For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Zivix to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Jamstik+ Smart Guitar, the company's latest and greatest product. The Jamstik+ is a MIDI guitar controller that feels like a real guitar and works with the iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It's 16-inches long and comes with real metal strings and frets to capture each musician's unique playing style.

Compared to the original Jamstik, the new version connects to your iPad, iPhone or Mac using Bluetooth instead of WiFi, and it includes a new magnetic pickup to improve pick detection to better mimic an electric guitar.


Jamstik+ is a great way for novices to learn how to play the guitar because it comes with a dedicated series of JamTutor instruction apps, and there's no experience necessary -- anyone can use the Jamstik+. It uses the Jamstik's finger-sensing technology to teach the basics of guitar playing. Jamstik+ can connect to a Mac, iPad, or iPhone wirelessly using Bluetooth, so there's no cable to deal with, and its size makes it more portable than a traditional guitar.

Jamstik+ works with several exclusive apps, but it's also compatible with the hundreds of music apps in the App Store. Unlike a real guitar, Jamstik+ does not need to be tuned, and it has a rechargeable battery that lasts for a full playing session (eight hours). The Jamstik+ is currently available for pre-order for $299.

jamstik+ipad
To enter to win the Jamstik+, use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter your email address. Your email address will not be given to any third party and is used solely for contact purposes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.

This contest will run from today (June 12) at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time through 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time on June 19. The winner will be chosen randomly on June 19 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address or a new winner will be chosen.

Top Rated Comments

SgtPepper12 Avatar
137 months ago
Don't want to be the party pooper, but that Jamstik is a useless piece of junk. First, to learn how to play the guitar you should use a guitar, because that's the instrument you will use to actually audibly play stuff. It's a significant part of making music that you actually get the satisfaction to hear what you are playing exactly how you are playing it. Secondly, memorizing where to put your fingers is probably the least of your problems when learning (difficult) new chords. That takes like two seconds. The difficult part is to get your fingers to do what you want them to do. It's not like that thing makes that easier in any way (if anything, harder, because you are ruining your posture and technique by substituting an actual guitar with that weird little thing). If the part that instruments make sounds when playing them scares you in any way, you probably shouldn't learn to play an instrument to begin with.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mgipe Avatar
137 months ago
I would think that someone whose name is Bill Gates would be able to afford to buy the iPad to go with the free guitar. ;)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocStone Avatar
137 months ago
Sgt. Pep, relax man. I have been playing guitar for over 20 years and own 15 instruments from Fender and Gibson to Taylor and Collings. Each of us learn differently. To memorize a chord for you might be easy but for someone else it might be more difficult. As a guitar instructor over the years I have seen people pick up guitar quickly and others it took many years.

Any tool that helps you learn is a good thing. Just because you see this as junk does not mean it can't be used by someone else to learn the basics. Could they just get a guitar and your piece of paper? Sure. But if the software and hardware helps, who are you to judge? It's obviously not for you so instead of being so closed minded about a product that might just help someone learn the gift of music, why not embrace thinking different? I am sure many had your same attitude when the synths and keyboards were introduced in the 60's.

BTW, if anyone wants to save money, I am sure Sgt. Pepper would be happy to jot some chords down on a piece of paper for you. Just message him for his guitar course he is teaching.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
William Gates Avatar
137 months ago
I would think that someone whose name is Bill Gates would be able to afford to buy the iPad to go with the free guitar. ;)
Gave all my money to Africa, send iPads.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...