Lava Music has spent the last few years impressing music journalists and guitarists with a bunch of carbon fiber acoustic/smart guitars. Now the company has taken a bit of a left turn for its first Kickstarter, with a string-free touch-enabled digital oddity called the Genie.
Lava Music was founded in 2013, and launched its first guitar in 2015 but the first unibody carbon fiber instrument didn't appear until a couple of years later when the Lava Me was born.
There have been a few iterations since, including a spruce-top model, which have made their way in to the hands of musicians, influencers and gearheads including Tyler Bryant from the Music Is Win YouTube channel, Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess, Guitar World magazine, and our very own Loz Blain.
The Lava Genie is something entirely different. It's guitar-shaped certainly, but it lacks strings, looks a bit like a controller from Guitar Hero that's been remodeled by Yamaha, and is played using a combination of taps, strums and "fretting" the touch-enabled fingerboard. It's described as a sampler guitar that "allows anyone to make music in seconds."
The tapping takes place on a five-pad controller that juts out from the body, with each illuminated pad used to trigger sequences, sounds and beats. There's a six-dot strum zone to sound arpeggios and the fingerboard is divided into zones for chords that can be extended up or down if songs rock more than seven chords.
The Genie can be played on its own straight out of the box, but there's a companion mobile app to guide users through thousands of songs or help dial in hundreds of sounds. Lava has also created an AI tool to transpose user creations for guided play. It does appear that at least some of the Lava+ app functionality will require monthly subscription fees though.
The lower part of the body is home to a 12-W full-range dual driver setup towards the front horn and a 20-W bass speaker to the rear. Lava has included an instrument output jack too, for cabling to an external amplifier.
The Genie breaks in two for transport in the included travel case or a backpack, and comes packing a 6-hour rechargeable battery that's topped up over USB-C.
We've seen similar ideas before, such as the Sensy Guitar or Artiphon's Instrument 1, but the Genie seems more straightforward and beginner-friendly while also offering exploration opportunities for creators. Lava has taken to Kickstarter to engage with potential users and raise production funds.
Pledges currently start at US$349 (which includes free shipping to the US and free Lava+ membership for 3 months). The usual crowdfunding cautions apply, though Lava Music is an established company so should be a safer bet than backing a startup. If all goes to plan with the already funded campaign, shipping is estimated to start from December.
Source: Lava Music