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S ix-string enthusiasts, prick up your ears. The age of the digital guitar is upon us, and if you’re a musician, it might just change the way you play the instrument. If you’re a fan, it might change the way music sounds.
That may sound pretty dramatic, but Gibson, the venerable instrument company that opened shop in 1894 and has been producing electric guitars for more than 70 years, hopes to foster a sonic revolution with the introduction of its Digital Guitar.
Gibson’s Les Paul guitar is named for the innovative musician and multi-track recording innovator who designed Gibson’s first solid-body guitar in 1952. The world-renowned instrument has been played by legendary rockers such as Jimmy Page and Neil Young. Its enduring popularity made it the logical design model for Gibson’s 21st-century axe.
“I’m always skeptical about new stuff, but this instrument really opens up some possibilities.”—Guitarist Brent Mason
So while the new guitar may look like your standard rock ’n’ roll machine, it serves up playing and mixing capabilities far beyond what Mr. Paul or anyone else could have imagined, even 10 years ago. The Digital Guitar allows players to assign separate equalization and effects to each string, which means unprecedented tonal control over the instrument.
For instance, a player might choose to have the sound of some strings clean and others distorted. Another musician might stir up a psychedelic stew by putting a delay—think of the ringing sound the Edge from U2 is known for—on all the strings, and then assigning an octave effect to the lowest string and a chorus on the top string.
Yet another performer could choose to run each string through a different amplifier, creating a real-time surround-sound setup onstage or in the studio. If this all sounds overwhelming, fear not: Gibson has designed the guitar so that you can simply plug directly into an amplifier, just as you would with a conventional electric guitar. The company also guarantees that the guitar will work with all existing analog equipment.
“I’m always skeptical about new stuff,” said country session ace Brent Mason, whose guitar licks have graced albums by Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, George Straitt and Brooks & Dunn, among many others. “But this instrument really opens up some possibilities.”
Mason was one of the few lucky pros whom Gibson invited to Ocean Way Studios in Nashville to try out the new design. “I thought it was pretty cool,” says Mason, who has his own signature Gibson model. “It plays great, and it seems ideal for home recording, or any album made on a computer system like ProTools.”
Indeed, one of the distinguishing features of the Digital Guitar is an ethernet USB-out jack, which allows for a perfect digital signal transfer from the instrument to a computer, via the same kind of cable you’d use for your iPod or printer. Another selling point is the Digital Guitar’s headphone jack, which allows players to bust out an incendiary solo without incurring their neighbors’ wrath.
This is not to say that this next generation axe is for everyone, however. “If I showed up to one of Alan’s sessions with this guitar and six amplifiers, he’d probably fire me on the spot,” said Mason with a laugh. “I’m not sure that it would really work so well for straight-up country music.”
Okay, so no honky-tonking. As far as other genres go, though, it seems that the sky is the limit. Other potential negatives include an initial high price (the guitar retails for $4,000) as well as expensive and tricky repair costs.
But Gibson is thinking long-term. It hopes to tie its Digital Guitar into the current trend of digital recording and distribution of music. With the Digital Guitar, it’ll be much easier to record and manipulate sounds. While there are plenty of digital keyboards out there already, Gibson is at the forefront of this trend, from the guitar side of the industry, without a competitor in sight.
Gibson expects the guitar’s impact to be small at first, as only professionals and collectors will be in the market for such a relatively expensive instrument. The hope is that as people begin to hear songs and riffs written with the Digital Guitar—ones that could only be possible with the Digital Guitar—people will take notice and the market will grow.
It’ll be interesting to see what creative types come up with in the next couple of years—and if someone can conjure a signature Digital riff that can’t be replicated on a normal guitar.
In other words, gentlemen, start your shredding.
The Gibson Digital Guitar is available through Guitar Center stores (www.guitarcenter.com) and retails for $4,000.
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