GuitarWizard
Latest
Learn your way around a six-string with Guitar Wizard
Think your ability to five-star "Green Grass and High Tides" means you can actually handle a real guitar? We're not talking about a five-buttoned plastic peripheral, mind you, we're talking about the real thing, steel and strings. We understand that some of you might be scared off by the transition from digital to analog, and the idea that big boy guitars are played without colorful tracks and Star Power. Luckily, the Music Wizard Group has developed a system for Guitar Hero-spoiled technophiles like us to learn how to shred on a real axe.While we're not sure how well the system will handle, the teaching methods in Guitar Wizard are pretty clever. Each string is designated a specific shape, and each fret on that string is designed a specific color. On a side-scrolling track, colorful shapes move across the screen in a manner that the Rock Band crowd would be very comfortable with. While we're fairly certain that Hendrix didn't learn to play by watching Lucky Charms float across a computer screen, we're excited to get our rock-thirsty hands on the Guitar Wizard bundle (which includes software, a MIDI pickup and a real Washburn guitar) when it drops this fall.
Guitar Wizard coming for Mac
The guys and gals over at our sister blog Engadget were keeping busy at the recent CES and have turned up some interesting products with a Mac angle. In the video above they're checking out a new music instruction software package called Guitar Wizard which works a lot like the Guitar Hero game (our coverage). The key difference is that Guitar Wizard uses a real guitar and actually teaches you something about playing. The kit consists of the software and a midi pickup which can be attached to your own guitar for $150, or you can get a kit that includes a guitar as well for $300. New songs will be downloadable at 99 cents each.
Hands-off with Guitar Wizard, the real guitar Guitar Hero
All you grumps unable to appreciate the pleasures provided by plastic instruments coupled to a gaming console were undoubtedly thrilled when we told you about the Guitar Wizard (because Heroes are zeros, right?). We stopped by at CES and, while they weren't going to let us shred on their setup (which is a good thing, unless their faces were meltproof), we did snag some pics and video along with some more details on the product. It's shipping sometime in August or this Fall for about $150 for the MIDI controller and software package, or $300 for the whole package which includes a real Washburn guitar. %Gallery-12822%
Video: Guitar Wizard -- it's like Guitar Hero, but useful
Ever wish you could actually learn real guitar skills when spending hours upon hours on Guitar Hero? Yeah? Click on through to check out Guitar Wizard, and if you're curious as to what it's all about, check out our previous post on it here.
Guitar Wizard: Guitar Hero with a real guitar
Nothing ruins a Guitar Hero or Rock Band party faster than that one guy who's constantly asking why everyone doesn't just learn to play a real instrument, but a company called Music Wizard Group is getting ready to change that with a new teaching tool called Guitar Wizard. The package comes with a real Washburn guitar, MIDI pickup and the Guitar Wizard software -- which is the same app used in Mattel's popular I Can Play Guitar toy -- and the company claims players will be rocking out and reading music in just minutes. Of course, since we've been shredding since we were just small change, we'll let the haters get their fret buzz on while we keep jamming with our modded Strat Guitar Hero controllers.Update: Sorry about that https link -- it's fixed now.
