptive and somewhat offensive to some in the traditionalist community,” Lodge says. “For the beginner, this is the smartest guitar on the planet, and helps to accelerate the learning process. For the advanced player, your guitar rig may be awesome. But it's probably not very portable. With the Fusion Guitar you can take the sounds of an awesome guitar amp, effects pedals and full recording capabilities with you.”

The Fusion Guitar can also be operated sans a smart device, thanks to its traditional quarter-inch output jack that takes the electric signal from the magnetic pickups, and allows the player to connect to any regular guitar amp or other sound-processing equipment.

Like the guitar itself, Fusion Guitars has taken a decidedly tech-savvy approach to developing and marketing its flagship product. The company launched an Indiegogo campaign with a stretch goal of $200,000, and has, as of October 27, raised more than $311,000. Backers had a choice of simply contributing funds, or purchasing a guitar at the pre-release price of $499.  The company expects the first run of production guitars to ship by the first quarter of 2016, though the post-campaign prices will be higher than $499 per guitar.

The company is expanding the range of color options beyond black to include Chili Red, Electric Blue, and Ice White, thanks to the overwhelming success of the Indigogo campaign, and is in the process of considering development of a left-handed model or a model that supports Android phones.

On the Web:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fusion-guitar-iphone-integration-amp-speakers#/

Keith Kirkpatrick is founder and principal of 4K Research & Consulting, LLC (www.4kresearch.com), a market research and consulting firm. By night, he’s the co-founder and lead guitarist for Creative Juice (www.creativejuice.com), a New York City hard-rock cover band.