About this project
Introducing the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1
$1,319,672
3,391
- Play any instrument, style, and sound with a single device that connects directly to your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
- Our patented multi-instrument technology transforms the INSTRUMENT 1 into a guitar, violin, bass, piano, drum machine... it's any instrument you want it to be.
- Plug in and play 100’s of apps like GarageBand with universal musical gestures: strumming, tapping, bowing, sliding, and more.
- Digital string-like interface works with any MIDI-compatible software.
- The unique ergonomic design can be held in multiple positions, and is fully ambidextrous.
- Design new instruments and custom tunings via the Artiphon companion app.
- It's compact, portable, durable, self-powered, and simple.
- Designed and engineered in Nashville, TN.
We believe anyone can make music, and that most people really want to. Like snapping an Instagram, now you don't have to already be a professional to start making music and enjoy every note. We’re building an instrument that empowers people to play music apps beyond the touchscreen, and we want to inspire people to explore music-making in their everyday lives.
A guitar is designed to be strummed; piano keys are pressed; drum pads are tapped; violins are bowed. But what if a single instrument could be played with any of these techniques? That's exactly what we're creating – one instrument that lets you be the whole band.
Our patented technology enables a new type of musical experience focused on exploration and creativity rather than skill sets and signal chains. It’s an entirely new approach to what a musical instrument can do.
Any way you want to! We’ve designed the INSTRUMENT 1 to adapt to the way you want to play, and it scales in complexity based on your style and skills.
If you want to play like a guitar, you can chord and strum in familiar ways. In a piano preset, put it on your lap and the frets become “keys” like a piano (with up to six stacked octaves at your fingertips!). If you’re a drummer or a DJ, transform a whole fret into a pressure-sensing pad like a drum machine. And if you want to play a violin or pedal steel, slide your fingers along the strings to create sweeping fretless melodies.
You've got this. Our goal is to create the most effortless music-making experience at any skill level. Music isn’t about gear; it’s about self-expression. Every aspect of the INSTRUMENT 1 can be customized to behave the way you want it to. Tune it all to E-major if you like, adjust the sensitivity, or forget strumming altogether and let it auto-play the notes you press.
The INSTRUMENT 1 grows with you as you explore new styles of playing. You can increase complexity as you go, allowing for greater control over every aspect of your performance with its feather-touch playing surface. It's always in tune, and you'll never break a string!
Connect the INSTRUMENT 1 to hundreds of apps on mobile devices and computers, and it can literally make any sound imaginable. No really, we’re serious.
Because the INSTRUMENT 1 is fully MIDI-compatible, it works with 100's of MIDI apps and software like Ableton Live, ProTools, Logic, and many more on your computer. The Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 connects directly to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and PCs via Lightning or USB.
It works with any music creation software that uses the MIDI standard, which is the universal language of digital music. MIDI has been around for over 30 years, and lets electronic instruments tell each other what notes to play and how they should sound. But don’t worry: we’ve made it easier than ever to get started making digital music; no acronyms required.
Oh, and did we mention it has built-in speakers? This means no more worrying about external speakers when you play with your favorite apps. It's loud enough to play and sing along with friends, and you can even use it as an external speaker when you're not making the music. Of course, there’s a headphone output if you want to keep it quiet until you drop the album.
Artiphon is creating a companion app so you can customize your INSTRUMENT 1. Basically, you can easily create new instrument presets and play them immediately. Want to strum a piano? Bow a banjo? Pluck a drum? Done.
It’s a great way to get inspired to play new styles of music. Whether you’re a songwriter, electronic music producer, or just playing your first notes, Artiphon lets you try out many different styles and sounds.
One of the revolutionary things about the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1 is its string-like playability on a purely digital device. Use hammer-ons and pull-offs on the fingerboard, strum on the bridge, and the notes ring out based on the velocity of your touch.
Artiphon’s patented technology also enables entirely new musical techniques, letting you play in ways that no stringed instrument ever could:
1) Turn the frets on and off. This is the first digital string-like instrument to support fretless playability, which is revolutionary for violinists, bassists, and anyone interested in sliding between notes.
2) Use vibrato to naturally add real nuance to your performance.
3) The entire interface is continuously pressure-sensitive, allowing for unprecedented control over software instruments via polyphonic aftertouch.
4) Instantly change to any tuning (guitar, bass, banjo, dobro, uke, violin... koto anyone?), with capo buttons at your fingertips.
5) Assign a different instrument to each string. For example, play a bass on the bottom and a guitar on the top.
6) Pressure-sensitive effect control, tap and auto-strum modes, multiple notes per string...
Yes! And we're developing apps that will do some really exciting things. More details coming soon...
We're launching our first product, the INSTRUMENT 1, directly to the people most excited about it. Kickstarter is a great community of early adopters, innovators, and music lovers. One of the best parts of crowdfunding is the ability to connect directly with people who believe in our vision and want to participate in realizing it, and we’re completely committed to transparency through this process. Kickstarter is the perfect place to reimagine what a musical instrument can be, and we're excited to get to know you!
Choose from two primary colors (White or Black) or a special Nashville Edition with your choice of a white or black top on a beautiful hardwood back, upgraded speakers, and premium accessories.
We’re based in Nashville, TN, an amazing community of music-makers including session players, symphony members, producers, performers, and songwriters. For the past four years we’ve been building and testing many different body forms, interface technologies, and software models to achieve our goal of making digital music creation more natural and intuitive. Now our design is finalized and we’ve built several well-performing prototypes. To help support the development so far, we've received minimal seed investment from individuals and amazing partners who are really excited about the project.
With your support we will enter into the final refinement stage for manufacturing. In the coming months, we’ll be conducting a pilot production run and will continue to test our instruments with musicians in their daily lives. We’ll surely learn new things about the design and technology through this process, and of course we’ll be sharing what we learn with our backers. The outcomes of this testing will determine if further refinements or revisions to the specifications are needed to begin mass-manufacturing. We want to ensure that the instruments we deliver can be played and enjoyed for years to come.
Risks and challenges
We have a deep appreciation for the consistency, dependability, durability, and playability that is demanded of all quality instruments. As we refine our design and move into mass manufacturing, it is imperative to us that we continue this commitment to quality. This phase of growth can be a challenge for any new product; as we make decisions in the coming months about manufacturing and supply chain, quality will be prioritized over expediency and profit. We’ll keep you posted the whole way through, and we’re always available to chat if you have any questions about the process or timeline.
We're a small, dedicated team leveraging years of experience in academic research, product development, studio production, live performance, embedded programming, and systems engineering. Our amazing partners have distinguished accomplishments in app development, industrial design, woodworking, product engineering, music production, and recording. They’ve helped us overcome a number of challenges so far. Together, we form an expanding team committed to delivering an amazing product, and of course we’re continuing to grow. Please contact us if you share our vision and are interested in joining our ensemble.
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Funding period
- (40 days)