Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 ‘The Most Advanced Musical Instrument For iOS’

Electronic instrument startup Artiphon contacted us to announce the INSTRUMENT 1 – an upcoming MIDI controller that they describe as ‘the most advanced musical instrument for iOS.

INSTRUMENT 1 is controller that’s compatible with CoreMIDI iOS apps and designed to be a professional quality instrument. The body of the INSTRUMENT 1 is inspired by the forms of traditional stringed instruments and is cut from ‘heirloom-quality’ hardwood. It can be held in multiple familiar positions–from guitar and fiddle to lap steel and upright bass.

Here are the details…..

Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 Specifications:

  • Compatible with any CoreMIDI-enabled iOS app and thousands of audio apps.
  • Patent-pending force-sensitive interface with six virtual frets and strings, and a strum section inspired by single-coil guitar pickups.
  • Accommodates five playing positions: guitar, mandolin, bass, violin, & lap steel.
  • High-quality onboard connections for headphones, microphone, ¼-inch stereo instrument cable, and MIDI in/out, and USB.
  • Controls for volume, instrument modes, and octave switching.
  • Rechargeable internal battery and 12v power input.
  • Integrated stereo speakers and a 30-watt, class-D amplifier.
  • Advanced control of multi-track recording apps including GarageBand, Pro Tools, and more.
  • Body carved of specialty hardwoods and bamboo from sustainable sources.
  • Designed and hand-built in Nashville, TN.

“We designed the INSTRUMENT 1 as a hybrid of pro-level components, ergonomic accessibility, and traditional instrument manufacturing techniques,” says Artiphon founder Mike Butera. “It’s been two years in the making and is unlike anything else on the market. We can’t wait to see all the ways musicians put it to work in their creative processes.”

Note: The images shown here are based on an INSTRUMENT 1 prototype. The final prototype is nearly complete and production of the first units is planned for early 2013.

Price and Availability:

Artiphon will begin taking pre-orders for the INSTRUMENT 1 in the first quarter of 2013, at a price point under $1000.

13 thoughts on “Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 ‘The Most Advanced Musical Instrument For iOS’

  1. The price seems totally crazy. As soon as we talk about Apple Compatible gear, the price increases xith no justification. These guys surely will disappear in few months…

  2. I like the idea of quality instrument controllers – but I can’t understand an ‘heirloom quality’ iPhone controller, when the size and shape of the device will probably change within a few years.

  3. The title is a little misleading. It sounds like they have created a guitar-based physical controller for iOS. It also sounds like they hired a marketing person who is still figuring out “how we talk”.

    I like that it is being made in the U.S. I also like that it is a physical controller and not another slide your fingers around a piece of smudgy glass controller.

    But at this point, it is a teaser without much to go on. Maybe it’ll be a game-changer!! Or maybe there’ll be a few folks who adopt it and make it a workable physical interface for an iOS brain.

  4. I predict that Roland will release modern MIDI bagpipes with a USB port and iOS compatibility that will last only two years, at which time Apple will change ports again, requiring everyone to drop another $50 on adapters. This looks like a well-designed bit of tech with the right specs, but I’m still waiting for the first alternate-controller virtuoso to develop a Name outside the group of us who know what an Eigenharp is. The Law of Averages says that some kid in MIssouri will suddenly appear on “America’s Got Talent” playing a controller that looks like a squid’s tentacle. He’ll have found a truly fresh voice with a hybrid sound that’ll amaze people… and within 6 months, 100,000 other kids will be using sample packs of that sound over their wubstep. So… where’s our alternate controller Hendrix?

  5. Well, is the price “less than 1000” so bad for a physical instrument?
    The boutique grid button controllers (Monome, Snyderphonics) go in that range.

    It should produce finer control output than MIDI though – that would be the point for me getting a not-a-keyboard synth controller. 14-bit MIDI could work, though few synths support it.

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