#HTE

Listen to This Circle Guitar, Which has Mechanically Activated Strings

In addition to running his own design firm, Studio Make Believe, UK-based product designer Anthony Dickens invented this unique Circle Guitar. Listen to the sound it makes:

“We built Circle Guitar to generate sounds, textures and rhythms that would be impossible with a conventional electric guitar,” Dickens writes. “By using a mechanical device to strike the strings, rather than a human hand, you can exceed what is physically possible and push guitar playing into new, unexplored territories.”

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As for how it works:

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“The motor-driven circle is, in essence, a mechanical step sequencer that rotates up to 250bpm beneath the strings. It has 128 holes in which to place a plectrum to strike the strings. The sound is caught by a hexaphonic or ‘multi-channel’ pickup, so each string has its own output that can be amplified, recorded and processed individually.”

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“There are six switches on the body of the guitar that control whether the signal either passes freely to your amp, mixing desk or computer interface or to a button that releases the signal only when pressed. This enables you to play the Circle Guitar a bit like a piano, creating interesting rhythmic chords or lead lines.”

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Credit where credit is due: Dickens reports that the Circle Guitar was “Hand built with the help of a team of brilliant engineers (all hail @jacobboast , Luke Perkin @luke.perkin.inventor & Marie Tricaud @mariepenny1 ) in the vaults and workshops of @makerversity in London.”

Dickens came up with the idea over a decade ago, and more recently spent two years finally realizing it. The team finally produced the prototype seen in the video…just in time for the pandemic; production has since been delayed, though he’s got a mailing list you can sign up for for updates.



https://www.core77.com/posts/112543/Listen-to-This-Circle-Guitar-Which-has-Mechanically-Activated-Strings