Play Any Instrument With Just An Artiphone INSTRUMENT 1

We've seen accessories that turn your mobile device or computer into a makeshift recording studio, but what about one that lets you play almost any instrument? And one that actually feels like it has real strings? That's the almost unbelievable promise that the Artiphone INSTRUMENT 1 is making on Kickstarter, to deliver a strange looking contraption that can be played as a guitar, violin, keyboard, drum, or, thanks to software, any other instrument or sound known to man as well as those still unknown to man.

There are, of course, a lot of devices that try to give you a feel of a real musical instrument by actually delivering it in a form that matches the instrument. Or some real instruments can plug into computers and sometimes even mobile phones. But Artiphone does away with all of those by offering one, single instrument to rule them all.

The miracle of the Artiphone INSTRUMENT 1 isn't just that though. It's in giving musicians a tactile feel when playing the instrument. Artiphone terms it as "strings that break the rules but never break". Of course, there aren't literal strings, but they claim to give the same feeling. They can even be plucked! There are, however, real frets that can guide your fingers when playing a guitar. Those also transform into piano keys. And the whole thing can be a drum pad. For a violin, well, that requires a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but they say they are working on a way to turn the iPhone into a bow!

On the digital side, the INSTRUMENT 1 connects to computers, the iPad, and the iPhone as a USB MIDI device. This means that it can also be used with a large number of software like ProTools in addition to the usual ones like GarageBand. And while it basically behaves like a guitar, piano, drum, etc., it can be set to play other sounds as well. It has internal speakers so you can opt to either blare out your playing or keep it to yourself with a headphone. Sadly, Android is excluded from the party, at least for now.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, 403 people on Kickstarter believe in it enough to help reach almost twice its $75,000 funding goal, and with 39 days to spare. All the early bird slots are gone, so those interested will have to settle for a $349 tier, $399 if they want one with a custom strap and case. Shipping is expected to happen January 2016.

VIA: Kickstarter