Guitaret
Encyclopedia
The Guitaret is an electric lamellophone made by Hohner
and invented by Ernst Zacharias
, in 1963. Zacharias also invented similar instruments like the Pianet
, Cembalet and the Clavinet
.
The instrument itself was not popular, and was dropped from the product line in 1965, presumably because it failed to excite the market. It was one of a number of experiments that Zacharias made converting non-standard musical instruments to modern ones. Guitarets that have survived have problems with the reed dampening system, which means that the instrument has come to be played with two hands.
Despite its obsolescence, its distinct tone has made it popular in both retro- and colourist settings, and it has experienced somewhat of a revival. It has been featured in soundtracks recently for this very reason.
The Guitaret's sound is that of a thumb piano. It is plugged into an amplifier, and sounds like an electric thumb piano.
The vibration of tongues is recorded by a spool around which is wrapped all tongues together and act as electro-magnetic sensor. The coil is directly connected to the output to the amplifier, it has no instrument for amplification.
The tongues are arranged in a manner so that the uptake of three or four sounds easier. At the top of the cabinet, these agreements for the convenience of the player are depicted.
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a company specialising in the manufacture of musical instruments. Founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner , Hohner is identified especially with harmonicas and accordions. The Hohner company has invented and produced many different styles, and most of the...
and invented by Ernst Zacharias
Ernst Zacharias
Ernst Zacharias is a German musician and engineer. In the 1950s and 1960s, he invented various electro-mechanical musical instruments for the German musical instrument manufacturer Hohner, including the Cembalet, the Clavinet, the Guitaret, and the Pianet...
, in 1963. Zacharias also invented similar instruments like the Pianet
Pianet
thumb|Hohner Pianet TThe Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1960s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar...
, Cembalet and the Clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
.
The instrument itself was not popular, and was dropped from the product line in 1965, presumably because it failed to excite the market. It was one of a number of experiments that Zacharias made converting non-standard musical instruments to modern ones. Guitarets that have survived have problems with the reed dampening system, which means that the instrument has come to be played with two hands.
Despite its obsolescence, its distinct tone has made it popular in both retro- and colourist settings, and it has experienced somewhat of a revival. It has been featured in soundtracks recently for this very reason.
The Guitaret's sound is that of a thumb piano. It is plugged into an amplifier, and sounds like an electric thumb piano.
Origins and playing
The Guitaret is an approximately 30 centimeters long rectangular case of white painted metal, whose three rows of metal tongues, which ends protrude slightly above the cabinet. It contains a handle too, which also includes a button to operate the damper. The player takes the guitaret with the left hand to handle this common ground and brings the thumb of the right of the tongues flicker. By pressing the button to sprung damper felt pads to the soles Fri, by releasing the button, all tongues muted.The vibration of tongues is recorded by a spool around which is wrapped all tongues together and act as electro-magnetic sensor. The coil is directly connected to the output to the amplifier, it has no instrument for amplification.
The tongues are arranged in a manner so that the uptake of three or four sounds easier. At the top of the cabinet, these agreements for the convenience of the player are depicted.
Famous performers
- It is featured on Leo AbrahamsLeo AbrahamsLeo Abrahams is a British musician, composer, and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, and Paul Simon. After attending the Royal Academy of Music in England, he started his musical career by touring as...
`s work (he was given a Guitaret by Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. Leo plays the Guitaret on the soundtrack for "Searching 1906" "I ended up playing a lot of guitaret (the rare thumb piano-like instrument that Eno gave me." - Warren EllisWarren Ellis (musician)Warren Ellis is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and composer, best known for his work with Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman and his soundtrack scores with Nick Cave. He plays violin, piano, bouzouki, guitar, flute, mandolin, and tenor guitar...
plays Guitaret both on the GrindermanGrinderman (album)Grinderman is the eponymous debut studio album by alternative rock band Grinderman, a side project of members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on March 5, 2007 on Mute Records in Europe and ANTI- in the United States...
album and on the Soundtrack for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (soundtrack)The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis is the official soundtrack album to the movie of the same name... - Max Eastley (creator of instruments) plays Guitaret according to the Lord Jazz Discography
- Lali Barriere plays Guitaret in Pad (Projecte Achmed Digital) and with Ferran Fages in a Barcelona experimental duet GRUS. Lali also plays guitaret in "My Pony", last track of "Press the Space Bar", by Chicks on Speed and The No Heads. Lali also started the Guitaret Fan Club on FaceBook.
- Saïd Zarrabi, the keyboardist in Les quitriches, a French beat band from Stuttgart, Germany and Quitriche-en-Auvergne, France doubles on Guitaret
- Aja West plays Gutiaret on Aja West & Cheeba's Flash & Snowball
- Plamo includes Guitaret in his instrumentation.
- Roland Wolff plays the Guitaret in his stage music
- Michael Peters played Guitaret in in Tonlab (2004–2006) as part of a collection of strange instruments
- Icelandic band múm have Guitaret on their latest album and the track Illuminated features it
- Abandon the Earth Mission features a Guitaret
- It is sampled in the MOTU Electric Keys, so the Guitaret sound is likely heard more than the Guitaret itself.