Question and Answer

Hi Pat,

Hope all is going well in your world. I know it's been a big year for you.

A while back on the on the PMG mailing list we were trying to figure out what kind of guitar you were using during a solo number that you played at the 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival. This guitar didn't really have any strings other than some thick black 'cords' that you plucked. It seemed like the fretboard was touch sensitive and it sounded like a set of vibes. I think it was turquoise colored. Any idea what I'm talking about?

Take care and thanx for taking the time to answer these questions.

later,

james

hi james,

the guitar you are referring to was a prototype interface for the synclavier made by a company in salt lake city called oncor (i used to call it a "guitar-like thing" because it was not a guitar at all - just a controller) that was never developed beyond the prototype stage. it never really worked right. it was basically those same kind of buttons that you touch when you touch an elevator button and a light comes on but nothing moves under the position where each string would normally hit each fret. the thing worked based on contact with human skin. there was just one problem - if you sweat, for some reason that caused the note a tritone away to sound, not the note you thought you would be playing. of course, knowing that that was a possibility made you sweat! so after giving it my best for a year or so, it was bagged. it still remains in my personal guitar synth museum under my bed somewhere along with the patch 2000, the original gr 500, the infamous winged roland guitar controller (the 707 or something) and many others that didn't work!