What Is A Guitar Wing And How Does It Work

Learning to play guitar is one of the most exciting and rewarding hobbies you will ever indulge in. That doesn’t mean the lessons won’t come with any challenges, but if you be consistent in your efforts, you will gain the abilities to play it whenever and wherever you want. But you will surely need the right devices to spruce up your musical experience. The Guitar Wing is one such device that made its first debut as a Kickstarter project back in 2014. When you connect it to an electric bass or guitar, it allows a matchless control. You can grab this amazing device from Livid Instruments for just $189.

GUITAR WING AND THE INNOVATION IT BRINGS

The Guitar Wing devised by Livid Instruments is nothing short of innovation and productivity. It is basically a Bluetooth MIDI controlling device that can be mounted to your guitar wirelessly. You can connect the unit to any bass or electric guitar for communicating with a computer or USB-MIDI host. Then you can get access to a wide array of options that can be controlled while playing. You may use the bundled effects along with Guitar Wing or look for your choicest picks amongst various controlling programs such as Guitar Rig, Ableton Live, Logic, GarageBand, and many others.

* The first advantage of using a Guitar Wing is that it rules out the use of unwanted wires, cables, and adaptors. You can move around while playing the guitar without being chained by cumbersome wires. The wing can be attached or removed as you would need.

* With the help of WingFX effects, you can easily access as well as control digital effects with your fingers. You may also use the wing in the form of a standalone application or plug it in any recording software or DAW.

* The wing serves as a true class-compliant MIDI device which means you can connect it with any DAW, MIDI hardware, iOS devices, and a lot more without any complicated setups or drivers.

* Another benefit of the Guitar Wing is that it supports MIDI. You can get access to readymade templates for well-known software platforms like Ableton Live, Logic, Guitar Rig, and more. It can also be used for controlling MIDI hardware Eventide Pedals with your computer. The integration guide can be used for project templates along with setup instructions so that you can use Guitar Wing with any DJ Software or music production.

* This device is one of the first range of hardware devices for supporting Apple’s Bluetooth LE MIDI Protocol. As a result, you can make wireless connection to Apple devices like iPhones, Mac book and others.

WHAT IS THE MECHANISM OF THE GUITAR WING?

When turned off, the device appears like a simple black plastic box with white buttons and pads. When you switch it on, you will see the RGB lights under the buttons and pads to shine through along with the line of blue LED lighting also illuminate. If you have never used any MIDI USB host, then you will see that it is a box with MIDI in & out sockets. You will have to plug the Guitar Wing receiver into the socket to get started.

The MIDI messages which are received from the USB device will be transported to the MIDI Out. On the other hand, the MIDI messages that come to the MIDI In are transported to the USB device. With this host, you will be able to connect your Guitar Wing and control the various hardware preamps without any additional devices like laptops.

The Guitar Wing is powered by a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. You may also use the computer for charging the device but no mechanism allows the transfer of data between the computer and Guitar Wing. The device comes with a detailed hardcopy of the user book or manual that will help you through the operation as well as integration of all the options. You can also access this quick start guide online on their official website and Wikipedia.

You can try out all the available templates and their brilliant functionality that varies from one program to another. So there will always be room for experimenting to get that perfect pitch that you are yearning for. There

HOW DOES THE GUITAR WING WORK?

The sturdy built of the Guitar Wing housing attaches the lower horn of the guitar and it is secured safely with a scratch-free clamp. It can communicate with DAW through a USB dongle that comes with the pack and it runs for around 8 hours after being fully charged. You will also get a free WingFX multi-effect plugin for both Windows and Mac that comes with pre-configured assignments. All you have to do is to insert the plugin on a DAW channel for an instant remote control effect. And the device truly justifies its attempts in bringing utmost control to the guitar.

Start by clipping the Wing onto the guitar with the help of buttons, pads, and faders on the instrument. You can easily control the MIDI effects, iOS apps, digital audio workstations, lighting rigs through the instrument. It is also equipped with a range of lights that would give your guitar the look of a rare Rock Band controller.

The Guitar Wing is highly adjustable and can easily fit onto the body of most instruments. Since it is wireless, you will ha e to deal with a lesser number of wires. It is also equipped with a touch-sensitive response along with some remarkable built-in motion detectors such as a 3-axis accelerometer. This allows you to control the sound by just moving the instrument in the desired direction. Also, the makers are still working on their software offering but the plugin allows working with third-party software.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Guitar Wing from Livid is an incredible tool that most digital musicians were in search of. While it does nothing to process sound, it can seamlessly transmit wireless MIDI messages to the required music software on any device like tabs or laptops. Right from reliable ergonomics to great MIDI control, the features are many.