Can Lava Music take smart guitars to a new level with its new Blue Lava?

Smart acoustic guitars are becoming more accessible; the concept of an all-in-one solution for playing, recording and jamming was showcased by Lava's ME3 guitar, and now its new Lava Blue model brings the technology at a lower price. 

That has been facilitated in part by the build. While the ME3 was carbon fibre, Lava Music has opted for an HPL body for good resistance to changing temperatures – this is a guitar you'll probably want to travel with, after all. 

With this change in construction for the model, Lava Music is quick to point out that it has heavily invested in this new model and “renovated the entire production process by establishing four highly automated factories. ” This enables was to enable the Chinese company to introduce its 4-MASS technology to the 36" HPL guitar bodies to 'enhance vibrations on its top, back, and sides for better intonation.'

We'd be expecting that more from the neck (also high pressure laminate) but we're interested to see and hear the results ourselves. 

There's five finishes with Sail White, Midnight Black, Ice Blue/Ocean Blue, Aqua Green/Mint Green, and Coral Pink/Lavender. But the big selling point here to complement the contemporary and clean aesthetic of these guitars is the onboard OS and the apps it can offer to players. 

The Blue Lava comes preinstalled with the latest iteration of the Lava's proprietary HILAVA system, providing access and touch screen control over the Loops App, Practice App, Effects App and additional software for recording and tuning.

Each app enables player control over parameters and the Loops app features a 'huge' collection of grooves from a wide range of genres and supports up to three overdubbed tracks. You can even learn with this guitar…

The Practice App supports ear training, scale training, strumming, single note, and chord transition. 

The idea of a guitar that fits with generations that have grown up with touch screen smartphones and tablets is certainly an interesting one. And Lava even has its own app to encourage players to share their music and progress; the Lava+ app allows for social sharing of recordings and practice achievements. 

More info at Lava Music