Everything about Gui-board totally explained
A
keytar, also known as a strap-on keyboard, is a relatively lightweight
keyboard or
synthesizer that's supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a
guitar is supported by a guitar strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands. The instrument has a
musical keyboard for triggering musical notes and sounds and controls for
pitch bends,
vibrato,
portamento, and sustain are placed in the instrument’s “neck".
History
The keytar was developed by
Steve Masakowski and commercially introduced in
1980 as the
Moog Liberation. Early users included
Spyro Gyra keyboardist Tom Schuman and the band
Devo). The word “keytar” is a
portmanteau of “keyboard” and “guitar”. An early printed use of the term “keytar” was in 1980 in an interview of
Jeffrey Abbott (owner of Moog Liberation #1005) by
Tom Lounges of
Illianabeat magazine (now
Midwest BEAT Magazine).The keytar was made popular in the
1980s by
glam metal bands, as well as
synthpop and
New Wave groups. Changing trends in music diminished the keytar’s popularity shortly thereafter. The keytar has enjoyed new visibility due in part to software innovations from companies like
Musiclab (RealGuitar),
UltimateSoundBank (PlugSound).
While
Edgar Winter often performed with a keyboard slung around his neck in the early 1970s, it wasn't a keytar—it was an
ARP 2600 keyboard with a shoulder strap added.
Wayne Famous of the 1980s band
The Producers also strapped on a regular
Oberheim synthesizer, which caused him to develop back problems.
No new keytars are currently being produced.
Yamaha was once well-known as a keytar manufacturer.
Roland’s AX-7 was produced from 2002 until early 2007. The term “keytar” also refers to the ability to emulate the playing style and sound of an electric or acoustic guitar via a
synthesizer,
sampler or
computer.
Types
1980s
The
Moog Liberation was released in
1980 by
Moog Music. It included two
monophonic VCOs and a
polyphonic section that could play
organ sounds. The neck had spring-loaded wheels for filter cutoff,
modulation, and
volume as well as a
ribbon-controlled pitch bend. The Liberation had a single
VCF and two
ADS envelope generators.
The
Roland SH-101 is a small, 32 key,
monophonic analog synthesizer from the early 1980s. It has one oscillator with two waveforms, an 'octave-divided' sub-oscillator, and a
low-pass filter/
VCF capable of
self oscillation. When a shoulder strap is connected to it, and the small handgrip with a pitch bend wheel and a pitch modulation trigger is used, the SH-101 becomes a keytar.
The
Yamaha SHS-10 from the late
1980s has a small keyboard with 32 minikeys and a pitch-bend wheel, an internal
Frequency modulation (usually referred to as
FM)
synthesizer offering 25 different voices with 6-note
polyphony. Onboard voices include a range of keyboard instruments (pipe organ, piano, electric piano, etc.); strings (violin, guitar, double bass, etc.); and wind and brass (clarinet, flute, trumpet, etc.).
1990s-2000s
The
Roland AX-7, which was manufactured from 2001 to 2007, contains many more advanced features than early keytars. It has a 45
velocity sensitive keys (without aftertouch), and a 3-character
LED display. Several features aimed towards stage performance are present, such as a
pitch bend ribbon,
touchpad-like expression bar,
sustain switch, and volume control knob, all on the upper neck of the instrument. There is also a proprietary "D-Beam" interface, made up of
infrared sensors that detect nearby motion. This interface can be used to trigger and control effects.
Related instruments
While some inexpensive children’s toys are manufactured in the same shape as a keytar, and marketed with the keytar name, these toys have very limited capabilities. They can typically only perform one note at a time (monophonic) or in some cases, two-note
polyphony. Professional models allow the performer to play many notes at once (except for older instruments such as the aforementioned
Moog or the
Roland SH-101). As well, the sound quality for the samples or synthesis is usually very rudimentary.
Instrument builder Vinson Williams developed two instruments which he calls Keytars, the Keytar V-1 (with 12 strings and a 12-note keyboard) and the Keytar V-2 (with 24 strings and a 24-note keyboard). Unlike the synthesizer-based Moog Liberation and the Yamaha and Roland keytars which descended from it, William's keytar combines a guitar body with strummable metal strings and a piano keyboard, instead of a fretboard, for plucking the strings. While William's instrument shares the keytar name, its use of strings and its
autoharp (chorded zither) and
clavichord-style automated plucking mechanisms puts it in a different category. Like the autoharp, William's instrument uses dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those which the player wishes to strum. Like the clavichord, the instrument has mechanical
tangents which pluck the strings when the player depresses a key on the keyboard.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gui-board'.
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