Guitarists
The Shaper is not a guitar!
The fretboard may look familiar, and, if you are guitar player, the images may lead you to believe that you will be able to pick up the Shaper and play all your favourite licks - immediately!
It doesn’t work like that!
At the time of creating this website, there was only one person in the world who could play a Shaper. This person, the designer, was a competent guitarist (never a virtuoso), and spent a lot of time learning how to play the Shaper in the process of designing it.
Where there was a choice between designing features conservatively, in order to make the instrument feel and play more like a guitar, or pushing the boundaries to take full advantage of all the sonic power of synthesisers and the MIDI interface, the adventurous route was always chosen.
So, if you are a guitarist, remember that the Shaper is a completely new musical instrument – not a guitar. Expectation management is essential. Above all, if you like the idea of a Shaper, make sure you try before you buy. We at Shaper want to feel sure that none of our customers has unrealistic expectations and are not disappointed after a hasty purchase.
New Technology and Skills
Please also be prepared to take on board a great deal of new techno skills in understanding the MIDI specification, and not just the general specification MIDI v1.0. You will also have to find your way around the very different ways in which each synth manufacturer implements the MIDI spec on each of their products. These days, AI is a great help in these matters.
Why the Shaper?
The motivation which drove the design was not to emulate the playing action of a guitar. The idea was to create a new way to make music on a synthesiser. Not by using a piano style keyboard, but by using an instrument with strings.
The result is a musical instrument which can create unique musical performances - live - in ways that are not possible, either on conventional stringed instruments or by using a piano-style keyboard.
Shaper DEMO #1
(with short introduction)
and
DEMO #2
(with continuous explanation)
on this website highlight many of these new possibilities. Check out the demos, along with the features and tips tabs in the navigation bar at the top of the page. But don’t listen with a guitarist’s ear.
Open your mind to the limitless possibilities of creating new music on synthesisers - with strings!
The demos are competently performed with frequent references to well-known pieces. They are neither virtuoso performances, nor original musical ideas. Which begs the questions:
Who is going to be the first Shaper virtuoso? Who is going to take music where it has never been before?
Links:
• GUITARISTS – PLEASE READ THIS
• licensors / licensees / manufacturers
Owner:
The Shaper is designed and manufactured by Rush Systems Ltd in Oxford, UK.
Website:
www.rushsystemsltd.com
To contact us:
click here for the Contact Page
or
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