With every major manufacturer rewriting the rulebook and making last year's model obsolete at the NAMM show (albeit most often via some ‘new’ paint finishes and a retro whammy bar) it can be easy for actual and original new hardware to slip through the NAMM net. But not on MusicRadar’s watch…
One such new arrival was Arcana Instrument’s Strum, a new electronic instrument that can sound anything but, and is designed to be accessible to any music maker.
At its heart Strum is a single board you place on your lap, designed to be played while seated, like a lap steel, and which features two distinct halves. To one end is a set of buttons designed in a circle formation for picking out single notes and chords and to the other is an ingenious ‘joystick’ that, via simple movement forward and backward, can emulate the strumming and picking of a guitar.
And, of course, you can flip the unit and play it ‘left handed’ too.
Think of Strum as a deconstructed guitar therefore, taking the strain from the physicality of a real guitar with strings, the need for picking and strumming dexterity and a long fretboard to navigate, then placing that same soundset and feel into a package that’s much more manageable.
In fact the Strum can be played in a multitude of ways and can easily be customised to a player’s abilities and requirements.
There’s a raft of additional accessories that can be added to the instrument including different variations to that keyboard, the E-box, which replaces buttons with switches, different handles for the stick, the T-mount for securing it to stands or a desk and even the Air Strum, which removes the need for physical controls at all, allowing the player to play Strum with movements of their hands, feet, head or any body part.
“During development we carefully studied and considered your needs in order to optimize your playing experience,” says Arcana Instruments. “For instance, several ideas came from observing how people operate motorized wheelchairs, and we incorporated some of these ideas in the accessories we developed. By doing so, we provide solutions for a wide range of needs and abilities, both physical and cognitive.”
The Arcana Instruments Strum is available now for $1,450.
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