"Hi... My name's Neville Martin and I have got about five minutes to show you the SynthAxe system, after which I will be de-activated, please help, please save me."
Saw Holdsworth 1986 Atavachron tour at the Roxy in Hollywood. That's when they still had the table seating right in front of the stage... so where I sat with a mixed drink in my hand Allan was standing and playing the SynthAxe right in front of me. Yes it was Heaven.
You're thanking the wrong person. I believe the guy who did most of the work on designing was name Will Aitken. And the "fabulous sounds" that Holdsworth used came from an Oberheim Matrix-12, not the Synthaxe itself.
3D paintings you can touch? Even a big layer of acryl or something could do. I believe lots of paintings have some depth. There you have a painting for the blind lol.
"ive only got about 5 minutes to tell you about the synthaxe" 8 minutes later, jamming on a virtual piano with a gynoid guitar from the future in outer space
With how powerful and cheap microcontrollers are today, it just might, though idk exactly how whammy bar and the strings are interfaced. As for the body, 3d printing should make do for a prototype.
If the demand was there… Behringer would be all over it. They are cloning the Yamaha CS -80( massive poly synth - think first Bladerunner soundtrack and Vangelis) which is the size of a console organ and probably has hundreds of components. It could happen. Dubious. Best bet is used market.
1986 Lee Ritenour had a great album cover with him posing with a SynthAx. Earth Run was the name of it, a classic Smooth Jazz album that used this instrument
It's refreshing to see these old school presenters from the pre-UA-cam days who didn't feel the need to use grandiose gestures and ridiculously over the top modulation, but rather just present something worth watching and listening to.
Well, I meant the more extreme fashion/trends. Like super skinny jeans, the whole hipster thing, the man bun, ridiculous sunglasses, etc. Like always, fashion and trends are circular, so the 80's will look super cool and modern soon enough. Also, some things we say and some mannerisms will also seem hilarious in 30 years
They cost like £10000. In the eighties! I've no idea how much that would be today adjusted for inflation. They were too expensive and complicated to go mainstream. They only made about a hundred of them so one most likely won't get one today.
Adding in a chorus pedal on those synths removes the 'Sega Genesis' aspect. The best sounding synths and the cheesiest synths are often the same, it's about how you play them and how you mix them.
I think the closest you can get are Boss SY-300 and EHX synth pedals. They seems to work pretty well using normal guitars. Wouldn't have the rad look though.
David Nwokoye too bad they were about $10,000 when released. Such a rare instrument many years laatter only makes it cost a small fortune. But it would be rad!
because now vastly better options exist for cheaper, roland has a 700$ system that can attach to a normal guitar. Definitely not as flashy as this though.
But, this is much more than a midi pick-up stuck to a guitar. It's ingenuity. Like the Hammond organ shucking its "inexpensive alternative to the pipe organ" delegation, this thing could have possibly taken a life of its own. I actually want one to muck around with. You're kinda cute, btw. lmao
normal synths sound better, and if you want to play guitar why not just.. play guitar. i have no idea why the synthaxe exists in the first place to be honest
***** But, IDK, I think that's the beauty: Moog's don't have grand piano voices, but it's about the possibilities. Most synths are keyboard based yet this has several mechanisms to trigger sounds.Anywho, don't mind me; I like interesting toys.
Actually they invented. Electronic music was made at the 80's. Now any 14 y.o boy can use a macbook and call himself a musician, thanks to the experimentalism of those guys.
MY best mate paid $100 for a Roland GK2 pickup installed in his strat hooked up to a Roland V-Synth VG90 that would shit all over a synthaxe in everyway possible. , Total "synth" rig cost , $800US , Stunning what he's musically created since. If this is superior as a few commenting are claiming then why did it fail ? and, most have never heard or seen it ??. My guess is the technology evolved, MANY TIMES, hence the GK pickup an control system Roland created for a standard Elec Guitar , ... Not being a Roland rep but gearhead in general , clearly thanks to Roland's investment in the guitar synth area there is some wicked musical possibilities now early 2015 and to be fair, this was one important step in the musical technologies evolution.
Rachel Oconnorjones Only a few select people know what quality really is. I am one of those few people. The SynthAxe is a true instrument. Roland etc etc etc are merely cheap toys ! The SynthAxe failed mainly because of bad marketing and too high price tag. The fact that guitar players are an extremely conservative bunch of musicians that only cares for their Strats and les Paul and totally refuses to think outside the box.
Yeah id agree with those comments in most respects. I is a shame that few, especially in this day and age EARN the true playability of a hand held instrument other than through a sampled click of a mouse with composition. Either way, thanks for a great post of a bit of history. Its a true shame if it was as great as some say why the developers couldn't find investors to develop further so it didn't become yet another piece of history left by the evolutionary way side.! Cheers
Rachel Oconnorjones You clearly have no clue how really bad the Roland suck in comparison to the SynthAxe. There are a reason why the Roland Guitar synths are called Pitch to Glitch. I have tried Axon, Roland and the SynthAxe and let me tell you that both the Axon and Rolands are merely toys compared to the SynthAxe.
Mikael Andersson Of course it is............., that's exactly why the IP was never purchased and someone else developed it further, its simply that good.... . There are MANY "boutique" manufacturers that have comparative products against the majors. Who are killing the giants with quality well over and above Kemper or Fractal Audio is case and point against Roland/Boss or Line6 . If this beast was so great and still better than anything today why has no one purchased the IP and taken it forward. 2 reasons, interest and reliability/Quality of what else is available. Arguing technology from the 80's is better than anything with 20 years of evolution CURRENTLY on the market is a bit pointless. its safe to say at this point is purely matter of opinion. Also given the fact that roland for example are guitar adons (in most cases with GK setup to simply build a hybrid control device again makes this a fruitless argument. End of the day I might own a Ferrari but I bet a race car driver of 30 years could beat me round a race trace in a Mini ! Music is music quality of the instrument is made apparent by the player exploiting an instrument potential, not by the features an instrument has..
This thing is the definition of "ahead of its time"....Truly an amazing instrument for being invented in the 80's...I WISH I could get my hands on one today...
This guy speaks in all lowercase
Unless he has programmed the case shift to be middle case, just in case.
This dude has gotta calm the fuck down.
Roidrage. Classic symptoms.
It's because he's only got about five minutes to show this system. He can only hint at the power and sophistication of this instrument
Haha, this made me chuckle
And, maybe he is a musician but not a public speaker.
they should have hired yngwei malmsteen to demo it.
This man is the only man capable of telling Bob Ross to calm down.
I'll leave this at a cosy 69 likes.
@@svenjansen2134 my man
BWWWWHAHAHAHAH!!!
Not exactly from the Rick Neilson wacky school of guitarists. Perfect for this instrument tho.
@@svenjansen2134 now 155
The charisma coming out of this guy is outstanding.
It’s nearly too much ☺️
@@jono_young lol
I'd like to see Steve Vai on that thing
Guys like this just don’t exist in the wild! 😂
He's so dry it's making my thirsty
"Hi... My name's Neville Martin and I have got about five minutes to show you the SynthAxe system, after which I will be de-activated, please help, please save me."
Tarvu man i laughed so hard I think I cried 😂😂
i burst laughing loud after i red your comment :D
That's why he turned them into nearly fifteen minutes
You can really hear the rosewood
*argues about tonewood*
Micah Knepper I now bestow upon you the internet!
Micah Knepper classic!
Micah Knepper sustain for hours!
Underrated comment
He's the only human ever to say the phrase "electronic wang arm" and be completely serious about it.
😂😂😂
I heard wank arm.
Okay, I thought surely I must have misheard him.
Edit: actually that was a silly comment
@@henrymcguinness1507 k.
It's a library of pure '80's sounds!
i think its just a midi controller, you supply the sounds
"Hello. I have the softest voice of anyone that ever lived."
hahahaha L0000L
+5explodingbears ASMR crowd would be pleased
+5explodingbears This guy is like the Bob Ross of guitarists.
+rockinrodney5000 We're just gonna put a little sustain in over here.
+Will Porter you broke my LOL
RIP Allan Holdsworth :(
He passed away on April 15th 2017, at the age of 70.
Lucas Martins Almost the same as my grandfather, he died in 14th of june of 2017 at the age of 70, almost a coincidence
Saw Holdsworth 1986 Atavachron tour at the Roxy in Hollywood. That's when they still had the table seating right in front of the stage... so where I sat with a mixed drink in my hand Allan was standing and playing the SynthAxe right in front of me. Yes it was Heaven.
If it is out of tune, would that be considered a synthaxe error?
lol... virtual high five
D- did you ju- goddamn it.
holy fucking crap.
you fucking goon
*10/10*
maaaaaaaah
In 2023 this is still the most advanced guitar synth!
Fast enough response for Holdsworth is saying something
BC guitarist are still stuck in the 50's. Who would have guessed it.
@@qua7771 there are modern guitar synths that are similar to the Synthaxe in a much more practical and affordable way (although still expensive)
@@catkkidcat I'll agree with that. Synthaxe was a substantial financial commitment that didn't work as a traditional guitar, where other methods can.
@@qua7771 Wh? huh?
this instrument is pure distilled 80s. it's perhaps the most 80s thing ever
Evolved Rabbit whoa! This is heavy, man!
killslay Even the video may have been made in an 80's style.
Hella 80's!
Oh - we aren't saying "hella" anymore? Okay sorry.
Jeremy Sullivan stop
Rhett Lila you sound like my last girlfriend.
every once in awhile, I like to come back to this video and read the comments for a good laugh.
AnonymusHippopotamus I haven't laughed this much in years. I'm crying and my stomach hurts!
AnonymusHippopotamus I can't agree more! Usually the UA-cam comments section is cancer. But this is comedy gold!
Fucking never fails
Amen
This guy speaks so smoothly he doesn't make any synthaxe errors....
Haaaaa
Noice
Nice one.
How dare u make me laugh on a vintage gear vid
Lmaoo
Just so yall know Allan Holdsworth and Lee Ritenour are two of the greatest of all time. Both used a SynthAxe on some of their crazier fusion records.
yep that is when i stopped listening to my favorite guitar player. Fast elevator music sounds. nah.
Lee Ritenour played this on Dolphin Dreams at a GRP live show.
ua-cam.com/video/7_g7I88h-z8/v-deo.htmlsi=eYYSDzSIA3rIRjhl
At 40:44
this seems like the best vaporwave machine.
alas, i was thinking just that X'D
Friend of mine has one.
Awesome machine.
6 years latter , it would appear that the 1980s made a longer lasting cultural imprint that vapour wave.
I once demoed this at Guitar Center and all it did was attract swarms of dolphins.
Ha ha! God that's a terrible song.
That’s hilarious 😆!
Do dolphins swarm?
hahahahaha
He is the calmest human being ever.
I disagree Bob Ross trumps this man One-Hundredfold
replicant #85 He should be a hostage negotiator.
@@MourneMoto nah bob Ross to overrated
If I could bottle their voices into a laxative, I’d have some soothing dumps.
You have to to play that thing!
What an ingenious instrument! Thanks to this guy for many of the fabulous sounds that Allan Holdsworth gave us.
He had to do something considering his teeth were not so fabulous.
@@stallionstudioswe're all flawed. You clearly have your own, even worse, flaw.
You're thanking the wrong person. I believe the guy who did most of the work on designing was name Will Aitken. And the "fabulous sounds" that Holdsworth used came from an Oberheim Matrix-12, not the Synthaxe itself.
@@stallionstudiosaverage yank/canadian
"I've got about 5 minutes to talk to you about the synthaxe""
*proceeds to talk about the synthaxe for 9 minutes*
Nils you picked up on that to.
Well, he didn't say "exactly" five minutes to be fair ;)
After I heard him talk for the first time, I watched the rest of the video with me pants down.
Haha hope you had a protector on it.
No I'm crying. Thank you! :)
Evolved Rabbit The one and only playa playa!
Evolved Rabbit Really, I wish I would've seen him during the 90's and early 2000s. I saw him in 2011. Good stuff!
It's 4 AM and I am watching SynthAxe demo from the 80's when I even had no idea that such thing exists. Life is strange.
Nachtigall Exactly the same here, but it's 11.45. Never heard of the Synth Axe, but man, is it cool.
Nachtigall Life is Strange is one of the best games ever made
It’s now 4 am and I’m re-watching the synth axe video after forgetting I had watched it the first time years ago!
Same but 1 AM
Same 4:33 Am
I'm actually gutted that 40 years later almost no one plays an instrument this cool!
Too expensive.
Well, to be honest, they never caught on because they are NOT cool.
They were too novelty for the cost.
Rob Swire ?
I believe irish guitarist Gary Moore did an album with it. I remember he had one in the 80s !!
This guy could sell paintings to the blind.
McgoganLives - good one.
3D paintings you can touch?
Even a big layer of acryl or something could do.
I believe lots of paintings have some depth.
There you have a painting for the blind lol.
He is kinda bland for such an amazing instrument
Hahaha
I have the exact same model, except mine says Dyson on the side and I use it to vacum the floor and it only makes one sound.
literally LMAOoo
HAHAHA
A bad mechanic blames his tools.
I watched this an my dog grew a mullet
LOL
lmfao!!! dead
Hella mullet!
Oh - we aren't saying "hella" anymore? Okay sorry.
Jeremy Sullivan stop commenting that shit it aint funny
maya the psychic Hi Maya! As a psychic, you should have already known it wasn't going to be funny, and not read it.
Unsure which is more astounding
The 80sness of this synthaxe
Or the intensity of his calmness
"The Intensity of Calmness" would be a good title for smooth jazz album.
I'll never be as fucking rad as this guy
Never stop trying.
"I have 5 minutes to explain the synthaxe to you"
> talks for 10 mins
Viewers fall asleep at 2.5 minutes.
E.B. White reverse click bait
that was a long five minutes
Minutes were worth a lot more in the 80s.
That "play below capo" is actual wizardry! 💫
This is every guitarists dream. I get to play G C D all night AND solo the entire fretboard?! All these years spent on barre chords wasted.
"ive only got about 5 minutes to tell you about the synthaxe" 8 minutes later, jamming on a virtual piano with a gynoid guitar from the future in outer space
It looks pretty much identical to my leafblower...
Blown away...
***** You ain't seen nothin' til you've seen me clean the streets while busting out that sweet solo from Blue Sky.
Human haaaaaaa!####!!!!!
you're leaf blower will get you more trim
Jesus God. His voice makes Bob Ross seem like a GWAR concert.
Less than 100 of these were made their original cost was about $13k (about 37k today). They are incredibly rare to find.
It seems like if they wanted to make these today, it would be super easy.
This video is how i first heard of Alan Holdsworth. Came by again today after all these years to say RIP to a legend.
It took me 2 days to watch this cause I kept falling asleep.
+ironz18 ADHD?
+ironz18 And you're bragging of this?
You don't get any more 80's than this.
well you can but who would want to?
Haha! True.
Mikey Santana needs more neons. His shoulder pads are too small.
+Mikey Santana it needs to light up
Yes, but you can cut a hedge with it in the dark!
I seriously wish they would make these again. Would probably cost way less to make such a thing in this modern era.
With how powerful and cheap microcontrollers are today, it just might, though idk exactly how whammy bar and the strings are interfaced. As for the body, 3d printing should make do for a prototype.
If the demand was there… Behringer would be all over it. They are cloning the Yamaha CS -80( massive poly synth - think first Bladerunner soundtrack and Vangelis) which is the size of a console organ and probably has hundreds of components. It could happen. Dubious. Best bet is used market.
😍
This man is 70% valium
Imagine the vaporwaves you could make on this thing
That's not how vaporwave works tho
A E S T H E T I C
It should be that way, but then it wouldn't be vaporwave
Literally my first thought. "_Think of the Vaporwave!_"
I think that most of the people that make "vaporwave" don't play real instruments.
You can just see the pain in his eyes as he plays that thing
lol for real
LOL
he's dead inside...
liviu branea Nah he's just British. I should know
liviu branea He's just really calm. Also he's British. Nobody is enthusiastic there.
1986 Lee Ritenour had a great album cover with him posing with a SynthAx. Earth Run was the name of it, a classic Smooth Jazz album that used this instrument
11:22 Jesus! That was the fastest Vapourwave song I've ever heard!
L O L
UFBMusic you
UFBMusic vaporwave
D U L L F I N D R E A M
D O L P H I N
This is what it looks like when a person literally takes a chill pill.
Judging from these comments, I feel I'm the only one who thinks this is actually pretty cool
Tremolo I think it's pretty cool too
Same
I would buy one
I want one
Tremolo I want one also... Like holy fruit of the Gawdz I want one...
It's refreshing to see these old school presenters from the pre-UA-cam days who didn't feel the need to use grandiose gestures and ridiculously over the top modulation, but rather just present something worth watching and listening to.
without a doubt this is one of the coolest instruments ever made. I guarantee that every guitarist secretly wants one
No
@@danteskywatcher4750 yup
@@hitmanhatton youre wrong nobody wants this shit
lowkey i do
No (metal guitarist)
I've probably seen this a thousand times and it's still my favourite youtube video ever.
Is this ASMR?
José Sarmiento Hinojosa nope, just the 80s
José Sarmiento Hinojosa autonomous, sensory, meridian, response
Yes.
that really made me laugh
José Sarmiento Hinojosa o
Wrap it up, folks... Lee playing an epic Synth axe solo to footage of dolphins swimming is as good as it gets.
That first guys voice is so soothing I just want to lay down and fall asleep to it.
+Alvalanker Highwind search youtube for ASMR
+Alvalanker Highwind And dream of bum fun.
This guy works as a Casio Calculator salesman in his spare time
I wonder if people in the 80's knew they were hilarious
Nope, we thought we were the coolest people of ALL time! Get ready, it can happen to you too.
how do you think people will react to today's videos and customs/fashion in the 2040's?:p
What even is our "fashion"? A t-shirt, jeans, and vans?
Well, I meant the more extreme fashion/trends. Like super skinny jeans, the whole hipster thing, the man bun, ridiculous sunglasses, etc. Like always, fashion and trends are circular, so the 80's will look super cool and modern soon enough. Also, some things we say and some mannerisms will also seem hilarious in 30 years
Holy shit, People from the 80s look really sharply dressed compared to us now that you mention it.
This has been recommended to me for four years over and over again. I'm now finally watching it.
So, what do you think?
This guy is the Bob Ross of SynthAxe
YES
haha James Morris you are so correct xD
“Now let’s play some happy little chords”.
The instrument was (or is) amazing, but this guy with his "excitement" wont sell a glass of water to a lost man in the desert.
The excitement in this guys voice is palpable! It's power is awesome and scope virtually limitless....
Best progression!!
8:34
Sounds awesome.
Sounds like something out of metroid
@@IrateWizrdthis sounds exactly like Metroid Prime. This instrument just keeps getting better the longer you watch.
The perfect daft punk instrument...
robbe4711 just grab this and a vocoder and you're set
more like ozric tentacles
Stephan Floyd If you're an OT fan, I've got vids from a show I went to last year, first time I saw them, was awesome.
Stephan Floyd you know it!
Okay this thing is beyond cool! why didn't this instrument become a standardly used piece of musical equipment? also where could one get one today?
They cost like £10000. In the eighties! I've no idea how much that would be today adjusted for inflation. They were too expensive and complicated to go mainstream. They only made about a hundred of them so one most likely won't get one today.
blyrpp plus it looks like shit
Eddie The Head i was talking about the appearance
Hakuna Batata Do you mean 24,999? Or is it literally 25 dollars
Version Ten twenty five thousand fucking dollars minus one. A bargain
Hook this thing up to a loop pedal and you got yourself a full 80s band!
I had a VHS of Lee Ritenour playing this thing with Dave Grusin, Carlos Vega, Abe Laboriel and Larry Williams. The 80s were glorious.
For a guitar/synthesizer in the 80's, this is amazing and way ahead of its time
Just like the DX7, despite how overused that was 40 years ago, there are parts of this model that are still futuristic in their Inception.
The 80's where truly a magical era...
Imagine an 8-String synth axe tuned down to F and playing synth Meshuggah bwahaha. It would probably sound like shit.
Everytime i see Holdsworth(12:49) Thordendal comes to my mind, therefore Meshuggah too
If you had a dank distorted sounding synth it'd probably be sick! Use a plug-in like massive to make some nasty dubstep tones and Meshuggah out. :o
I don't think you can actually tune it, nor do I think the tune even matters.
Well I suppose if it's a midi controller you could change the tune of the synth that is being controlled by it. :P
Vince Williams Hell yeah, dude. I remember hearing Future Breed Machine on the way to Chicago for a QOtSA show. That was a great introduction for me.
I remember when these came out. I was mesmerized. I still want one.
It's a guitar that makes Sega Genesis noises
K
Mr.Kitty Cat its a midi controller not a synth so it doesn't have a particular sound
Adding in a chorus pedal on those synths removes the 'Sega Genesis' aspect. The best sounding synths and the cheesiest synths are often the same, it's about how you play them and how you mix them.
Those noises were top notch in the 80s. VSTs have gotten extremely sophisticated but best not to shit on where it came from.
that sweet YM2612 produces the most beautiful electronic tunes.
It is exactly what I though. But the real cool thing is that it is not a guitar. It is a AXE!
2016, i think its a good instrument
Wouldn't it be awesome if Korg make one now with modern technology.
cyrfung Do you know where i can find it?
I think the closest you can get are Boss SY-300 and EHX synth pedals. They seems to work pretty well using normal guitars.
Wouldn't have the rad look though.
cyrfung Read 'bout it, there are only a 100 of them, literally
if you use like midi you could use a fishman triple play
Rob scallon should play this
David Nwokoye THAT WOULD BE COOL
David Nwokoye too bad they were about $10,000 when released. Such a rare instrument many years laatter only makes it cost a small fortune.
But it would be rad!
But can it djent
Mack Matheson Asking the real questions
Mack Matheson lets try synth djent
Rumor has it that some of those notes on that pedal are still being held out today...
OMG, this is amazing! Why isn't this huge these days!!!!
because now vastly better options exist for cheaper, roland has a 700$ system that can attach to a normal guitar. Definitely not as flashy as this though.
But, this is much more than a midi pick-up stuck to a guitar. It's ingenuity. Like the Hammond organ shucking its "inexpensive alternative to the pipe organ" delegation, this thing could have possibly taken a life of its own. I actually want one to muck around with.
You're kinda cute, btw. lmao
normal synths sound better, and if you want to play guitar why not just.. play guitar. i have no idea why the synthaxe exists in the first place to be honest
larsheuker To make it worse, it doesn't actually make guitar sounds, it's just a glorified keytar
*****
But, IDK, I think that's the beauty: Moog's don't have grand piano voices, but it's about the possibilities. Most synths are keyboard based yet this has several mechanisms to trigger sounds.Anywho, don't mind me; I like interesting toys.
Now you know how porn movie scores were made during the 80's.
It makes so much sense now
"And now I'll turn the damping off." *CLUNK*
Fantastic.
Give me the timing of this please! XD
5:44 ;)
R9000 Hahahahah, I find this so freaking funny. Thank you man x)
Darnassian Nightsaber No problem. xD It's classic 80's hardware, isn't it? Like the sound you got when you turned on a CRT.
R9000 LOL yes XD Exactly.
His face looks like "wtf what am I doing here with this piece of shit?" 😂😂😂
This is probably the most 80's instrument ever to have existed
whenever I seek peace, I watch this video.
I'd love to see Rob Scallon get his hands on this
Coy Perez YAS
"I've only got five minutes" - talks for ten.
8:17 that shits hot though
SmilingMoos3 then goes straight to the goofiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard, some angelic choir type shit, THEN to a goddamn saloon
does that thing give haircuts?
That's how Lee Ritenour got that hair style.
I'm Michael Weston, I used to be a spy until... "We got a burn notice on you, you're blacklisted."
*whistle*
When you're burned, you've got nothing.
I didn't know Phil Collins also played the _Synth Axe_ !
I swear, that man truly was the Genesis of his time !
😂😂
@@ArneH.A 😊
That joke deserves a drum roll.
@@StillAliveAndKicking_
It really does, doesn't it 😅👍
By the ways guys it's Neville MartEn, not Martin. Was editor of Guitarist magazine for a long time.
This guy and Phil Collins share the same barber.
I'm too late darn u! Lol
"...those notes would be TRIGGERED!!!!"
Ha. Ha. Ha.
#NoteLifesMatter
Haaaaaaaaa ha ha. Oh, ha. Ha, ha.
This thing is INCREDIBLE!!
+Fanchus I like your picture mate ;)
So absolutely incredible! Why, WHY did this not become more mainstream???
I think it was insanely expensive. I wish they would do one now. It would be super cheap.
10000pounds that time
The 80's... When everyone was trying to reinvent the wheel in some way.
Sure i appreciate this comment right now
Wayne you mean the 60s it says 60s in the title
the synthaxe oh yes, she will be mine
jack burrows *Starts playing Stairway...*
Actually they invented. Electronic music was made at the 80's. Now any 14 y.o boy can use a macbook and call himself a musician, thanks to the experimentalism of those guys.
That's actually pretty cool! I would play with that thing for days!
There is just so much 80's in this video it hurts.
This man is like if the song from the Donkey Kong Country underwater board and Bob Ross had a baby. I could fall asleep to his dulcet tones.
# George Jetson
A '60 Burst would never be able to make the sounds that a SynthAxe can !
I paid less than $3K for a full system in 1989 !
MY best mate paid $100 for a Roland GK2 pickup installed in his strat hooked up to a Roland V-Synth VG90 that would shit all over a synthaxe in everyway possible. , Total "synth" rig cost , $800US , Stunning what he's musically created since. If this is superior as a few commenting are claiming then why did it fail ? and, most have never heard or seen it ??.
My guess is the technology evolved, MANY TIMES, hence the GK pickup an control system Roland created for a standard Elec Guitar , ... Not being a Roland rep but gearhead in general , clearly thanks to Roland's investment in the guitar synth area there is some wicked musical possibilities now early 2015 and to be fair, this was one important step in the musical technologies evolution.
Rachel Oconnorjones Only a few select people know what quality really is.
I am one of those few people.
The SynthAxe is a true instrument.
Roland etc etc etc are merely cheap toys !
The SynthAxe failed mainly because of bad marketing and too high price tag.
The fact that guitar players are an extremely conservative bunch of musicians that only cares for their Strats and les Paul and totally refuses to think outside the box.
Yeah id agree with those comments in most respects. I is a shame that few, especially in this day and age EARN the true playability of a hand held instrument other than through a sampled click of a mouse with composition. Either way, thanks for a great post of a bit of history. Its a true shame if it was as great as some say why the developers couldn't find investors to develop further so it didn't become yet another piece of history left by the evolutionary way side.!
Cheers
Rachel Oconnorjones You clearly have no clue how really bad the Roland suck in comparison to the SynthAxe.
There are a reason why the Roland Guitar synths are called Pitch to Glitch.
I have tried Axon, Roland and the SynthAxe and let me tell you that both the Axon and Rolands are merely toys compared to the SynthAxe.
Mikael Andersson Of course it is............., that's exactly why the IP was never purchased and someone else developed it further, its simply that good....
. There are MANY "boutique" manufacturers that have comparative products against the majors. Who are killing the giants with quality well over and above Kemper or Fractal Audio is case and point against Roland/Boss or Line6 . If this beast was so great and still better than anything today why has no one purchased the IP and taken it forward. 2 reasons, interest and reliability/Quality of what else is available. Arguing technology from the 80's is better than anything with 20 years of evolution CURRENTLY on the market is a bit pointless. its safe to say at this point is purely matter of opinion. Also given the fact that roland for example are guitar adons (in most cases with GK setup to simply build a hybrid control device again makes this a fruitless argument. End of the day I might own a Ferrari but I bet a race car driver of 30 years could beat me round a race trace in a Mini ! Music is music quality of the instrument is made apparent by the player exploiting an instrument potential, not by the features an instrument has..
Did this guy get dumped or something before this demo? lol
lol
he was high...
Nah just had to try and sell this thing
Kinda looks like a sad Phil Collins.
haha
I would give anything to just see that first guy scream.
It probably goes something like this: aaaa
That would be the most brutal metal scream of 2012.
His voice is very soothing.
Imagine that rock band smashing it to bits on stage and all the electronic parts come out
"Those notes wil be held FOREVER"
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
it doesn't get more 80s than this
This thing is the definition of "ahead of its time"....Truly an amazing instrument for being invented in the 80's...I WISH I could get my hands on one today...
Not "the definition" but "the epitome."