Acoustic Stream guitar gadget does everything but play for you

There are plenty of gadgets that help you record your guitar, tune your guitar, monitor the humidity levels, or send a wireless signal to an amp or sound board. The Acoustic Stream on Kickstarter just happens to do all those things, which may qualify it as the most overachieving guitar gadget ever created.

Currently working toward a $50,000 funding goal, the Acoustic Stream is centered around a Bluetooth connection with an iOS app. The device sits just inside the sound hole on an acoustic guitar. Tap on your guitar twice to activate the recording feature and capture your sound in the app. If your smartphone isn't handy, then just let the device capture the recording and sync it later.

The tuner works in a similar fashion. You will want to have your smartphone or tablet nearby to monitor the tuning feature or check the sound levels when you're recording. The device also can plug into the pickup jack on your guitar and send the signal to your smartphone (or another Acoustic Stream), which can be plugged into an amp or sound board. You'll be able to rock out without a cord getting in the way.

The Acoustic Stream is designed to hang out in your guitar at all times. It tracks humidity and temperature around your instrument and sends alerts to the app if it gets into the danger zone. The battery can last up to six months for environmental monitoring, or for about eight hours of tuning, recording, or streaming the audio signal.

Early birds can get in line for a device for $97. The regular pledge price is $127. While the system was initially designed for iOS, the makers hope to support Android as part of a stretch goal.

As a songwriter, I can see using the device like a sketch pad to quickly record song ideas without having to haul out microphones and other gear. I would just have to get used to the idea of keeping my iPad at my side, like an attentive roadie.