Hello everyone, this is Voltenyne from the Community team!
As you may have heard, Patch 5.55 introduced the new electric guitar instrument to bard’s Performance mode!
The guitar can play a range of tones from clean tones to distorted sounds, and even simulates certain techniques such as muting and pick sliding. It also looks quite sharp with its FFXIV-themed design and detailed character animations!
If you like the sound of that, join me below for a closer look at the electric guitar!
First of all, when I say “electric guitar,” I’m actually referring to a quintet of tones. Since names alone may not be enough, check out how they actually sound!
1. Electric Guitar: Overdriven
2. Electric Guitar: Clean
3. Electric Guitar: Muted
4. Electric Guitar: Power Chords
5. Electric Guitar: Special
As you can tell from the video, the in-game guitar simulates a wide range of sounds that can be played on an actual guitar! The “Clean” tone is your go-to for straightforward notes, while you might jam with “Power Chords” for those cool distorted effects. Each tone adds a different flavor for a certain mood or melody when you play a song!
The electric guitar also debuted with the brand-new Tone Change feature, which you can see in action below.
With other instruments, playing a medley can be difficult since you need to exit Performance mode each time you want to play something different. The electric guitar, however, can freely shift between its five tones without leaving Performance mode. Now with multiple tones at your fingertips, there’s a whole lot more you can express in your music!
* The electric guitar can change tones through the Tone Change window in Performance mode or by binding them to specific controls in the Performance Settings menu.
 
The in-game electric guitar is modeled after the real-life FINAL FANTASY XIV Stratocaster®, one of our collaborative works with American icon instrument maker Fender.
The glossy jet-black guitar is highlighted with blue and violet crystals symbolizing FFXIV’s motif of “Light and Darkness,” and the fretboard even sports the meteor logo! These familiar elements really drive home the fact that this guitar is for FFXIV enthusiasts.
You may have also noticed that your character strums the guitar differently according to the tone you’re playing. These motions mimic vibrato and other small hand movements, which guitarists may recognize!
Finally, those of us who aren’t musically inclined can still amp up their room with the Aetherolectric Guitar furnishing. After all, this marvelous instrument deserves to be admired even when you choose to hang up the guitar for good!
Performance mode is a great way to get started on our musical aspirations, and even those of us who struggle with the strings in real-life can become an Eorzean rockstar, or even start a band!
Whatever your dreams may be, may you ever rock in the light of the Crystal!
Voltenyne
– Community team
* FENDER and STRATOCASTER are trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and/or its affiliates, registered in the U.S. and other countries.