AeroBand Guitar Stringless, Acoustic Electric Travel Guitar, Portable Silent Guitar with Removable Fretboard Smart Guitar for Beginners, Adults, Teenagers, Gift, AG01

When I was looking at these, I saw a lot of standout reviews. Most were 5*, talking about how easy it is to use and how it sounds very good for what it is. Many of the 1* reviews are saying that "it's not a guitar" -- they're absolutely right, and I also believe that they're completely missing the point.This is a guitar shaped synthesizer.I'll start with verifying the features everyone already talks about: It is as easy to play as the other reviews say--the silicon fretboard is very easy on the fingers. I'm a pretty crappy rhythm player and I was able to play bar chords much more effectively than I can on my acoustic guitar. The right hand portion feels very guitar-like, and almost all of my picking/finger-style muscle memory served me well. The speaker is very loud and clear (doesn't have much low end punch, but that would muddy the highs.) The app is decent learning tool for beginners that know how to play but don't know how to learn music--I won't be using it.Now--let me talk about some of the features that aren't clearly stated.- You can use any bluetooth audio source to pipe into the guitar, playing sound/music through the guitar's speaker. This is amazing for practice/accompaniment, or even picking some backing tracks.- You can use this as a bonafide midi controller for any DAW/Midi synth--standalone or VST. In the 6 hours I've had it out of the box, I've used it to play phat synth bass lines and smooth layered strings. You just have to know where to look.This was a 5* purchase from me, but it's not perfect. Things I would change about it are the following:- The palm mute function is too heavily muted--it basically kills more of the sound than a real palm mute technique should.- Hammerons and pulloffs work mostly as you expect them to, but there is no modeling of glissando/legato, so the artificiality of the sound really comes out when you use many hammerons and pulloffs- You cannot pull off to an open string- You can only mute with the right hand, so an open string resonating when you don't want to can't be muted with an adjustment of the left hand.In conclusion--this instrument does exactly what I wanted--It's going to be a beneficial practice aid, fostering creativity in songwriting, and allows ergonomic guitar-based control of unlimited sounds using MIDI. Cannot recommend enough--IF this is what you're looking for. If you're looking for something to upgrade to for a real electric guitar, you will be sorely disappointed. All of the negative reviews on youtube are people talking about things like pinch harmonics and sweeping and other advanced techniques, all done in front of boutique marshall amps... those kinds of guitarists do not need this instrument.

The first thing I would caution to prospective buyers is that the aeroband guitar is not really a guitar. The neck detaches from the body, and the strings on the fretboard are simply silicone, glued in place. That doesn’t mean they don’t serve a purpose, though. In actuality, they serve the same purpose as a regular guitar fretboard.With your strumming hand, You can employ whatever techniques you have picked up on a regular guitar and apply them to this. The body strings, you see, a regular steel guitar strings. You can use a pick or your fingers or thumb to play as you would a regular guitar.I played guitar for many years, but I was in a construction accident that damaged my left hand so that I couldn’t play guitar for many years. It was a real setback for me, and I had a ton of equipment that I suddenly couldn’t use.When I first saw this piece of equipment, a quickly picked up on the claim that it doesn’t take any pressure to push down strings like on a conventional guitar. In my case, I was unable to put down any meaningful pressure on the frets, so it seemed like a match made in heaven.It operated as they claimed in all respects. I was able to play my chords normally without having to exert any pressure whatsoever. With this rig, it is completely about your finger position.It also has many features as advertised, and all of them work exactly as they claim. There is software that you can download, but I don’t think it works with PC. Only iOS and android.I would highly recommend this for somebody who has sustained an injury to one or both of their hands, or who has arthritis. If you are like me, you miss playing. This device gives you a way to use the skills you have learned to create a guitar sound that is indistinguishable in most cases from a conventional Guitar. It can also be used as a midi device with a DAW. Totally unique. Five stars!

Even after adjusting string sensitivity, the AeroBand guitar simply does not perform as advertised. Its capacity to pick up false or stray notes is unbounded. When barring chords, a finger pressed against a fret might trigger a higher note, destroying the chord altogether. As some *critical* reviewers have said, it works best when picking out individual notes, but not otherwise.It doesn't help that some promotional videos dub recordings from other guitars.The sound is equally awful, which is surprising given that the guitar is digital. Why couldn't they have found better sounds or installed a better speaker?That said, I did find that the guitar is well built, and I'm hopeful that this company (or some other) will create a functioning digital instrument at some point. This instrument is just not that product.If you search YouTube, you can find some excellent demonstrations that make this point.