guitar synths

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Guitar_synthesizer

Sonuus

Sonuus is a UK company, founded by a team with a strong background in digital signal processing and music technology, which focuses on creating innovative music products. Their expertise spans from algorithm development for major audio companies to creating novel musical instruments. Sonuus' technology is rooted in advanced signal processing, ensuring their products, like guitar-to-MIDI converters, are highly responsive and precise. Their guitar-related products include wah & volume pedals as well as guitar to MIDI converters and apps.

Source: Sonuus website (13 March 2024)

Beetle

The Beetle Quantar was a guitar based MIDI controller made in the 1980s. The Quantar used ultasonic sensing technology to convert the fretted notes to a MIDI signal. A ultrasonic sound is transmitted across each string which is reflected back by the fingered fret. The timing of this reflected sound is then used to determine which fret is being played and converted into a MIDI code. Velocity information comes from the conventional electromagnetic pickups. The Quantar guitar controller came with an additional electronics box with select, hold, sustain and pedal controls. Yamaha used very similar technology on their G10 MIDI controller launched in 1988.

Gamechanger Audio

GAMECHANGER AUDIO was started in 2015 by Ilja Krumins, Kristaps Kalva, Martins Melkis and Didzis Dubovskis. Their first project was to create a sustain and sostenuto pedal for all musical instruments. The first prototype of the PLUS Pedal was completed in December 2016. The following year, the PLUS Pedal was brought to life through a successful crowdfunding campaign, and it became widely available in 2018. Their next project was the revolutionary PLASMA Pedal. The PLASMA was also successfully crowdfunded, and manufacturing began in the Autumn of 2018. Since then, they have gone on to develop the MOTOR Synth, the LIGHT Pedal, three additional variations on the PLASMA Tube circuit, and most recently the BIGSBY Pedal. Their research and manufacturing base is in Riga, Latvia.

Source: Gamechanger Audio website (22 March 2022)

Empress

Empress Effects Inc. is a guitar and bass effects company based in Ottawa, Ontario. The company was founded by Steve Bragg and their effects are renowned for sophisticated digital control, preset storage and MIDI integration with analog technology. Empress Effects started in 2005, after Bragg had graduated from  Queens University with a degree in electrical engineering. His friend commissioned a tremolo effects unit with a unique set of features. By the time he had made it his friend no-longer needed it but Steve sold it at a local used instruments store. The store liked it so much that they ordered 10 more and Empress Effects was born.

Source: Empress Effects website (13 February 2022)

Unisynth

The Unisynth XG-1 electronic guitar was designed by the Suzuki Corporation USA and made in Japan by the Comnics Corporation. The XG-1 was a guitar shaped synth which had an FM sound chip, 6 strings (to trigger the notes & sense volume) and buttons on the fingerboard to control the pitch.

Source Audio

Source Audio was founded in 2005 by former executives of Analog Devices, Inc., Thomas H, Lee Partners, and Kurzweil,  Their mission was to bring innovation to the audio effects world through the application of cutting edge sensor, networking and signal processing technology. In 2006, Source Audio released its flagship product, the Hot Hand Motion-Sensing Ring. Since that time, Source Audio's delay, reverb, distortion, filter, modulation, equalization, and Hot Hand products have found their way onto the stages and recordings of David Gilmour, U2, David Bowie, John Mayer, Aerosmith, Phish, King Crimson, My Morning Jacket, The Cure, and Victor Wooten to name a few.

Source: Source Audio website (10 October 2019)

MCI

MusiConics was a division of MCI Incorporated of Waco, Texas and was best known for the GuitOrgan guitar synthesizer.

Source: MCI GuitOrgan catalog 1978.

Maestro (effects)

Maestro was a brand name of Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI).  In 1944, CMI took a controlling interest in Gibson. In 1969, ECL, a South American company, acquired a majority of CMI shares, and the two companies merged to form a new company called Norlin Corp. who owned Gibson until 1983.

Hammond

The Hammond electric organ was introduced in 1935 and became popular first as a cheaper alternative to church pipe organs and then as an jazz, blues and rock instrument in its own right. The organ was often paired with a rotating Leslie speaker to give a tremolo effect. In the early 1970s Hammond also introduced a guitar synth called the Condor GSM, via its Innovex Division.

In the 1970s Hammond moved from using rotating tone wheel and pickups on their organs to solid state integrated circuits. At this time numerous other electronic keyboard manufacturers entered the market and Hammond struggled financially eventually going out of business in 1985.

The Hammond and Leslie brand names were bought by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation (Japan), which continues to manufacture Hammond branded organs as well as Leslie speakers and guitar effects pedals.

Condor (guitar synth)

Condor was a brand used by the Innovex division of Hammond. Around 1970 Condor introduced the GSM (Guitar Sound Modulator) synthesizer that could be controlled using a standard guitar and the RSM (Reed Sound Modulator) synths that could be controlled using reed wind instruments. The Condor GSM allowed the guitar to control a synth with voices and features like sitar, two string bass, organ, harpsichord and more. An exclusive Condor guitar pick-up was used which could isolate each string, and could be fitted to other guitars - although it was also sold fitted to a Condor branded ES-335 style electric made by Ovation. This pickup plugged into the synthesizer, which was a floor standing unit, the synth in turn plugged into a amplifier or the Condor supplied SSM speaker cabinets.

Source: Condor (Hammond Innovex Division) catalog 1970.

ARP AVATAR

ARP Avatar guitar synthesizer

The ARP Avatar was one of the first guitar synthesizers. It used a hexaphonic pickup and patented pitch extraction circuit to sense the notes from a standard guitar, this was coupled with the tone generation circuits of an Arp Odyssey synthesizer.

This is ARP's description of the Avatar guitar synthesizer, from their own product brochure:

THE AVATAR works like any synthesizer except that it’s controlled by a guitar rather than a keyboard.

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ARP

ARP Instruments Incorporated were an electronic music company that came to prominence in the 1970s but ceased trading in 1981, due in part to their innovative but ill-fated Avatar guitar synthesizer.

ONCOR TOUCH BASS SYNTHESIZER

The Oncor The Touch bass guitar synthesizer was a self contained instrument which could be played through any amplifier. It had no strings to replace or tune. Instead the Oncor synth used sensitive fret switches to select notes, while the sounds were actived by four spring loaded strum bars. It had various synthesized features including fret memory and an instantaneous three octave change.These bass synths were made in the USA from around 1979 to 1980.

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ONCOR TOUCH GUITAR SYNTHESIZER

The Oncor The Touch guitar synthesizer was a self contained instrument which could be played through any amplifier. It had no strings to replace or tune. Instead the Oncor synth used sensitive fret switches to select notes, while the sounds were actived by six spring loaded strum bars. It had various synthesized features including fret memory and an instantaneous three octave change.

These instruments were made in the USA from around 1979 to 1980.

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