Anderton Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 A new wing of the museum has just been opened for all the weird MIDI guitars that have graced our industry. I'll describe some in the next few posts. I'm breaking down each entry into its own post to simplify the replying process if anyone has comments to add. First up: The JTG MIDI guitar. This was demoed at a couple NAMM shows by a flat picker who played real fast, and the thing tracked very well. Then it disappeared without a trace into the MIDI guitar version of the Bermuda triangle. Apparently it was never produced in any quantities. Anyone know the story on this? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 Next, the Beetle Quantar. This was an ultrasonic based MIDI guitar that absolutely kicked butt. The original model was the best MIDI guitar I ever played, period. I used it a lot on my Forward Motion CD back in the late 80s; once you got it adjusted, the tracking was wonderful. But it had sensors with a reliability problem, and one by one they started to go. Meanwhile, Quantar had gotten involved in a lawsuit with Yamaha over ultrasonic technology, which didn't help matters. When I contacted the company to get new sensors, I was sent a couple but they had problems as well. Finally, Beetle came up with an EPROM update that actually made the tracking far touchier. That was pretty much the end of the line for what was, at one time, a really great MIDI guitar. I hated to see it go. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 ...And what was the deal with that Oncor Touch? This basically looked like a guitar with a circuit board where the fingerboard would normally go, and it played MIDI with high accuracy because it didn't depend on strings. This was another product that was demoed at trade shows, then disappeared (along with the company). Anybody know anything about this? Was I hallucinating? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 Let's not forget the "MIDI Dustbuster," also known as the Yamaha G10 ultrasonic guitar. It wasn't quite as good as the Quantar, and it had this really unusual shape that looked sort of like an abstract expressionist vacuum cleaner. Like the Quantar is used all G strings, so it was only good for electronic guitar. I still have mine, and it still works, but it was pretty much a disaster. However, Yamaha redeemed themselves with the G50 -- a great MIDI controller that I don't think is getting the recognition it deserves. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 23, 2000 Author Share Posted August 23, 2000 Speaking of hallucinating, am I the only one who remembers ART showing a hard disk recording system at a NAMM show? I think it made only one appearance before it went to new product limbo. It was supposed to be pretty complete, have a tape backup system, blah blah blah. Does anyone else remember this? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 At the time I was using Steinberg Pro-16 for the Commodore 64 computer there was a company by the name of Greengate. They made a sampler software package for the Apple II. Yes, long time ago. The Greengate sampler had a very strange operating system and no MIDI. Shortly afterwards came the Akai S612 and all of us (old enough) know what happened then in the sampler market. Mats Nermark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2000 Share Posted August 24, 2000 Great to see some of the ancient midi-guitar devices unearthed... although I only started doing midi guitar a couple fo years ago, I've been interested in it since before midi (anybody ever actually see one of the Hagstrom guit-synths?) My contribution, and something I actual use a fair bit for messing around, is the Casio DG20. Bizarre shape, cheesy PCM sounds, funky rubber frets, and a bunch of nylon e-strings, but it's quick to fire up and try out that new patch you came up with on the Nord Modular (g). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 24, 2000 Author Share Posted August 24, 2000 Anyone out there remember the Portrait sequencer? It had a lot of features that ended up in other sequencers, like having multiple scrolling windows open at once. It was pretty advanced for its time and people were drooling for it...then it just kind of disappeared. Strange. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alndln Posted August 24, 2000 Share Posted August 24, 2000 I used D.R. T's for the Commodore 64,in fact I still have a lot of unfinished tracks and was wondering if one of those new C-64 emulators for the PC would work. "A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2000 Share Posted August 25, 2000 Originally posted by drfuzz@aol.com: (anybody ever actually see one of the Hagstrom guit-synths?) Dr Fuzz, Being swedish I have actually not only seen one but also tried it. I was playing a Hagström Swede at the time but wanted to see what that synth thing was all about. Hagström also had a chain of music stores in Sweden thru which they marketed their stuff. I tried it in one of those stores. At that venue it worked about as well as the ARP Avatar. If this was due to lack of knowledge on the salesmans part or crummy product design, I don't know. There was another company involved in the creation of this product and I vaugely remember it being Ampeg. I also remember seeing an ad where Frank Zappa endorsed it. Best regards, Mats Nermark [This message has been edited by mats.nermark@swipnet.se (edited 08-28-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 25, 2000 Share Posted August 25, 2000 Guitar synths for the masses Early guitar synth designs neccessiated the use of a particular guitar if you wanted to be in on the game (Roland, ARP, Hagström, Synclavier). Thoses of you old enogh to remember these products will also remember the gahstly prohibitve price tags on said units. Korg then came out with a monophonic synth that was acually quite cool once you got away from the demonstrators quacky jerk sounds and did your own thing. It died a quick and somewhat undeserved death but if I found a second-hand one today I would probebly buy it. Another "budget" unit that died but has since then been ressurected is the Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth. Check it out! Greetings from Memory Lane, Mats Nermark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 26, 2000 Author Share Posted August 26, 2000 The Korg and the E-H both worked off a standard guitar out, no hex pickup was required. The Korg actually generated synthesized sounds, the E-H is basically a processor with some triggering. But if you really wanted to make the E-H fly, you needed to do the mods I wrote up in Device magazine. Talk about nostalgia... Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 27, 2000 Share Posted August 27, 2000 Mats - I recently bought one of those Korg units... I badly wanted an X911 when I was a poor college student, now through the miracle of Ebay I have one http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Haven't got it all figured out yet, but it's a lot of fun. Craig - anyway of getting those EH Microsynth mods? I can only imagine a fair number of new users would be interested (like me). it's pretty cool as-is, even better would be amazing. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 31, 2000 Author Share Posted August 31, 2000 >>anyway of getting those EH Microsynth mods? I can only imagine a fair number of new users would be interested (like me). it's pretty cool as-is, even better would be amazing.<< I can poke around in my library and see if I can find the article. I don't have a scanner, though...guess it's time to break down and buy one. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted August 31, 2000 Author Share Posted August 31, 2000 Hey! I just remembered another goodie: the Ashbory bass. It was tiny, and essentially used real big rubber bands for strings...well not really, but they were close to that concept. Actually it was a fine-sounding and easy to play bass, but I think it was just too weird for the real world. And yes, the Commodore-64 was a cool machine, but the all time champion Commodore Dead Technology product would have to be CDTV. They made quite a push trying to get interactive CDs onto your TV, and it didn't quite pan out. Philips poured a ton of bucks into some interactive TV gizmo, too...I think it was called CD-i. Think Sony will have better luck with the Playstation II? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 31, 2000 Share Posted August 31, 2000 The Ashbory bass was indeed a weird instrument. Those strings had the weirdest feeling (and if I recall correctly, you had to put talcum powder on them to keep them from sticking to the neck). But evidently it wasn't too weird for the real world. DeArmond still makes them: http://www.dearmondguitars.com/ashbory.html Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted September 1, 2000 Author Share Posted September 1, 2000 >>DeArmond still makes them<< Jonathan, you've made my day! There's a source of replacement strings!! I still have my Ashbory and thought it had gone off the face of the earth when Guild pulled its disappearing act. Man, forums are a great invention . Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted September 1, 2000 Author Share Posted September 1, 2000 There's a special place in the musuem for products that helped sink a company... The ARP Avatar guitar synth was a disaster. I heard that when ARP went out of business, unsold Avatars were so plentiful there were being stockpiled in the halls and bathrooms. Sequential's ProFx was another product that just didn't connect. I'm not sure it sunk the company, but I know a lot of effort was put into the design, and musicians just weren't willing to pay the bucks for the product. Lastly, anyone remember the Mackie mixer clone Ensoniq was flogging around at trade shows just before their acquisition? Like Sequential, Ensoniq had other problems, but it seems like the mixer diverted a lot of effort from more important ventures. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 11, 2000 Share Posted September 11, 2000 I the early eighties I ran across sone suit clad people at the Frankfurt Musik Messe who spouted a huge synth which went by the name of Prism. It had almost everything you could shake a stick at. If I remember correctly it had three keyboards, modulation/pitch bend wheels, joy stick, ribbon controller and loads of other stuff I can't put my finger on. I also think it had four speakers (quadraphonic). The funny thing was that unless I placed an order they wouldn't demonstrate it. Marketing people sure are quirky sometimes. If someone has any knowledge at all about this monster I sure would like to hear about it. Thanks and best regards, Mats Nermark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 11, 2000 Share Posted September 11, 2000 Mats, this sounds like the beast of which you speak: http://www.synthmuseum.com/kin/kinprism01.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiltrackingstation.com Posted September 13, 2000 Share Posted September 13, 2000 I'm old enough to have been a salesman in a high end stereo store (McIntosh, Marantz, etc.) to suppliment my career as a performing musician, at the time that the "Elcassette" was introduced, it was represented to us as a replacement for reel-to reel (to keep their grubby hands off the tape), not a replacement for cassette. Minor point, it still died the death that it should of. 8 track was a joke to begin with, the tape path was so poor considering the narrow tracks, that allignment and hf response was impossible to maintain. Also any endless loop will self destruct, lubricated tape or not, maybe 5 minutes or 5 years (right!), but it will. I did come up with a cool mod for an Echoplex that used 8 track cartridges instead of their continuous loop. It extended the life of our 6 nite a week echo considerably. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2000 Share Posted September 14, 2000 Originally posted by subspace@pce.net: Mats, this sounds like the beast of which you speak: http://www.synthmuseum.com/kin/kinprism01.html Hi Subspace, It sure was. Thanks a lot for the tip. I wish I could visit the owner/maker and finally hear it. Best regards, Mats Nermark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2000 Share Posted September 22, 2000 The eight track tape grew out of the "cart", or tape cartridge, which, to my knowledge, still sees use for playing commercials on radio stations. It's advantage is it's self-cuing. I think I'll play mah good ole "Dave Dudley's greatest trucker hits" now, thanky kindly... :-) How about those Akai 12 tracks? A portastudio that used an approximately beta-sized video tape. And beta, itself, for that matter. The elcaset would have been a great medium for portastudios in the early 80s. Actually, I love dead technology. Retro and all. I own a Korg DSS-1, too! haw haw haw... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2000 Share Posted September 22, 2000 Yes tha Akai 12 track recorder - The biggest lemon ever - all my friends who were silly enough to buy one took the dealer to court and got their money back.!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alndln Posted September 22, 2000 Share Posted September 22, 2000 I read in Keyboard a couple of years ago that Hulk Hogan has one of those Akai 12 tracks and used it for some sountracks on his tv show. "A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE MIX FIX Posted September 22, 2000 Share Posted September 22, 2000 Originally posted by tedsblues@yahoo.com: The eight track tape grew out of the "cart", or tape cartridge, which, to my knowledge, still sees use for playing commercials on radio stations. It's advantage is it's self-cuing. I think I'll play mah good ole "Dave Dudley's greatest trucker hits" now, thanky kindly... :-) Originally posted by tedsblues@yahoo.com: The eight track tape grew out of the "cart", or tape cartridge, which, to my knowledge, still sees use for playing commercials on radio stations. It's advantage is it's self-cuing. I think I'll play mah good ole "Dave Dudley's greatest trucker hits" now, thanky kindly... :-) Actually, lots of Radio stations use "DigiCarts" right now, which is the Digital equivalent of the Cart Machine. OR, some even use Mini Disc recorders!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif The E-Cassettte thing mention in a previous post. Was that the same thing that my Sister got sucked into buying, that have a "cassette", in a sealed cartridge, like I mentioned in the first post I that replied to Craig's original topic question? Still like to know what that thing was. How about NEW dead technology, like the Akai, (Again) 12 track Stand Alone Digital Machine/Mixer/Effects unit. What is it with Akai and 12 tracks? Only the Scully 12-Track 1" Analogue machine ever did something like that!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif Of course there was the Ampex 3-track format, and the MCI 32 track 3 inch tape, as well, but I'll leave those alone, for now. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ------------------ Bob. Bob Buontempo. AKA: - THE MIX FIX Also Hanging at: http://recpit.prosoundweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiltrackingstation.com Posted September 23, 2000 Share Posted September 23, 2000 How about the Mellotron (spelling?)? An amazing creation for the time, but it makes me think of what we would have if the government designed a synth. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2000 Share Posted September 25, 2000 Originally posted by neil@trackingstation.com: How about the Mellotron (spelling?)? An amazing creation for the time, but it makes me think of what we would have if the government designed a synth. Neil Neil, Love your sense of humour but if you were swedish you probably wouldn't say such nice things about government :-) Mats Nermark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted September 27, 2000 Share Posted September 27, 2000 what about the ensoniq mirage? i have one (nonfunctional right now BOO!) nothing sounds like it. i have tried endlessly to bit reduce soundfiles to get that GRIT YUCK sound but to no avail. i have replaced the drive but now the power supply is smoked and it sits there dead, smurking and taunting me. what a sad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE MIX FIX Posted September 27, 2000 Share Posted September 27, 2000 BUT, it had a cool http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/cool.gif sitar sound!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ------------------ Bob. Bob Buontempo. AKA: - THE MIX FIX Also Hanging at: http://recpit.prosoundweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.