The Gibson Digital Guitar – an innovative update of the traditional electric guitar – has been killed off, according to a report from FutureMusic:
Gibson has pulled the plug, or should we say, Ethernet cable, on their groundbreaking Digital Guitar.
Unfortunately the steep price tag and lack of enthusiasm from the guitar crowd put the final nail in the coffin. Some of the technology utilized in developing the guitar will make its way into other Gibson products in the future.
The Gibson Digital Guitar was an attempt to bring 30’s guitar technology into the digital age. Prices over $4,000 limited the Digital Guitar’s audience, though.
The Gibson Digital Guitar System featured:
- A genuine Gibson guitar, 100% compatible with existing equipment.
- Gibson’s patented HEX pickup, which senses up-and-down motion (like an acoustic guitar pickup) and side-to-side motion (like an electric guitar pickup) for each string.
- MaGIC-enabled digital transport, carrying multiple channels in both directions over standard Ethernet cable.
- Gibson’s BreakOut Box, with 8 outputs (1/4″ jacks) – one for each string, plus classic humbucking pickup output and pass-through for microphone; 2 inputs carry audio back to guitar for monitoring; split mode assigns strings to different amps.