EZ-EG Teaching Guitar Honored By Top Consumer Technology Awards Program
BUENA PARK, CA (December 19, 2003) — Yamaha unveiled a new dimension in interactive music technology with the world's fist EZ-EG Guitar. Learning to play has become as easy as following lights on a fret board. Now, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) has honored the EZ-EG for its innovative and educational design. "This is a very prestigious honor for Yamaha and the EZ-EG," states Jan Luna, general manager, Yamaha Corporation of America, Consumer Products Division. "Yamaha's engineers have worked endlessly for years to develop educational instruments with easy-to-learn lessons and methods of how to play the keyboard or guitar while maintaining interest and having fun doing it." For nine years the IDSA has endorsed creative products via its annual Innovations Design and Engineering Awards Showcase, enabling consumer technology manufacturers and developers the opportunity to have the latest in product design judged by a preeminent panel of independent industry designers, engineers and journalists. Products are judged by user value, aesthetics contributions to the quality of life, and innovative design and qualities. The Yamaha EZ-EG is an Innovations 2004 Design and Engineering Showcase honoree in the Personal Electronics category. The EZ-EG features 12 lighted frets that show beginners hand positions for all the chords they need to know before they take off on their own, and six "strings" that allow them to emulate strumming or finger-picking. In addition to an onboard selection of 36 songs, music can be downloaded in the guitar's Flash ROM via MID IN/OUT connections and a quick connection to a computer. The EZ-EG will reproduce nine realistic guitar sounds, eight bass guitar sounds and the timbres of a banjo, piano and traditional Japanese shamisen through its built-in speaker. Selectable play modes include Strumming Practice for the right hand, in which chords change automatically while users practice strumming; Chord Training for the left hand, where the user simply makes the chord changes while the instrument strums for them; and Full Play, which shows chord changes by lighting the frets while the user strums and plays chords. Standard "guitar" features include volume, tempo and balance controls, standard tuning, plus open tuning options and a tremolo bar. A unique electronic capo allows pitch adjustment. Players can plug the EZ-EG into a standard guitar amplifier, or use the miniphone headphone jack for private practice. Included accessories are a power adapter, pick and strap. The EZ-EG will also operate on six "AA" cells. For more information on the EZ-EG, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Consumer Products Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; email infostation@yamaha.com. Related Links:
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