No it's not! It's rather simple for the time! Television and a whole lot more were invented in the 40's, and even computers, spectrometers, and a whole lot more were already around for more than a few decades by the time that thing was made, including transistors and microchips. If anything it could have been much better had they not saved money on the circuit design and components to make it more affordable.
@@xxdfoster Your luthier is obviously not even an electrician! Absolutely no need for resistors in or near the frets, and those guitars that do use frets as actuators to light up LED's only have a thin common ground wire attached to the frets in a daisy chain, and from there to the, LED's which have individual wires through the neck into the control cavity. The saddles are isolated to separate the individual strings too, the rest is all done on a circuit board. They also have less stable necks for having all that crap in them! For anything to trigger synths, magnetic sensors like Roland uses, or piezoelectric pickups under the saddle with a circuit that can distinguish between individual notes and even finer increments to sense and follow bends are way better. The ARP synths of the late 70's could be triggered with a regular guitar, and used as effects processors with multiple envelope filters, arpeggiators... Pete Townshend used one on more than a few songs, as did Hawkwind and others.
The Moog Modular had already being sold since 1964, but it was too expensive and too new. There were other synth brands too, such as Theremin, Martenot, Ondioline, etc.
That's because it isn't tracking the pitch at all. There's a low voltage running through the strings and the frets are hooked up to contacts so that fretting each note completes an electrical circuit (basically the same as if a key was played on a keyboard. In effect, you could tune the strings to whatever pitch you wanted and it would still sound the same in organ mode.
That’s one cool guitar. I can’t believe it was made in 67! That’s very advanced for 60’s tech. Someone nerded out big time but created one cool instrument!
I was around "in it's day", I can assure you it sounded just as horrible and was just as impractical then. I played one in a West End musso hang out back then, nobody was impressed... Ta.
I was lusting for one of these in 1967 but didn't have the money. Two years later I got a Gibson Les Paul custom. A fine guitar and things worked out for the best.
@@chasbodaniels1744 Oh yeah. I realized later that I would have wasted a lot of time playing around the the multitude of settings instead of actually practicing.
Haha, I can dig it. Years ago I had a job that enabled me to buy a few pedals, and my practicing went south real quick! Ended up “playing the gear” and not the actual instrument.
Thank you so much to this labor of love. I have been curious about this instrument since around 1967 or so. It’s been hard to find sound demos. They are fragile beasts and very rare in working order.
Such an awesome thing! So far ahead of its time, it's a shame they didn't catch on more... of course finicky as all hell, but that doesn't make them any less cool! ^_^
This guitar was ay ahead of its time. Some amazing sounds considering the era when it was invented. Love the chords to "She's a woman" on conventional guitar and then "Band on the run" on organ guitar. I guess it wasn't embraced by the pop/rock mainstream, a bit like Lol Creme's and Kevin Godley's Gizmo invention. Great post!
It is pretty crazy how many different iterations of guitar synths have existed throughout the ages, yet basicly not a single one of them has reached mainstream success. Some of the coolest IMO were those used by Glenn Tipton in the 80s
Guitar sounds good clean 🧼. Then when you do the hammer-ons and pull-offs on the strings, it sounds just like a keyboard 🎹 AMAZING video. This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. Thanks 🙏
В СССР в середине 70-х в журнале "Радио" #1 1976г. была статья (автор Кетнерс),в которой было описание с подробностями,как изготовить такую гитару.Я делал такой упрощённый вариант в виде ножной приставки.Было круто....
If you have to ask that question, it means there is very good reason. And no, it's not cost, we have way more advanced things that are affordable. It's because in practice, it kind of sucks, or isn't as good as other alternatives.
Well, superior.......I guess that is a matter of taste. It does not have the possibility to hit the strings soft or hard, it is just on or off with the sound. And my modern Boss SY1 pedal delivers spunds much softer and much more varied than this.
"VOX. it's what's happening!" That is some kind of boss rig! Boy does that take me back. Back in the '60s I would've drooled over such an axe. In retrospect that organ setting sounds almost as obnoxious as the Phantom body shape looked. I did sort of like Brian Jones' V223 teardrop 12 string. Man o man!
Amazing to see one of these in such great condition and actually still working! The basic idea is still great, and I do wonder why it isn't still used. With modern circuitry it would be possible to create a wholly contained instrument. Actually, when I come to think about it I think there have been many attempts to replicate the idea. Nice video!
One of the guys I learned to play from played a Vox Super Bee with bass ,, treble and mid boosts , a wah by the bridge palm operated and a fuzz ...there may have been other gadgets. So cool to see this !
I used to have a one almost identical to that back in the 70’s, same colour but not quite as many switches, it was a Phantom 12 special, which obviously denotes a 12 string, it played really well, although a little awkward to play on your lap, and as a 12 string a bit limited, I did a straight swap for a 62 sunburst ES175, which I always wanted, and still have
What a fabulous thing. Speechless! The downside is nobody would notice if you were being electrocuted. I’d like Sparks to write a song using it. Mercy.
I got to see the prototype of this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (behind glass, unfortunately) that was supposedly owned by John Lennon. Pretty amazing bit of kit, thanks for demonstrating it.
It would be interesting to know if anyone used it on any records. In Italy the Dutch singer guitarist (naturalized Italian) VAN WOOD in the sixties - seventies had an organ guitar full of effects that he had built. With it he recorded some famous songs from that period.
I remember reading about it in a few rock magazines in the late 60s, including one where Hank Marvin mentioned it. That's the last I heard about it until viewing this. It almost seemed like the initial enthusiasm died out as fast as it came on.
They did make this in a 12 string version, and it was a pain in the A$$ trying to keep the strings and the organ tuned together. That version also had a Bigsby and a palm wah, and a string dampener.
@@Captain-Nostromo Well, you kind of adapted to all that stuff around the bridge, even though it wasn't very comfortable. You could rotate the palm wah lever 180 degrees around so it would be out of the way, but the heel of your palm rested on the screw head that held it onto the rocker arm. The most tricky thing was being careful where your fingers were on your picking hand, as it was to easy to flip the mute when you didn't want it. Just too much clutter in a small area.
I have seen this type of Vox guitars when I started playing but I never heard this guitar. This was certainly amazing for it's time.I must have been 11 years old. One thing I remember about Guitars all Necks were different. They varied in comfortability Vox necks felt fat and unfinished. Beautiful futuristic look. Thanks for sharing. c]8-)
Wow!! That sounds really great and looks like a blast to play! Does it take some practice to get it to not freak out? They'd sell tons of these if they hired you to demo it back in the 60's I bet
Very cool, reminds me of those synthesizer keyboards that you held like a guitar and were used quite extensively in the 1980s when electronic bands hit the music scene. Its functions could be replicated with today's electronics fairly easily, but the way you're playing it in this video I'd think the control knobs might be better on a separate panel/keyboard midi-type controller thing (does that make sense?) on a stand near the player. Didn't the Beatles use something like that on a few of their tunes back then? Now I'm curious, I'll have to look into it.
The science behind that thing is actually insane, considering when it was built.
When my luthier mentioned resistors in each fret I almost got wet lol
@@xxdfoster🤮
Is there a schematic and/or circuit description floating around anywhere?
No it's not! It's rather simple for the time! Television and a whole lot more were invented in the 40's, and even computers, spectrometers, and a whole lot more were already around for more than a few decades by the time that thing was made, including transistors and microchips. If anything it could have been much better had they not saved money on the circuit design and components to make it more affordable.
@@xxdfoster Your luthier is obviously not even an electrician! Absolutely no need for resistors in or near the frets, and those guitars that do use frets as actuators to light up LED's only have a thin common ground wire attached to the frets in a daisy chain, and from there to the, LED's which have individual wires through the neck into the control cavity. The saddles are isolated to separate the individual strings too, the rest is all done on a circuit board. They also have less stable necks for having all that crap in them! For anything to trigger synths, magnetic sensors like Roland uses, or piezoelectric pickups under the saddle with a circuit that can distinguish between individual notes and even finer increments to sense and follow bends are way better.
The ARP synths of the late 70's could be triggered with a regular guitar, and used as effects processors with multiple envelope filters, arpeggiators... Pete Townshend used one on more than a few songs, as did Hawkwind and others.
The inventor of this in the 60's would be like "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it."😀
I get that reference! ;-)
Thanks, Calvin Klein 😂
😂😂✌️👍
Let's get it started
or dang I just invented this and everyone just bought a combo organ and a guitar last year.
The organ tones on it sound fantastic. The little bit of Band On The Run demonstrated that very well.
I was trying to think of the title, thank you. Yes it does sound good.
Came here to say that
Yes i picked that up too.
Glad you said what it was, Im here listening thinking its a 10cc song lol
I guarantee if someone made a modern version of this, it would sell out in a week
Godwin made one in 1976, I dont know of a later one.
Nah there are pedals
Ha! And that is just how a Terrible Idea Comes Out... I mean Design Sucks... And functionality can be easily supply by pedals...
There are plenty of guitar synths available since the 1980s. Check out, for example, the Roland GK3.
It would get annoying quick.
VOX was definitely ahead of its time with innovative technology in guitars.
Well before the Moog Liberation there was this, way ahead of its time
The Moog Modular had already being sold since 1964, but it was too expensive and too new. There were other synth brands too, such as Theremin, Martenot, Ondioline, etc.
@@matju2 He's not talking about synthsizers in general. He refers to the keytar that moog did.
this ain't a keytar. It's a guitar with a synthesizer built in. the Liberation is a strapped on keyboard, totally different animal
Amazing
Yes! That's it!
The tracking is frighteningly good for a synth guitar from the 60's.
That's because it isn't tracking the pitch at all.
There's a low voltage running through the strings and the frets are hooked up to contacts so that fretting each note completes an electrical circuit (basically the same as if a key was played on a keyboard.
In effect, you could tune the strings to whatever pitch you wanted and it would still sound the same in organ mode.
@@casanovafunkenstein5090 Yep. Tracking is just the only term we understand as it pertains .
@@casanovafunkenstein5090 Very interesting. I wonder if there's any modern synth guitar hardware using this setup...
I'm quite honestly surprised there isn't a modern version of this. Wicked neat!
There is , it's called a roland ready stratocaster or a variax
Maybe because it required fingers nanipulatings so people prefered pedals...
Digital guitar synths and modeling apps are probably in the way.
Many thanks. Great to hear bits of 'She's A Woman', 'You Really Got A Hold On Me', 'Band On The Run'.
That thing is so sick. I need one. The buttons that generate tones are wild. Cool Beatles references too.
Wings you mean?
Beatles @ 0:30 So yes. He meant cool Beatles reference. hope this helps you. @@svenjansen2134
@@svenjansen2134 No, Scoreboard: Beatles-2 She's A Woman, You Really Got A Hold On Me, Wings: 1- BOTR fragment. 🎸
A blast from the past.
I remember seeing this demonstrated live at our local beatclub in Cork in 1968.
That’s one cool guitar. I can’t believe it was made in 67! That’s very advanced for 60’s tech. Someone nerded out big time but created one cool instrument!
Wow - How one guitar can be so totally annoying and so totally cool at the same time is beyond me ! I imagine it was pretty psychedelic in its day ...
Cool technology, for sure. Annoying sounds... yes. I can't I'm aging trying to play the thing with all of the dials, knobs and switches.
I was around "in it's day", I can assure you it sounded just as horrible and was just as impractical then. I played one in a West End musso hang out back then, nobody was impressed...
Ta.
Add delay, reverb, phaser etc very likely.
What a unique little instrument. I imagine they're not often in as good of condition as this one, though. Hard to believe it's from the sixties.
Nice “you’ve really got a hold on me” lick in beginning. One of the coolest guitars ever made! Cheers. Subbed.
I was lusting for one of these in 1967 but didn't have the money. Two years later I got a Gibson Les Paul custom. A fine guitar and things worked out for the best.
Yeah, I suspect your LP turned out just a wee bit more practical than this monstrosity.
@@chasbodaniels1744 Oh yeah. I realized later that I would have wasted a lot of time playing around the the multitude of settings instead of actually practicing.
Haha, I can dig it. Years ago I had a job that enabled me to buy a few pedals, and my practicing went south real quick! Ended up “playing the gear” and not the actual instrument.
That is nuts. Suprised radiohead haven’t made an entire album with one
the instrument sounds too happy for them sad boys
Thank you so much to this labor of love. I have been curious about this instrument since around 1967 or so. It’s been hard to find sound demos. They are fragile beasts and very rare in working order.
That's absolutely amazing! I'm surprised that this technology wasn't used and developed through the 70s and 80s to create the music of the time.
Velvet Underground used it.
Such an awesome thing! So far ahead of its time, it's a shame they didn't catch on more... of course finicky as all hell, but that doesn't make them any less cool! ^_^
интересная гитара первый раз такую в жизни вижу столько регуляторов и переключателей
Точно также) а с эмулятора синтезатора я вообще офигел
Ага, хорошая вещь...
Created in Dartford. In those days people were creating things at the end of every street. Today the site of the Vox factory is a filling station.
This guitar was ay ahead of its time. Some amazing sounds considering the era when it was invented. Love the chords to "She's a woman" on conventional guitar and then "Band on the run" on organ guitar. I guess it wasn't embraced by the pop/rock mainstream, a bit like Lol Creme's and Kevin Godley's Gizmo invention. Great post!
You missed the Beatles cover of You Really Got a Hold on Me in between?
You got some really gorgeous sounds out of this thing
I like the nods to She’s A Woman and You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.
It is pretty crazy how many different iterations of guitar synths have existed throughout the ages, yet basicly not a single one of them has reached mainstream success. Some of the coolest IMO were those used by Glenn Tipton in the 80s
Plus Adrian Smith and Dave Murray from 1986-1988
Tipton's tone on Turbo Lover is sick!
@@Scottocaster6668 Yeah that album has some of the most awesome synthwork in 80s metal music
Guitar sounds good clean 🧼. Then when you do the hammer-ons and pull-offs on the strings, it sounds just like a keyboard 🎹 AMAZING video. This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. Thanks 🙏
This is one of the greatest devices I’ve ever seen! It seriously has limitless potential
This is the kinda guitar I would give my niece and nephew just to annoy their parents
That thing is insane! SO many different sounds..
Fabulous!!! I didn't know there were synthesised guitars in the year when I was born. Living and learning!
First time I can ear that thing... awsome !!! Thank you for sharing !
Insane instrument, I love it. Thanks for this video, never even heard of this thing before. I love guitar synths of all types.
Amazing. Never seen anything quite like this!!
Wow that pick, never seen that before, super cool!
This would sound spacey as hell through a nice delay or reverb
Run it through a Lesley rotating speaker cabinet!
Or a Leslie cabinet
Fascinating instrument. Thanks for demo.
В СССР в середине 70-х в журнале "Радио" #1 1976г. была статья (автор Кетнерс),в которой было описание с подробностями,как изготовить такую гитару.Я делал такой упрощённый вариант в виде ножной приставки.Было круто....
Why isn't this tech everywhere? Obviously superior to most guitar synths
probably expensive af and would sell at a loss for most companies
If you have to ask that question, it means there is very good reason. And no, it's not cost, we have way more advanced things that are affordable. It's because in practice, it kind of sucks, or isn't as good as other alternatives.
@@iLikeTheUDKNo, it's because there are way better alternatives. We have far more advanced things that are very affordable.
Well, superior.......I guess that is a matter of taste. It does not have the possibility to hit the strings soft or hard, it is just on or off with the sound. And my modern Boss SY1 pedal delivers spunds much softer and much more varied than this.
I had a vox 335 with a built-in fuzz tone and a stop and go rater like yours,,, I really miss that guitar,,, You have a very cool Vox guitar
That's an awesome instrument and glad you made a video to share.
This is crazy fantastic. I had no idea this instrument existed.
Vox!!!
IT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING!!!
This is possibly the single most interesting instrument I have ever heard, and I have been playing guitar and keyboards for about 40 years.
"VOX. it's what's happening!" That is some kind of boss rig! Boy does that take me back. Back in the '60s I would've drooled over such an axe. In retrospect that organ setting sounds almost as obnoxious as the Phantom body shape looked. I did sort of like Brian Jones' V223 teardrop 12 string. Man o man!
What an fantastic instrument!
Amazing to see one of these in such great condition and actually still working! The basic idea is still great, and I do wonder why it isn't still used. With modern circuitry it would be possible to create a wholly contained instrument. Actually, when I come to think about it I think there have been many attempts to replicate the idea. Nice video!
i am impressed, electrified pick is a new for me. tx for sharing, have fun
Merci de montrer cette demo guitare complète magnifique le son est magistral ❤
One of the guys I learned to play from played a Vox Super Bee with bass ,, treble and mid boosts , a wah by the bridge palm operated and a fuzz ...there may have been other gadgets. So cool to see this !
That has to be the weirdest guitar I've ever heard or seen! I love it!!
Brilliant! Just brilliant! This came out when I was 13 years of age, gosh I miss the mid-60s!
So many knobs and buttons so little time to choose, cool video, thumbs up.
Amazing sounds and note-tracking! I have to understand how it works.
I used to have a one almost identical to that back in the 70’s, same colour but not quite as many switches, it was a Phantom 12 special, which obviously denotes a 12 string, it played really well, although a little awkward to play on your lap, and as a 12 string a bit limited, I did a straight swap for a 62 sunburst ES175, which I always wanted, and still have
I’m totally stunned.
Real fantastic artifact from analog era! It sounds like futuristic instrument from retro fantastic movie! Just great!
That tone fits in my ear just like a sea urchin.
What a fabulous thing. Speechless! The downside is nobody would notice if you were being electrocuted. I’d like Sparks to write a song using it. Mercy.
1967 gave the world two great things. That guitar and myself...
What a beautiful instrument!!!
The most badass thing ever
I got to see the prototype of this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (behind glass, unfortunately) that was supposedly owned by John Lennon. Pretty amazing bit of kit, thanks for demonstrating it.
love it and the beatle intro very well done cheers
That is SUPER COOL!!! Never seen one of those in action before.
Was weirdly ahead of it’s time … got that 80s sound and aesthetic to it!
Negative! In the 80's, there was no such creativity anymore.
80 copyed 60
It would be interesting to know if anyone used it on any records. In Italy the Dutch singer guitarist (naturalized Italian) VAN WOOD in the sixties - seventies had an organ guitar full of effects that he had built. With it he recorded some famous songs from that period.
Bill Dillon in Canada had been on many records with his mastery of the Guitorgan but not sure if the Vox had been on quite as many.
thanks for this information.@@SteveWalsh730
I read it’s featured on micheal Jackson’s bad!!!
the organ sound on "So Many Details" by Toro y Moi is very similar!
I'm liking his sound and choice of music to demo this contraption. Very cool.
I dig your channel. ALL your vintage stuff sounds fantastic.
This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen
Finally, I can play an accurate, live rendition of the Ms. Pac-Man theme.
I remember reading about it in a few rock magazines in the late 60s, including one where Hank Marvin mentioned it. That's the last I heard about it until viewing this. It almost seemed like the initial enthusiasm died out as fast as it came on.
Great choice of songs for demo.
Great demo Steve. Really interesting!
GUITAR SOUNDS DARN FINE!!
Yea also without the effects it sounds amazingly sharp!
Está guitarra era bem sofisticado pela época
2 years after man first set foot on the moon... ;)
What a mad machine. Love it
Fantastic SOUND! Great tone! In tune as well.
Band on the run!!
Totally! That unmistakable sound. It's warm and reminds me of the 70s.
My buddy bought one of the first ones right after a London music show where it debuted.
He was a studio musician at Abby Road. Great guy.
Abby road ?
What a truly off the wall thing!!! Brilliant!!
This is very cool! This guitar was waaayyyy ahead of its time.
Whoa, this is my dream instrument! If only they made it with 12 strings, it would sound heavenly. ❤️
They did make this in a 12 string version, and it was a pain in the A$$ trying to keep the strings and the organ tuned together. That version also had a Bigsby and a palm wah, and a string dampener.
@@harleyhexxe9806it must have been a total nightmare 👿
@@Captain-Nostromo Well, you kind of adapted to all that stuff around the bridge, even though it wasn't very comfortable. You could rotate the palm wah lever 180 degrees around so it would be out of the way, but the heel of your palm rested on the screw head that held it onto the rocker arm. The most tricky thing was being careful where your fingers were on your picking hand, as it was to easy to flip the mute when you didn't want it. Just too much clutter in a small area.
@@harleyhexxe9806 sounds like the guitar for a beginner 😎
@@Captain-Nostromo ...or the beginning of neurosis
"Была бы у меня такая гитара🎸, я и не женился бы никогда" 😆
Wow! Never knew this thing existed at all! A feature monster, fantastic for the creative player!
I have seen this type of Vox guitars when I started playing but I never heard this guitar. This was certainly amazing for it's time.I must have been 11 years old. One thing I remember about Guitars all Necks were different. They varied in comfortability Vox necks felt fat and unfinished. Beautiful futuristic look. Thanks for sharing. c]8-)
Just that very first strum on the guitar is the Love Will Tear Us Apart sound
It's a guitar synth from the time Moog was barely just peeking into the mainstream!
Truly epic! Subbed for the Wings demo!
That is an all around 60's sounding guitar and organ. I was there.
Too cool
I'm still there. I never left.
Wow!! That sounds really great and looks like a blast to play! Does it take some practice to get it to not freak out? They'd sell tons of these if they hired you to demo it back in the 60's I bet
Звучание очень передает дух того времени
Very cool, and I bet it'd sound great sat in the right track too... Thanks fer sharing... 🙏
I love how you say "that's about it" after explaining one of the most complex guitars I've ever seen.
This guitar marvel wasn't just ahead of its time in 19670,today remains the same and will still be ahead of its time within 200 years
Um....that's not how that works.
Nintendo comes to mind 😁
when my grandchildren show me their pokemen and their computer phones I say, "that's great, but did your generation make the Vox V251 Organ Guitar?"
@@No_Ghosts 🤣
Stylophone with strings!
that's just incredible!
RAW Synth ! 1967 i was 6 reminds me of listening to my late unkles record collection when i visited me Gran happy days
just think, if Eddie Van Halen had one of those then today there would be a million guys playing them
Very cool, reminds me of those synthesizer keyboards that you held like a guitar and were used quite extensively in the 1980s when electronic bands hit the music scene. Its functions could be replicated with today's electronics fairly easily, but the way you're playing it in this video I'd think the control knobs might be better on a separate panel/keyboard midi-type controller thing (does that make sense?) on a stand near the player. Didn't the Beatles use something like that on a few of their tunes back then? Now I'm curious, I'll have to look into it.
keytar I believe it's called