Guest Luthier - Patrick Cummings of iGuitar (formerly Brian Moore Custom)

[ex-250]

patrick,
welcome to the forum & thanks for your time

you guys make some great-looking singlecut and doublecut models, but have you ever tried/considered making a "pointy" shaped model (flying V, explorer, etc.)?

would different shapes such as those present any difficulties for fitting in the additional electronics?

speaking of which, how much more room does that hardware take as opposed to a "regular" guitar?

[ericmeyer4]

Quick apologies to the forum. Some of my responsibilities are keeping me from replying as quick as I would like but I will answer all questions! Thank you.

Do not worry about the delays! We are appreciate you doing this! Thank you once again.


Now some more questions....
Why was there a name change from Brian Moore Guitars to iGuitar?

With the name "iGuitar" has there been any heat from Apple? Considering they have the iPod, iPhone, etc....

[Patrick Cummings]

Thanks Pat!

Do you think that USB / 13 pin / digital guitar technology is ever going to become more mainstream than it is now?

I often consider that the younger generation may be a great market for this type of tech; knowing that the young guys now are very hip to home recording, and playing with technology in the midst of music, but I still see a majority of young players walking out of the store with an Epiphone Les Paul and a Fender Frontman amp.

So, what do you think is necessary to get high tech guitars into the hands of young players?

Also, what do you think is necessary to get high-tech guitars into the hands of players like me (not young, not old, right in the middle!) who are conditioned to like tube amps and PAF pickups, but also have an inherent lean towards using technology to make things better as a function of the time we grew up in (dawn of the Information Age).

Again, big thanks, you da man, and welcome to the SDUGF!

-Hunter

Hunter,

Yes, we see iGuitar.USB becoming more mainstream as the computer continues to become the central place for recording and experimenting with musical ideas. We also see it becoming more mainstream and the primary input device for guitarists, the same way the USB keyboard is for keyboard players in classrooms and colleges all over the world.

As guitarists begin to use their computer more and more, for music education, recording and practicing they will need an easy way to connect
watch this 90 sec video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk3Vv65hLMI

Products advance and people expect things to improve.

We see a future where the basic guitars are made of the same stuff, ie; great tone woods, pickups and craftsmanship BUT with the EASY access to the computer, synth or iPhone!

Imagine two identical new cars both priced the same, except:
One has a build in CD player, GPS and a port for your iPod or music player,
The other identical car has none of these, which would you purchase?


I can tell you that one of things stopping various guitar technologies from becoming main stream is and has been: 'how easy is it for the guitar retailers to learn how to use it? '

Have you ever noticed that there is rarely a 13pin guitar set up in a GC or Ash store with a very knowledgeable guitar sales person right there?

Richard Ash, Sam Ash CEO told me very bluntly, that while they could sell an iGuitar at boutique shops like Mannys, they could not do it chain wide because it required us to train and re-train 15 guitars sales people at 60 stores (900 people at Ash and thousands at GC)


This became one of the driving forces of creating our patented 'plug and play' iGuitar.USB guitar - IT IS EASY for sales people and customers to use.

[Patrick Cummings]

Quick apologies to the forum. Some of my responsibilities are keeping me from replying as quick as I would like but I will answer all questions! Thank you.

[ImmortalSix]

Hunter,


Products advance and people expect things to improve.

Thanks mate. I am with you all the way.

[Patrick Cummings]

[QUOTE=elscorcho;2268790][QUOTE=ericmeyer4;2268778]
Are there plans to introduce your own recording, amp modeling, etc software?

Thanks for talking the time to be here! I was plannining on asking about software plans, too! As someone who is basically afraid of this technology, I'm hoping you may be able to further simplify the software part of the equation as you have w/ the guitar/interface scenario.....Is there maybye a "turnkey" package in the works?

----

We have thought about creating our own software, amp modeling, software.,etc but there are many great solutions available already and the market is already quite crowded. Just like when we started our business,we thought about making our own pickups, but decided to go with the already esatblished and excellent pickup makers like Seymour Duncan.

----

We can certainly understand 'being afraid' of techology, that is what we designed the iGuitar to be incredibly easy to use. Not all software is as easy to use. We have found that the software in Apples Garageband program is the easiest to use. The 'turnkey solution' would be an iGuitar and a MAC. When customers purchase an iGuitar from us factory direct, we schedule a start up call with you, take you through the basic set up and get you making music and recording with software instruments. This helps overcome the 'fear' part and gives you the confidence to use these incredible new creative tools.

[Patrick Cummings]

Hi Patrick, I can say as a former owner of multiple Brian Moore guitars that I appreciate the design, versatility and utility of your modern instruments, especially the ease in blending the piezo and the electric sound together. My question is, how do you want the mainstream to perceive your guitars, as high functioning piece of art, a swiss knife, or decorative piece for collection? Are those the same goals for the imported guitars?

We created a mission statement that included:
"Blending the very best of art and technology"

We accompished this is the custom shop first with models like the C-90P.13, which people have called 'playable art' WITH technology.

We would hope that the mainstream appreciates our iGuitar as a great guitar first (ie; the quality of the wood, with top quality Duncans and Sperzels, etc.) then as a versatile/swiss army knife guitar with computer access - if their music requires that versatility.

[Patrick Cummings]

Welcome, Patrick.

Where do you see the future of guitar amp modeling going?

What's your typical rig when using a iGuitar hooked up via USB to a computer?


Thanks.
Erik

Guitar amp modeling has come quite far already.
I imagine that future modeling will capture even more of the 'essence' or 'vibe' of a real tube amp. When that time comes, I hope to recreate my entire rig and consolidate it on a small device. Then I can show up at the gig running everything on the iPhone: ) ( at my age carrying heavy amps is getting very old!)

My typical rig consists of an iGuitar (with both 13 pin and USB) a GI-20 and MAC - watch this video demo created by one of the engineers on the John Lennon Bus - http://media.jlsc.com/schedule/2005/...newiguitar.mp4

[Fusion1]

Which came first the iGuitar name or the iMac?

[Patrick Cummings]

you guys are a really forward thinking guitar company which is a rarity, most just rehash old designs or add subtle variations. id love to hear some background on why/how brian moore/iguitar came about and the philosophys behind it.

Jeremy, there are a few posts below that give this background info, I will copy here:

Yes, we see iGuitar.USB becoming more mainstream as the computer continues to become the central place for recording and experimenting with musical ideas. We also see it becoming more mainstream and the primary input device for guitarists, the same way the USB keyboard is for keyboard players in classrooms and colleges all over the world.

As guitarists begin to use their computer more and more, for music education, recording and practicing they will need an easy way to connect
watch this 90 sec video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk3Vv65hLMI

Products advance and people expect things to improve.

We see a future where the basic guitars are made of the same stuff, ie; great tone woods, pickups and craftsmanship BUT with the EASY access to the computer, synth or iPhone!

Imagine two identical new cars both priced the same, except:
One has a build in CD player, GPS and a port for your iPod or music player,
The other identical car has none of these, which would you purchase?


I can tell you that one of things stopping various guitar technologies from becoming main stream is and has been: 'how easy is it for the guitar retailers to learn how to use it? '

Have you ever noticed that there is rarely a 13pin guitar set up in a GC or Ash store with a very knowledgeable guitar sales person right there?

Richard Ash, Sam Ash CEO told me very bluntly, that while they could sell an iGuitar at boutique shops like Mannys, they could not do it chain wide because it required us to train and re-train 15 guitars sales people at 60 stores (900 people at Ash and thousands at GC)


This became one of the driving forces of creating our patented 'plug and play' iGuitar.USB guitar - IT IS EASY for sales people and customers to use.

-------

AND:

I got started because my two main interests have always been music and electronics, I repaired my first guitar when I was 10 ( thank you Radio Shack ) and always wanted to know how things worked. I began to work on guitar and amp repairs for my guitar students and friends - later went to work for GIbson and then founded Brian Moore and finally iGuitar, Inc.

-----

The things that sets the iGuitar apart aside from the technolgy are the same unique design elements we use in our custom shop:

- Comfort: design elements such as the comfort contoured top, sculpted headstock

-Quality: it is manufactured in an ISO 9002 certified factory and then we add Sperel tuners and Seymour Duncan pickups

- Setup: every guitar is set up and inspected at out NY faciity. Each guitar goes though the same detailed check list as our custom shop guitars.

-----

Our most overrated tool: the cylindrical top cutter (glorified router)
Most underrated - the original MC1 output jack snake tool

-----

I have several mandos, my top instuments are my own P5 model
http://iguitar.com/CustomShop/Custom....asp?guitar=P5
an old Gibson Style A, an old Flatiron built by Steve Carlson before he sold to Gibson and a Breedlove

----

My advice to a younger luthier would be to learn from the masters, do what you love to do, design and create and experiment. We all learn from our failed attempts, they are usually our best teachers.

----

If I could go back in time to a builders shop it would probably be Lloyd Loars shop where he created the early mandolin family instruments.

----

The next steps for iGuitar will included built in USB Midi, and a complete USB wireless system

----

Our iGuitar.USB is 'plug and play; it is veyr user friendly
I received two US Patents so far and they are all based on making the 'guitar-to-computer' experience EASY

See patents #7,241,948, & 7,563,977

http://www.google.com/patents?id=boa...age&q=&f=false

[Patrick Cummings]

hello patrick, dave eichenberger here...thanks for doing this...

- will it ever be possible to send magnetic, midi and piezo to the computer via USB?
- i know mixing guitar with technology is a hard sell to most guitarists (no need to sell me, i'm sold)...with giant companies like Roland and Gibson having a hard time with guitar technology products, how will iGuitar 'get the word out' on a grand scale?

Hi Dave,

Yes, that is coming and is included in the patents we have already received.
watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk3Vv65hLMI
( this product is still in development )
Getting the word out on a grand scale will simply take time and money.
The technology has to be protected otherwise we cannot raise funds to produce and promote.
We have already had some 'copycat' / legal issues and they are challenging to deal with (especially when you have to cross one of the major oceans!)

[Patrick Cummings]

Patrick,

Thanks for taking time out for the foum!!

1. What one guitar made you want to build guitars by making you think to yourself "I can do a better job than that"?

2. What one guitar made you want to build guitars by making you think "I'd love to be able to make guitars this nice one day"?


-Tom

#1 - That would be the original MC1 - It was composite back and neck thru and had a wood top. I later added a center block of mahogany and it made and incredible difference in the tone.

#2 - Our C-90P.13 custom shop - It had everything but was $4495. My goal with the iGuitar was to create a guitar with all the tone and features but at a price more attainable for a great number of guitarists.
Our iGuitar9.13 does this - we have done blind tests they are incredibly similar - BUT the iGuitar9.13 is abou5 $1595 factory direct...

[Patrick Cummings]

Thanks Pat, i had already read that. Def a good read and lots of cool stuff on there.

Ive prob got one or 2 more questions but ill wait until others are answered since they will prob cover a lot of what im thinking.

Thanks again

No problem, I am starting to catch up !

[Patrick Cummings]

Hello Patrick,

I'm pretty excited to see a more progressive luthier in our SD weekly series. I've got a couple of questions.

1. The first of your guitars I played years ago was a Korean model and its quality really shocked me and to see a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker and locking tuners and a Piezo in that price point was a first. Was it hard to find a Korean vendor with decent quality control to bring your guitars to lower price point without sacrificing the quality your company is known for?

2. How long have you worked with SD putting their pickups in your guitars? From day one or was it a gradual choice during R&D? Seems like you have been using duncans for some time.

3. Do you see the Iguitar technology evolving to benefit all players with all styles? Or does it take a certain type of player to really benefit from so many features and to accept such new technology?

4. What is your favorite Duncan pickup?

-Brian

Brian,

#1 - We did our first trade show in 1993 and at every show thereafter, we were approached by various factories offering to make an import version of our guitar - we would receive a sample of our guitar complete with headstock and logo etc. - for several years, they were never even close ( it was decided that we slice them up on the band was to avoid anyone every seeing a guitar like that with our name in it!) And Yes, as your surmised we finally had a sample that was pretty amazing and we proceeded from there (added Duncans etc )

#2 - When we began we only did custom builds, so we offered EMG's and Dimarzios, Joe BArdens, Lindy Fralins, etc. as well as Duncans - As we started offering standard models we used Duncans as our main supplier.

When we created the first iGuitar models in Korea, I got a very strange reaction from Evan -something like "You want me to send a 1000 USA made Duncans to Korea?" I got similar reaction from Sperzel and RMC.

#3 Yes, we see all guitarists benefiting from built-in USB technolgy. It just makes it easier to plug into your computer and create some musical ideas or track to practice over.

We created this to help guitarists. Technology should make things easier.

One of our customers gave great common sense example:

Using an iGuitar and Sibelius notation software, he quickly creates TAB charts for the bassist and other guitarist in his band, then emails them a pdf of the chart - when they get together the following week to rehearse, everyone knows their parts already - pretty cool!

#4 - I have a favorite 'set' of Duncans!
I explained on a previous post and will copy here:

Neck pickup is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...ph1_alnico_ii/

Middle pickup is Seymour Duncan Alnico II single:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product...nico_ii_pro_f/

Bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan JB:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/product.../sh4_jb_model/

Used as follows:

The goal of the was to get the following '7 really cool and useable' sound combinations, most guitarists rarely use more than 3!

1 - Neck humbucker
2 - Neck humbucker split and middle (in the classic Stratty realm)
3- Neck humbucker split and Bridge hum split ( 2 singles - in the classic Tele realm )
4 - Bridge humbucker split and middle (the other classic Stratty realm)
5 - Bridge humbucker
1A - Neck and Bridge humbucker
2A - Neck humbucker split, middle and Bridge

In Position 1A, the 5 way switch gives you the the neck humbucker, by pulling the push/pull knob it 'adds' the bridge humbucker.
In Position 2A, the 5 way switch gives you the the neck humbucker automatically tapped as a single coil and the middle single together. Again, by pulling the push/pull knob it 'adds' the bridge humbucker so in 2A you get single, single, hum all three at the same time.

[Mincer]

Hi Dave,

Yes, that is coming and is included in the patents we have already received.
watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk3Vv65hLMI
( this product is still in development )

Cool video Patrick- you may want to edit some of the comments
As far as the technology for education goes, I teach with a laptop, and use my C55 all the time hooked up to the computer (via midi interface) to send music home with students. So, I would probably be a good test for the USB thing.
How does a small company deal with someone like Behringer who comes out with a USB guitar, or someone like Gibson, who promised the world with their hex interface (which I don't think ever really surfaced)?

[Patrick Cummings]

Thanks for your time, I think the iGuitar is one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a while, even though I've never gotten to test it out.

The idea of an iBass is awesome to me too, but I like more "classic" styled basses. Are we going to see any other models besides the i2000's?

Yes. To get product updates, visit our site or you can subscribe to our email newsletter here: http://iguitar.com/happening.asp

[Patrick Cummings]

Hi Patrick...

I see there's a lotta other questions stacked up here... mostly about the technology aspects... so I'll ask one about actual design!


Many years ago at a guitar show I played Elliott Randalls axe and it blew me away. Loved it. Had to have one and then played an MC1, realized what they cost & being a broke college student it just wasn't going to happen.

Anyway... one of the things that knocked me out was just how comfortable the instrument was to hold. Space age without being too far-out from the traditional stuff we're all used to.

So...

How did ya'll come up with the idea for the curved body?

Were there any previously scrapped designs before you arrived at the current radius?

Thanks!

Comfort!
We went with the original design.

There are 'cylindrical' tops that date back to lutes in the 1800s and more recently Rick Turners guitars - they are just comfortable.

That guitar was mine first and Elliot wanted it!
He loaned my his "Reeling in the Years" strat for a few weeks so I could not say no.

[ErikH]

Guitar amp modeling has come quite far already.
I imagine that future modeling will capture even more of the 'essence' or 'vibe' of a real tube amp. When that time comes, I hope to recreate my entire rig and consolidate it on a small device. Then I can show up at the gig running everything on the iPhone: ) ( at my age carrying heavy amps is getting very old!)

My typical rig consists of an iGuitar (with both 13 pin and USB) a GI-20 and MAC - watch this video demo created by one of the engineers on the John Lennon Bus - http://media.jlsc.com/schedule/2005/...newiguitar.mp4

That's really really cool. I could spend hours upon hours messing with that setup.

[Patrick Cummings]

I have a question for you, Pat. Can you talk about the two patents you've recently been awarded? What do they cover?

Evan,

We have received US patents #7,241,948, & 7,563,977

While I can give you an overview of the patents here, the key to any patent lies in its' independent claims as interpreted and explained by your patent counsel

They basically cover a 'stringed music instrument' that connect to a computer or computing device, sending streaming digital audio and / or midi via USB, the guitar is bus powered by the USB port and class compliant or 'plug and play'.

Our IP basically turns the guitar and other stringed musical instruments into 'plug and play' computer peripherals on MAC and Windows Vista, sending streaming digital audio and MIDI data via class compliant USB. It requires no confusing external interfaces. Guitarists just plug in and can compose with any software instruments, orchestral instruments, synths, create music notation, TAB and even jam online. This is not a 'modeling' guitar, it is a real guitar AND a USB computer input device.

video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk3Vv65hLMI

Simply put - they need to be modernized to connect 'easily' to the desktop music environment.

We are working on a license program to allow other guitars and stringed instruments to use this technology - We realize that not everyone wants out type of guitars, but through licensing it should be possible for customers to have these features on other popular brands.

We are also raising funds to continue our development and currently talking to potential investors.

[Patrick Cummings]

Which guitarists tone and feel really make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?

I would have to say my C-90P.13 and my iGuitar9.13.
Of course it depends on what amp I am playing though..
I do love my Groove Tube Solo 75