Since the MIDI standard was released in the early ‘80s, plenty of musicians have wanted to control electronically-generated sounds with a guitar. Goofy attachments have come and gone, and last year’s Jammy — a stringed MIDI controller that can be played like a typical axe — didn’t move the meter. The company behind the Jammy wants to give it another go, though, and it seems like the new model — the Evo — will feature some much-needed improvements.
The original Jammy had several problems. It felt like a toy, didn’t handle string bending or sliding well and cost $500, which is enough to buy a solid starter guitar and a standard MIDI controller. Basic functions were iffy too, since the MIDI tracking — the translation from physical movement to electronic data — wasn’t very reliable.