Lava Music’s New Foldable ‘Genie’ Smart Guitar Comes With No Strings Attached

Imagine a guitar that combines the thrill of Guitar Hero with the sophistication of cyberpunk technology — welcome to the world of the Lava Genie by Lava Music. 

With onboard apps for practice, recording, and looping, Lava Music’s growing series of smart guitars provide tools for both beginners and advanced players to enhance their skills and creativity. Founded in 2013 by Lu Zitian in Guangdong, China, LAVA Music has been at the forefront of music tech innovation, creating award-winning carbon fiber guitars like its flagship Lava Me series. These instruments boast advanced electronics and smart functionalities, offering a unique learning experience with integrated touch technology, portability, and durability.

Hundreds of Presets to Match Your Style, With “No Strings Attached”

With cloud synchronization and Bluetooth capabilities for storing and sharing tracks, LAVA Music’s line of smart guitars is definitely quite the upgrade since the early days of Guitar Hero on the Sony PlayStation 2. Over the past two months, I’ve explored the LAVA Genie, finding it perfect for travel and learning.  The LAVA Genie takes this innovation further as a stringless sampler guitar featuring interactive lights and AI capabilities, introducing its users to the new chord of musical freedom. It’s not just an instrument; it’s an art piece that adds flair to any space. 

And did I mention it glows??

With onboard apps for practice, recording, and looping, it provides tools for both beginners and advanced players to enhance their skills and creativity. Think of it as a modern-day musical companion that fits seamlessly into your lifestyle. Lava users will interact with their Genie smart guitar primarily through the Lava+ mobile app, which also offers a paid subscription. The app allows users to connect to Lava’s ever-growing musical library, comprising hundreds of presets and thousands of licensed music tracks, including but not limited to Lana Del Ray, Bruno Mars, and Justin Bieber. From acoustic, electric and synthetic to pop, rock and electronic, Lava Genie has all-genres pretty well covered. 

If you’re just getting started, the Lava+ app (paid subscription) allows you to select from any of these music tracks where you can learn to play. Once you select a track, it is automatically transcribed in ChordChart with lavaAI, the company’s native artificial intelligence (AI) system where you can then follow along with the guitar’s guiding lights. New subscribers to Lava+ get 3 months free before paying the $2.99 per month subscription fee.

Its carbon fiber model ensures that Lava’s smart guitars remain lightweight and weather-resistant, while balancing its impressive job of maintaining tuning stability, naturally making them ideal for travel and various climates. The guitar comes packed with a touch fingerboard that allows you to simply touch and select the specific chord you’re wanting to practice with, a tap pad to play, an Arpeggio section that lets you “glide to Arpeggiate,” and a customizable fingerboard that extends out to 21 different chords. 

As someone who picked up guitar during law school to stay grounded during three hellacious months of studying for the bar exam (I sucked, but kudos right?), I appreciate how LAVA Music caters to users like me—those seeking an intuitive and engaging way to learn – and nine years later, finally dusted off my old guitar as a testament to receiving my impulsive purchase.

LAVA Music’s commitment to design excellence is evident in their multiple international awards, reflecting a sleek aesthetic and user interface that are inspired by companies like Apple and a similar design ethos. Their Fly+ neck design enhances durability and playability, while innovations like FreeBoost technology allow guitars to function as their own amps.

A Foldable and Portable Award-Winning Design

The Genie holds itself out as “foldable” and “detachable,” enabling you to bring your “music on-the-go” with you that is perfectly sized for your everyday backpack. Weighing just a little over 4lbs, the LAVA Genie comes equipped with a 2500 mAh battery capacity, offering an extended battery life, depending on whether you use its built-in speakers (up to 6 hours) or use external speakers (up to 8 hours). If you’re thinking about gifting the Genie to friends or family, each product comes with a custom travel case, custom strap, USB-C charging cable and some new stickers to throw on your laptop, tumblers/coolers.

Compared to traditional wooden necks, the Fly+ neck design helps to reduce the risk of warping while offering a more reliable, consistent feel. Unlike traditional guitars, The LAVA Genie offers a number of modernized upgrades and advantages, as compared to its predecessors, especially for new learners, including integrated touch technology, portability and durability. Naturally, the comprehensive instrument curates a unique learning experience that preserves the creative autonomy and freedom of its players. 

The Lava Me Pro and Lava U both won the iF Design Award and the Red Dot Award in 2021,  emphasizing the company’s modern approach to acoustic instruments. Additionally, the Lava Me Pro received an award from the Industrial Designers Society of America in 2019. 

Even with the company’s impressive growth and success, Lava Music isn’t a stranger to its own puzzles, it certainly faced several challenges when developing their first smart guitar, the Lava ME 3. One major challenge was creating a user-friendly interaction system that felt natural on the guitar, which involved designing a multitouch display and custom operating system over three years. This also extended into the manufacturing process, as initially, machine makers found their design too difficult to produce. However, they eventually partnered with a large material supplier in Asia to overcome these challenges. 

Another challenge for LAVA was balancing its smart technological innovation with maintaining good acoustic sound quality, which some users felt was lacking in their own experiences. and while those concerns are understandable and not entirely inaccurate, this isn’t a guitar that you would expect to see your favorite artist/band jamming with on stage, nor was it designed for that appeal. I will admit that regardless of which LAVA product line you’re working with, it does take some getting used to. And that is expected, because it’s something different.

Despite challenges in developing its growing line of smart guitars, LAVA Music has successfully balanced technological innovation with sound quality, and the Lava Genie exemplifies this balance, offering a futuristic approach to music-making that’s both accessible and fun worth adding to your holiday wish list. The LAVA Genie has a current price tag of $349.99.

By integrating AI and advanced sound technology, the LAVA Genie empowers users to explore their musical potential, whether they are beginners or seasoned musicians. Its portable nature and intuitive interface encourage collaboration and sharing of musical ideas, enhancing the overall experience for everyday musicians.

Disclaimer: This review is based on my personal experience with the Lava Genie and is not influenced by any financial compensation.