yrg thread

[bigcraigie_1]

Whoever is behind their twitter account is still making claims of them being shipped in May, so I'm going to try my best and be optimistic.

I'm a bit concerned with Kevin's reply though. They seem to have been in production for some time now and I can't help but notice a change in Kevin's tone in recent times. To be fair to him, he is probably pulling his hair out about now.

I can't help get the impression that they are having issues with the manufacturer.

[Maruuk]

Yeah QC in the manufacturing process of a brand new product is always gonna be dicey, add in China and the factor jumps by 10. You have to pay guys off and jump through all kinds of hoops over there.

Anyways all we can do is shrug and wait. You may not even WANT the very first run's product anyways. Let em settle down a bit and smooth out the rough edges. There'll be running changes as they go.

[annode]

You have to pay guys off and jump through all kinds of hoops over there.

You wouldn't be referring to the Chinese mafioso?! They are a rough bunch!
Everybody wants a piece of the action...but in this case,the midi guitar has no fingerboard strings, so no action.

Although the "jumping through all kinds of hoops" sounds more like the Chinese circus.

[bigcraigie_1]

I called DJ Kit (UK suppliersfor the YRG) this morning for an update on my order. As far as they are aware, they should receive their first batch on 24th May, so still looking good to get it this month.

[annode]

I called DJ Kit (UK suppliersfor the YRG) this morning for an update on my order. As far as they are aware, they should receive their first batch on 24th May, so still looking good to get it this month.

Sounds promising!
Who's closer to China...me or you?

[Maruuk]

I'd be very interested to know the ratio of gamer buyers to midi buyers. I mean, heck, gamers already have a ton of perfectly adequate inexpensive controllers for these idiotic fake music games, which have literally nothing to do with playing an instrument, and little to do with music in general.

What the world does not have are cheap no-lag guitar-based midi controllers. I suspect these guys are going to be surprised how high their ratio of musicians is going to be. They might want to consider releasing a midi-only non-toy version--better quality materials, tweaked for performance, a few added features--for say $300. Sell like mad.

[bigcraigie_1]

annode wrote:
Who's closer to China...me or you?

Hopefully I am

Maruuk wrote:
I'd be very interested to know the ratio of gamer buyers to midi buyers. I mean, heck, gamers already have a ton of perfectly adequate inexpensive controllers for these idiotic fake music games, which have literally nothing to do with playing an instrument, and little to do with music in general.

What the world does not have are cheap no-lag guitar-based midi controllers. I suspect these guys are going to be surprised how high their ratio of musicians is going to be. They might want to consider releasing a midi-only non-toy version--better quality materials, tweaked for performance, a few added features--for say $300. Sell like mad.

I really can't see a lot of gamers buying into it either unless they are really keen to learn how to play the real thing or just have more money than sense. An official Guitar Hero controller can be bought off Amazon for £25. Compare that to £199. But the game controller is what they really seem to be pushing. I read in other posts/forums that even at the NAMM show, they hardly mentioned the MIDI capabilities!!!

No-lag cheap controller is what we are all after here. Now if they could ditch the gaming stuff and build in an onboard VST host module so it could act as a standalone ....... You could have MusicLabs RealStrat playing through Amplitube for example or Omnisphere loaded onto it, That would be neat.

[bigcraigie_1]

Just had a reply back from Keven to say they are still shipping this month.

Fingers crossed ......

[JAMES L. HARRISON]

In today's [Monday, May 17] Midiguitar digest Tim K. mentions the May delivery being pushed back to June. I don't know his source and I didn't see it on their new web page.
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<http://www.yourockguitar.com/newsite/?page_id=16>
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The only mention I've seen of June is for delivery in the UK I think.

James
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Just had a reply back from Keven to say they are still shipping this month.

Fingers crossed ......

[Maruuk]

Like we'd be surprised with another month tacked on to the delivery date.

What worries me is this is primarily a product answering a question nobody's asking: "If only there was yet another plastic fake-guitar Rock Band controller that was 5 times the price!"

The midi aspect of this product has always been an afterthought. They've barely been mentioning it in promos. Yet that's precisely where I believe their real market is.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a plastic dongle that just switches tracks on a game screen? 4 buttons can do that.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a fake guitar that plays cheesy fake on board guitar samples? The Yamaha EG/AG already does that.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a zero-lag midi guitar controller that outputs actual midi requiring no idiotic wreck-your-guitar screw-on pickup nonsense or a $500 converter box?

Lots of folks. Guys, start marketing this thing to your real audience: Us.

[Maruuk]

I know how this misfire happened: guys around a board room table with pie charts showing the amount of money spent on Rock Band controllers. Then some guy with Catsup on his tie gets up and says, "If we could capture merely 1% of this market, we'd all be millionaires!"

Then another guy says, "Let's build the best one ever!"

Then the engineering dept. says, "Hey, we could also output midi!"

And the suits go, "Ok, whatever. Nobody buys midi guitars. But let's just keep looking at that Rock Band pie chart and dreaming about our villas in Tuscany!"

I've been in meetings like that. They bury the lead, because they think the midi guitar market is tiny. But it's only tiny because it's SO DAMNED EXPENSIVE to own the equipment. This device could reinvent the market. But I doubt these guys get that. Their heads are already in Tuscany.

[annode]

In today's [Monday, May 17] Midiguitar digest Tim K. mentions the May delivery being pushed back to June. I don't know his source and I didn't see it on their new web page.
.
.

<http://www.yourockguitar.com/newsite/?page_id=16>
.
.
The only mention I've seen of June is for delivery in the UK I think.

James
.
.

Just had a reply back from Keven to say they are still shipping this month.

Fingers crossed ......

May 17th and still no sign of it. Nothing we can do...just have to wait for it.
Funny...just saw this posted Jan 12, 2010 from American rag USA Today;
---Controller is a real guitar---

Sales of music games may have trended down in 2009, but there still are tens of millions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band players out there. The You Rock Guitar game controller, out next month ($180), will let you take your virtual jamming to the next level.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/ ... 1_ST_N.htm

Ha...notice where he says "The You Rock Guitar game controller, out next month ($180)." That would have been Feb, four months ago as we move into June!
I really hope this thing isn't riddled with bugs, or maybe a major design bug that prevents us from clean 1/8 note midi tracking.

[Maruuk]

My main concern is that advance orders based solely on retailers and wholesalers in the game controllers market are nil since there's no value-added as a game controller and the price is off the hook. Heck, if I was a buyer for Toys R Us I'd just shrug and pass. I've got shelves full of products for $40 that do the same thing. I wouldn't know how to sell this thing to moms of 8 year olds who want to push little colored buttons, especially in a recession.

Deals like this require a dependency on advance orders and when the numbers don't add up, they stall for desperation bridge funding. We may be in that tailspin stall right now. There is a chance that this product will never see the light of day. Happens all the time. Retail is war, life and death. Making it to market takes skill, luck and good financing.

If I was these guys, I'd go back to financing and make the pure midi play pitch. Hell, I could make that myself right now. That's the only business plan that makes any sense. The heck with competing with $34.99 Mad Katz plastic ukelele-sized toys for babies.

Grow up, make a pro tool for every midi and wannabe midi performer on Earth. Gosh, you already did! Now go and sell it!

[annode]

My main concern is that advance orders based solely on retailers and wholesalers in the game controllers market are nil since there's no value-added as a game controller and the price is off the hook. Heck, if I was a buyer for Toys R Us I'd just shrug and pass. I've got shelves full of products for $40 that do the same thing. I wouldn't know how to sell this thing to moms of 8 year olds who want to push little colored buttons, especially in a recession.

Deals like this require a dependency on advance orders and when the numbers don't add up, they stall for desperation bridge funding. We may be in that tailspin stall right now. There is a chance that this product will never see the light of day. Happens all the time. Retail is war, life and death. Making it to market takes skill, luck and good financing.

If I was these guys, I'd go back to financing and make the pure midi play pitch. Hell, I could make that myself right now. That's the only business plan that makes any sense. The heck with competing with $34.99 Mad Katz plastic ukelele-sized toys for babies.

Grow up, make a pro tool for every midi and wannabe midi performer on Earth. Gosh, you already did! Now go and sell it!

Seriously, your rants are getting tiring.

[JAMES L. HARRISON]

You're way off the mark with the thrust of the vast majority of the YRG videos and other promotions. I'll bet I've seen every one out there and for the most part the midi guitar features are the main subject. The game controller features IMHO occupy far less than 25% of the space; probably about 10%.

Whatever your objections you really need to get your facts straight.

James
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Like we'd be surprised with another month tacked on to the delivery date.

What worries me is this is primarily a product answering a question nobody's asking: "If only there was yet another plastic fake-guitar Rock Band controller that was 5 times the price!"

The midi aspect of this product has always been an afterthought. They've barely been mentioning it in promos. Yet that's precisely where I believe their real market is.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a plastic dongle that just switches tracks on a game screen? 4 buttons can do that.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a fake guitar that plays cheesy fake on board guitar samples? The Yamaha EG/AG already does that.

Who's gonna pay $200 for a zero-lag midi guitar controller that outputs actual midi requiring no idiotic wreck-your-guitar screw-on pickup nonsense or a $500 converter box?

Lots of folks. Guys, start marketing this thing to your real audience: Us.