The iTar Turns Your iPad Into a Guitar

There's a new project on Kickstarter.com.

It's called the iTar, and it turns your iPad into a functional guitar.

The iTar is the brainchild of Starr Labs, a company that normally makes MIDI guitars, MIDI controllers and other MIDI instruments. I like using the word "MIDI" in sentences. The design is simple yet elegant. One hopes it will just snap onto the iPad like a shell, allowing you to just launch the app of your choice.

From the guys at Starr Labs:

"Our project is designed for musicians, guitar heroes, electronic artists, iPad junkies and hackers looking for a fun and easy way to take their show on the road. At it's heart the device is a button-based guitar fretboard (Starr Labs patented fingerboard) integrated with a dock for the iPad which will transform the tablet into a 21st century musical instrument we call the iTar.

"Our fingerboard has been battle-tested and proven for years to be a professional-quality electronic music instrument. Our fingerboard has been used on instruments we've built for the likes of Vernon Reid (of the endlessly awesome Living Color), the Chemical Brothers, Pendulum, Linkin Park, Lou Reed, and many TV/film studios. Check out the gallery at www.starrlabs.com to see the high quality instruments we've been building around this impressive technology for years. Our line of Ztars and Z-boards are each custom built by hand, from scratch."

Starr Labs hopes to raise $50,000 by 6:37 p.m. EST December 6. As of this writing, with 53 days to go, the iTar has 23 backers, and $4,426 has been pledged. You can pledge as low as $1.

Check out the video below and visit the project on Kickstarter.com for more info.

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Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.