Video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band have certainly altered the way we interact with music by filling a quenchable void once solely occupied by air guitar and karaoke. Now //////////fur//// group is heralding the new 'metallenium' with their advanced musical interaction of user-simulated composition; minus the physical instruments and adding in some pre-recorded samples. The MoshPit Amp places the user in control of a virtual band - guitar riffs, drum and bass lines, slurred vocals - as well as the volume and pattern of each instrument. In the semi-circle set up reminiscent of glam-rock escapades just a couple of decades ago, audio blares out as the MoshSensor, located in the center of the amp head, reacts to any movement in the foreground (merely approaching the amp turns it on). The four-way sensor, split into four quadrants via perpendicular X and Y axes, picks up each instrument and displays the user's intensity via four instrument-respective meters (with 11 as the max). Then, a headbanger's air guitar wails and flails are converted into a shower of heavy metal music and upon reaching a limit, the sensors trigger new musical patterns such as drum lines or guitar riffs. What is not subject to the user is judgement- moshing and headbanging loud enough brings a mythical guitar solo to the fore of the cacophony. In a feature reserved for true metal heads the MoshMaster, a gargoyled figurine of metal spawn considered the dark soul of the device, will only mosh in sync as a sign of approval. Surrounded by colored lights, smoke machines and pyrotechnics- an aesthetic Joe Petagno would appreciate the MoshPit Amp opens the floor for infinite ways to play, dance and mosh free of the paradigm of more conventional video games.
Vicente Gutierrez