The Latest From Lava

With acoustic guitars largely still based in centuries-old technology, there is rarely an opportunity to talk about them in Guitar Moderne. Thus, I was happy to feature the Lava guitar in my NAMM report a couple of years ago. The Asian-based manufacturer Lava presents more like a technology company than a luthier-based enterprise, but either in spite of that or because of it I find them intriguing.

Their initial offering was a stunning example of modern design that reconfigured the concept of a carbon-based guitar. It also offered onboard effects that were audible without plugging in the instrument. As forward-thinking as it was, though, the ME 2 seemed more geared to the casual player than the pro.

ME Pro

Since then Lava has brought out the ME Pro, which retains the onboard effects but includes a serious pickup system, courtesy of LR Baggs. The system includes a body mic for performers who tap out rhythms on their instruments, whether simultaneously playing chords and melody  or looping the body tapping to play over.

ME 3

The latest offering, the ME 3, seems a return to hobby land but nevertheless paves new roads in guitar design, incorporating a touch screen and an interesting charging station. It also allows onboard looping.

The ME 3 seems like a great way to slam down ideas and/or up your playing game, but I mainly hope to see artists who use acoustic guitar to make modern music employing the ME Pro onstage.

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