If you've not heard about it already, the 'Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1' is the latest piece of digital controller technology which allows even the novice to play music in virtually any style.
Prepare to see a lot more of it. The Nashville-born gadget has shot past its $75,000 Kickstarter goal and is currently sitting pretty on $1,151,517. It certainly has a lot going for it: the shape is tidy and appealing, it claims to link up to hundreds of apps including Ableton and GarageBand and can be played like a guitar, banjo, sitar, bass, drum machine and countless others.
In the same vein as the Casio invention we covered a while back which allows you to hum a tune and then turns it into an actual song, technology is constantly trying to make it easier for us to make music. Surely that can only be a good thing? Can't it?
As entrepreneurs tear down these barriers between ourselves and the ultimate musical creation, there are some potentially negative side-effects. There is something to be said for the skill it takes to play a regular instrument and the discipline that teaches - a characteristic often sadly lacking in today's quick-fix society.
Another problem is that musicians may not bond with this piece of kit like a traditional instrument. An artist's favourite guitar is part of them and their sound. The object cannot be truly replicated because they are all made slightly differently giving a slightly different feel. This generally happens through the resonance of the instrument, known as haptic feedback, which instrument makers spend their lives perfecting.
The question left to ask is, will top musicians shun this piece of technology because of its very accessibility and this 'one size fits all approach'. And if this instrument can be any instrument, then will we see bands only using these instruments? That would not be a welcome sight.