February Songs for You Rock Guitar
February 27, 2010 by Kevin · 3 Comments
“So take no broken strings” by Mister Sister
After 9 million impressions testing our right hand string mechanisms, there have been no breaks. These tempered steel strings might last forever. mmm
Of course we weren’t so sure of that when we did an engineering change to the string couplings the month before that. People said they should be easy to replace. But when we received this last batch of units the sensitivity was affected. We had to change them and we lost time again on this last bunch of units. We are sorry to all of you who have been patiently awaiting for your orders to arrive. Soon. We’ll know about when the next batch arriving.
“We’re so sorry, Uncle Quality” – Paul McCartney
We’d like to say we’re really sorry about the delays and we should be sorry, but we never want to regret the attention we are giving to quality.
“Money” – by Pink Floyd
We must however apologize for the PayPal payment issue. When we set up the credit card system it said no one would be charged until we shipped to them. That way you can easily get on the pre-sale list and voila, we only charge when we ship. We found out PayPal was immediately deducting from your accounts. If you would like off the pre-sale list and an immediate refund, please let us know at: info@inspired.com
“Glory Days” – Bruce Springsteen
As I draft this post, Cliff is on his way to China. Glory Days of full production ahead. The bump in the road that is Chinese New Year is over and everyone is anxious to get these babies out the door. Everything is final testing and changes.
“Hit me with your best shot” – Pat Benetar
We are in a very limited supply of units that are trickling out from February’s shipment. Many have to go to Reps for sales samples and product placements, so I know everyone wants to know the exact date their order will be shipping. give us another week to see when the next batch arrive. OK?
“American Midiots” – Green Daze
Guitarists, teachers, MIDI guys, rockin’ gamers who might want to help us in the testing and/or SDK dev side of things, we need you. Obviously, if you are on the pre-sale list, you’ll move to the head of the class. just let us know if you would be interested, we need about 10 more people: info@inspired.com
Back From MacWorld – Guitars in Customs
February 15, 2010 by Kevin · Leave a Comment
Hi You Rockers! We’ve been trying to get situated to receive the first batch of Guitars from China. It’s Chinese New Year’s for the next couple of weeks. Happy New Years! It means that there’s not much coming and going as far as product or information though. We do have confirmation that the first batch of production You Rock Guitar’s are now residing in customs in California.
We understand that everyone is anxious to see where they are on the back-order list. Give us a couple of days to get it sorted out from the original pre-sale list on the www.YouRockGuitar.com site and also on the www.InspiredInstrumentsinc.com e-commerce site. We have many more orders than we have guitars for this month and the next.
That being said, the release must be approved by the Chief Technology Officer and the President of our company, so we await his keen eye, ears and scrutiny. He aims high, you’ll be glad for that.
I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all of comments from those on the pre-sale list. We are rocking as fast as we can. All of the delays over the last few months have been due to us making both hardware and software improvements. Even though the You Rock Guitar is an amazing value at $199 retail, we’re treating it like it’s 10X that. When you get your guitar and you start going through all of the features and the sounds, we can only hope that the delays of a week here or even a month there will soon be forgotten with years of enjoyment.
Thanks again for your kind support. We’ll send some pictures, hopefully tomorrow… if we didn’t lose another day due to President’s Day.
P.S. We are still looking for some smart MIDI musicians who might help provide real input on the SDK were developing for the guitar and bass. If you have a technical, programming or development background and don’t mind flexing some brain cells, please feel free to contact me directly. It will in fact help your place in line.
Kevin Kent
info@inspired.com
MIDI GUITAR and Mobile Rocking… blogs and comments
January 30, 2010 by admin · 12 Comments
The You Rock Guitar is a full fledged MIDI guitar. It’s fast, accurate and everyone who touches it says the same thing… it “feels” good to play. Professionals who play it also say “It feels much better than I expected.” Part of that is the speed of the triggering, sliding, and articulation, some of that is the unique characteristic of the strings. Part of that is the unimaginable notion that a MIDI guitar this good can sell for $199.00 Suggested Retail Price.
Pitch bend is handled with the whammy bar, up and down. Muting is on the bridge. Sliding has two modes. An extensive MIDI implementation far outweighs it’s “Toy or Game market Price” It is meant to be very affordable, very portable and very flexible. It was not designed to replace your beloved wooden axe., so please do no compare it to your ‘79 Strat. That is an unsophisticated argument. The You Rock Guitar is a high speed MIDI Guitar that is the best in class…the fact that it never needs tuning and doesn’t hurt the un-calloused hands of a beginner is great for new to guitar gamers, but again, don’t let that confuse you with what a stunning MIDI controller this is.
We liked the idea someone mentioned about using it to trigger Ableton, we’ll have to do that. We’ll look for that MIDI map later. When asked about Guitar tunings. (Since our guitar never needs tuning) We responded with more alternate tunings than most thought possible… OK, except maybe Michael Hedges… but we thank him for the 10-15 of the very cool tunings we put in just from him, and of course we included digital capos, why not?
My partner and I I did a MIDI guitar in the 1980’s, called the Photon Guitar, we sold that to Gibson and as all too often they dropped the ball. It was pitch to MIDI. A technology, like the steam locomotive who’s time has come and gone. If you are using a Pitch to MIDI guitar you are always late for the party. If you think an attachment that costs more than
Yes, our thoroughly Mobile guitar was designed from the ground up to be economical to buy, but don’t confuse its price with its functionality. Gaming device, MIDI device, iPod device, USB device, BlueTooth, soon WiFi, built-in sounds, built-in jam loops, You Rock Mode for the learner. built-in sequencer for recording, we ain’t messin’ around. We’ve been doing MIDI since 1979 (when it was invented) We did a MIDI guitar 25 years ago. We’ve taken all that knowledge and a thorough understanding of gaming from the best companies int he business and we created the You Rock Guitar.
During last nights flight home, I took out my very portable You Rock Guitar, slid the neck into the body, plugged in my headphones and started jamming, the whole way practicing my G and D blues, the sound tracks of course built into the guitar. Sorry but that’s not happening on my Strat, not happening on any other guitar device on a crowded plane anywhere else. We are mobile music. We rock mobile MIDI. The You Rock Guitar is a true game changer… real innovation at every opportunity.
That all being said, we are smart enough to know that many of the greatest ideas come from the outside. So if you have any MIDI implementation ideas or features let us know. Our operating software, sounds, loops and MIDI programs are all easily updatable via USB on a Mac or PC… The rising tide of technology… floats all rockers.
Kevin Kent
CEO
Inspired Instruments
P.S. Yes, tapping and sliding, and the whammy bar all work great in spite of rumors by people who have not played the You Rock Guitar. We will do more videos, but we’re still recovering from back-to-back CES and NAMM shows and final production details. And yes, we are in production now. We will start shipping in February… currently backordered till April. Now let’s get rocking!
Gear Wire’s Coverage of the You Rock Guitar at NAMM’10
January 19, 2010 by JR · Leave a Comment
GearWire stopped by our booth at NAMM to check out the YOU ROCK GUITAR. They were impressed and put together a little article & video Inspired Instruments You Rock Guitar In Action At NAMM NAMM was an incredible event for Inspired. Several renowned musicians stopped by to see it. Nuno Betterncourt, Les Robot, Yogi Lonich, and Peter Tork, and others spent a little time with us. So did the crew from Sepultura. Everybody’s getting it right away. We thought there might be resistance from skeptics, but there were few of those and the skepticism changed into smiles once they tried it for themselves. We’re posting images & video on our Facebook & You Tube Pages.
“>video. Check it out.
NAMM coverage of the YOU ROCK GUITAR.
January 18, 2010 by JR · Leave a Comment
GearWire stopped by to check us out. Here’s the coverage.
http://www.gearwire.com/inspiredinstruments-yourockguitar-wnamm2010.html
You Rock Guitar Shines bright at Consumer Electronics Show
January 12, 2010 by JR · Leave a Comment
Inspired Instruments / You Rock Guitar
Print/Web Coverage
Tues., Jan. 12, 2010
USA Today, Sound, motion and nostalgia get their video-game licks in
(print content and online video feature)
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2010-01-11-cesvidgames11_ST_N.htm
SDRNews.com/Geekazine.com (podcast, JR interview; Techpodcast Network at NBC Universal Show #2, begins around 21:30)
Gaming Nexus, You Rock Guitar @ CES 2010
1/7/2010
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/You-Rock-Guitar–CES-2010/Item15760.aspx
PC World, CES 2010 Rewind: A Look Back at the Gadgets (slide #14 of 41)
1/11/2010
http://www.pcworld.com/article/186592/ces_2010_rewind_a_look_back_at_the_gadgets.html
Appletell.com
Gamertell.com, CES 2010: Inspired Instruments to show off You Rock Guitar usb string guitar controller
1/4/2010
GamePro, You Rock Guitar is hybrid of real guitar and controller
1/8/2010
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/213504/you-rock-guitar-is-hybrid-of-real-guitar-and-controller/
The Adrenaline Vault, CES 2010 Highlights a “real” guitar
1/12/2010
http://www.avault.com/news/ces-2010-highlights-real-guitar/
N4G.com
http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-452303.aspx
Nasdaq.com
Ars Technica, Guitar Hero gets real: the hidden genius of the “You Rock”
1/10/2010
The Tech Herald, You Rock Guitar offers gamers genuine musical greatness
1/11/2010
MWD Technology News, CES Showed Brand New “You Rock” Guitar for Guitar Hero or Rock Band Coming in February
1/10/2010
Gadget Review, CES 2010: You Rock Guitar Hands On
1/9/2010
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2010/01/ces-2010-you-rock-guitar-hands-on.html
Gearlog, You Rock Guitar: Like Guitar Hero, Only Less Fake
1/8/2010
http://www.gearlog.com/2010/01/you_rock_guitar_like_guitar_he.php
The Money Times, ‘You Rock Guitar’ to better gaming experience!
1/11/2010
Geek Sugar, You Rock Guitar Brings Your Gaming to Life
1/11/2010
http://www.geeksugar.com/6994504
Gearwire, You Rock Guitar: Six “String” Controller Is A Gaming Device AND A Real Instrument (NAMM)
1/6/2010
http://www.gearwire.com/yourockguitar.html
Fretbase, A Real Guitar and a Guitar Hero Controller in One
1/12/2010
http://www.fretbase.com/blog/2010/1/a-real-guitar-and-a-guitar-hero-controller-in-one/
SmartHouse, Real Guitar Controller For Guitar Hero
1/5/2010
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/CES_2010/S3E7B9G3
ChannelNews, Real Guitar Controller For Guitar Hero
1/5/2010
http://www.channelnews.com.au/Events_And_Associations/CES_2010/S3E7B9G3
GameBetties, Rock Out For Real: You Rock Guitar
1/11/2010
http://www.gamebetties.com/?p=1317
GameCulture, It’s a Game Controller, No It’s a Real Guitar: You Rock Wants to Do It All
1/11/2010
Portfolio, Taking Guitar Hero To Another Level
1/11/2010
TrustedReviews.com
http://www.trustedreviews.com/video-games/news/2010/01/08/CES-2010–YouRock-Guitar-Rocks-Out/p1
2d-x.com
http://www.2d-x.com/ces-2010-you-rock-guitar-feels-like-an-instrument-madd-skills-not-needed/
GearDiary.com
GuitarInfoZone
http://www.guitarinfozone.net/ces-2010-you-rock-guitar-hands-on-gadget-review-blog/
Inspired, e-Commerce site is up and running
Inspired Instruments Inc, has launched it web site for e-commerce direct sales of the You Rock Guitar.
Though not our major strategy it is a great way for us to stay close to some select customers while we grow the product and the line throughout the world. If you buy direct from us, we may ask for some comments from time to time and suggestions on how to improve on this wonderful and versatile instrument, the You Rock Guitar.
If you use a credit card you will not be charged until we ship in February. Shipping and Tax is all calculated for you. Welcome to our family of rockers and gamers.
It’s Show Time – CES & NAMM 2010
December 27, 2009 by Kevin · 4 Comments
“Inspired Instruments, Inc. (LV Hilton suite 2549; LVCC, North Hall booth #5627; www.yourockguitar.com) introduces the You Rock Guitar, which lets anyone rock right out of the box. It works seamlessly with Guitar Hero and Rock Band on Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 gaming platforms, but can also can be plugged into a standard guitar amplifier or headphones and played like a conventional guitar using any of 100 pre-set guitar and synth sounds. Incorporating a super touch-sensitive neck and real strings for fast, accurate picking, the You Rock Guitar effectively delivers the performance and feeling of a real six-string instrument.”
http://www.youtube.com/user/YouRockGuitar
Production Update
December 1, 2009 by Kevin · 2 Comments
We’ve had some major decisions to make. We heard, “you get one chance to make a first impression” so we changed the string triggering mechanism for maximum sensitivity. (Cost 4 weeks) We were told “if the ’strings’ on the fret board were softer, it would feel so much better”… that cost us over a month… but that is what we will be showing up at CES and NAMM with
Then there was going to 10 to 25+ guitars, 50 synth sounds, 10 to 50 Open guitar tunings, 5 to 15 Capo settings, 25 on-board songs (Custom jam-friendly Wav loops to jam within the You Rock mode), The You Rock programming and testing, then it has to work together, tack on another few months. We missed the year 2009, and that is very painful, but in fact you do only get one chance to make a first impression and we knew we could do better. And we have.
We made some tough choices. We apologize for the delays, and we will start delivering to the pre-order lists, friends, family, reps and the press in January after CES and NAMM.
So now we focus our attention on the CES, final coding, some big surprises at CES and our ability to re-invent what was often considered to be just a hybrid game controller or a digital guitar… the You Rock Guitar is much more than that. It is a game changer, it is a guitar that every guitar player will want to have for so many reasons. You’ll still want your Strat, your big body acoustic, your nylon, maybe even Les, but you’ll also want a You Rock Guitar, and for reasons you don’t even know yet.
The response to the $179 high-speed MIDI guitar has been outrageous. The sheer joy of going from mere buttons and a paddle to strings and frets for the gamers is a leap toward real music. (BTW, don’t buttons and a paddle sound like something you get when you’ve been bad?)
Ultimately we apologize for not being able to be under the tree for Timmy this year for the holidays. It pains no one more than us!!! We made some major improvements for the long term viability and flexibility of the You Rock Guitar and it cost in time and money, but we believe it was well spent. And as tough as the decisions were, we made them in the best interest of the gamers the rockers, the mom’s and dads and those who want to rock… anywhere, anytime.
Thanks for your patience and support,
Kevin Kent
CEO
P.S. Its my birthday so please don’t bash me for being honest!
The You Rock Guitar Pre-Sale Deal
September 14, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Here’s how it works:
1. You place your order for a You Rock Guitar
2. You tell some friends and give us their email address.
3. We do the rest. We’ll email them referencing you.
4. If they also place a pre-order, you get a $10 discount on your order.
Here’s the totally cool part, you can refer a bunch of friends and save big on your purchase. All they have to do is ultimately buy a guitar and you had to refer them first.
What’s the hitch? No hitch. Your friends can do the same thing. This is that viral “friends-only” thing gone rock and roll gamer. Everyone wins.
The You Rock Guitar is the first guitar that connects the world of video games and playing real music by combining the best of both worlds. Plug it into an amplifier, a computer, headphones and play it like a musical instrument, or with GameFlex™ cartridges to any of the console video games. It’s ideal for the millions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band guys tired of being told, why don’t you learn a real guitar… OK, this is better than real.
With Guitar Hero – you became one.
With Rockband – you joined the band
With You Rock Guitar – YOU ROCK!
You can learn more at our website: www.YouRockGuitar.com, including links to several videos:
This video will show the major features and benefits of the You Rock Guitar.
http://www.youtube.com
This video is an interview with the Guinness Book of Records holder for Guitar Hero, Danny Johnson.
Danny Johnson Video
This last one is older, but it features George Pajon Jr. of the very popular band the Black Eyed Peas, playing a Rev 1 version of our guitar.
http://www.youtube.com
Our YouTube site
http://www.youtube.com/user/YouRockGuitar
Follow our tweets about gaming, the gaming market and guitars.
http://twitter.com/yourockguitar
Our pre-order form
http://www.yourockguitar.com/order-form/
Please become a fan on Facebook. Search for the “You Rock Guitar” fan page.
Have fun, Rock will happen.
The Inspired Team
info@inspired.com
