I'm old enough to remember musicians raging on Guitar Hero. But they always seem to be missing the point. No one seriously suggested that a video game controller would replace a device that had been going strong since the 15th century. Guitar Hero was a fun game, and if it inspired a new generation to pick up the real thing, it was a net positive for the universe.
A similar feeling washed over me when I saw the LiberLive C1 On the ground at CES 2025. If the future of the guitar is in jeopardy, it has nothing to do with the existence of the self-proclaimed “first stringless smart guitar.” And really, referring to things as a guitar seems to be missing the whole point.
Learning instruments can be difficult, time-consuming, and incredibly frustrating. Take it from me, a decade of terrible guitar players. Like Guitar Hero before it, it would be disingenuous to suggest that a product like this posed an existential threat to the guitar (besides, the advent of non-guitar pop music did most of the heavy lifting there).
There is something satisfying about an instrument you can simply pick up and play. Actually, in a weird way, being a guitar player can work against me with the C1. You have to rewire your brain to embrace the simplicity of the machine.
There are multiple chord names associated with the buttons on the side of the instrument's neck. Holding one of these while “dropping” the pedal on the body of the C1 plays a chord. And that's really all there is to it. There are no personal notes and nothing approximate You can, however, strum and sing along with the songs in the app. It's effectively karaoke with a yoga dimension.
It's fun, it's portable, it's $699, it lasts six hours on a charge And it won't be replacing the guitar anytime soon.
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