What is proprietary to you plus do you consider this disruptive?

Babs, Thank you for your interest in Magic Instruments. The proprietary part of our technology is in the software. There is a lot of "musical intelligence" (algorithms) embedded in the guitar's firmware (software within the guitar hardware). Additionally, how our mobile app and how it interacts with the guitar is also proprietary. The technology for both 1) the way we enable people to play music so quickly, and 2) how we can make it easier and more fun for people to learn traditional guitar i...

What is your ideal price point to market? Once consumers buy the hardware, how do you plan on generating revenue? Is it through purchasing more music or a subscription music service?

Aaron, Thanks for your question. For our first product, our priority is to deliver a bona fide instrument that looks great, sounds great, and plays great. We haven't finalized the retail pricing yet, but it will likely be $399 or more. (The average guitar sold in the US in 2015 was over $400, and a quality student guitar costs around $300-350 at retail.) For our second product, our priority is to deliver a more affordable product that is still high quality, so our target retail price will be ...

I see that you haven't listed ChordBuddy as a potential competitor in the easy-to-play music market. Having not used it myself, I can't speak at all to its ease of use but for $45, it seems like a good option and it appears from a quick search that their sales are doing very w...

Jeff, Thanks for your question. While ChordBuddy only costs $45, it doesn't come with a guitar, which a user will have to purchase separately. It's a simple plastic mechanical device that you clip onto your guitar, that enables you to play and learn 4 chords: G Major, C Major, D Major, and E minor. The number of songs you can play with just these four chords is extremely limited. For example, you can't play "Hotel California" by the Eagles - of the 8 chords in the song, ChordBuddy can only pl...

Do you currently have or are you pursuing any patents for the concept or technology for the Magic Instruments guitar and app? Also, are there other patents owned by other individuals or companies that would apply to the Magic Instruments guitar and app in a way that could hind...

Steve, Thanks for your question. We have filed for two patents (one utility patent and one provisional patent) for the concept for the Magic Instruments guitar and app. Neither filing has yet been examined nor issued by the USPTO, so we cannot guarantee that the patents will be issued. Regarding other patents, we are not aware of other patents that could require licensing fees or hinder our business. However, this is an "unknown unknown" so there could be patents that could hinder our busines...

Magic Instruments Updates, Team, and Funding Progress | Wefunder, Home of the Community Round

1

Generated $415K in pre-orders on Indiegogo. Pre-sold over 1,200 guitars.

2

MI Guitar allows anyone to play music instantly and is a new, faster way to learn traditional guitar

3

Raised just under $2 million in seed funding

4

Graduate of Y Combinator, Winter 2016 class (world's #1 startup accelerator. Alumni include Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe.)

5

Graduate of Highway1, Fall 2015 class (Premier hardware startup accelerator located in San Francisco.)

Magic Instruments

High-tech musical instruments that make music playing accessible to everyone

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