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OpenStomp Coyote 1 is Hackable Open Source Effects Pedal For Real Guitar Heroes
Posted by John Mahoney at 11:45 PM on August 26, 2008
Anyone who is a fan of 1960s-era guitar idol mythology knows that crazy custom circuitry and effects pedals are nothing new. But the OpenStomp Coyote 1, the "world's first open-source guitar pedal" updates the trend for today's slightly more nerdy shredders, who can recreate the crazy circuit bending of yore in a custom software package that visually edits effects patches. On top of that, all aspects of the hardware--including the added LCD screen, 80MHz Propeller processor, microUSB and RJ11 interfaces--are documented, too, so feel free to open 'er up. It's shipping now for US$350. [OpenStomp]
Have a favourite guitar that you wish you had two of? Right now on eBay you can pick up a "guitar photocopier," a contraption that can carve a new guitar body for you that's exactly like another guitar.
Tascam—last heard of here on Giz with a portable 
Ah the electric guitar... every time I eat at a Hard Rock Cafe, it's these fabulous bits of rock paraphernalia that grab my attention. Fascinating: design, art, creativity in one gizmo. And yet at heart they're very simple: a plain solid body, strings, and some pickups. So very simple in fact, that a guy called Ranjit is holding a DIY junk electric guitar class at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn tomorrow. Just don't take along half a wrecked coffee table and expect to craft it into a guitar that'll make you the next Clapton: these Etsy things have "wind your own"-style pickups and just a couple of strings. [
A normal game demo features a kiosk, maybe a couch, and it's all a pretty ho hum experience save for the fact that you're usually playing a game that won't be released for anywhere from a several months to a few years. But when testing out Rock Band 2, it's set up on a stage with professional lights, mixing boards and speakers. And, of course, their add-on fog machine. It all reminded me how freaking expensive this whole music game madness has become, but also just how far it had come. 
Playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band might make the average Joe feel more like a rock star--but the fact that you are playing on a tiny plastic guitar kind of ruins the fantasy. That's where the StarPex comes in. It is the first full-sized wooden guitar for the PS2/PS3 and it features a 10-button design with solo-buttons and an Overdrive/Star Power button, chrome plated tuning pegs, a wired/wireless connectivity option and a modular design that will allow users to trick out their guitar. The StarPex will be available in late August for US$179.95.
Need to practice your power chords on the subway, in church, or anywhere else where crunching out the intro to Enter Sandman might be frowned upon by the man? Jam away safely in silence with this cigarette pack-sized iGTR amp from Waves. The "i" is for you, not because everyone and their dog wants to name their products after Apple phones and MP3 players, but because thanks to the dual headphones jacks, only you and a friend will hear what's going down.
One of our main complaints about playing bass on Guitar Hero or Rock Band is that the guitars aren't bass guitars. The Ant Commandos, a company that specialises in making cheaper versions of video game accessories, has just released a wireless PS2/PS3 bass guitar. It doesn't solve the problem of not being able to double-strum with two fingers, which the 
