Future guitars: Past and present

The guitar world is quite a particular one. On one side are the vintage fanatics. These players and collectors cherish prized instruments from the guitars golden era of the 50’s and 60’s. The woods, the hardware, the pickups, this is what a guitar should be right?

Well the other side of the coin is the more futuristic designs. These designs push the guitar beyond just wood and metal and challenge what the guitar itself should sound like. The materials and electronics take the instrument to a new level. Join me now as we wander through the gallery of the futuristic guitars of the past and the present.

The Flying V and Explorer

In 2009 the V and the explorer seem common place, but in 1958 these designs were very cutting edge. They did not resemble the rounded solid bodies and hollow bodies of the day. Their shapes were radical, the gold hardware and natural Korina wood was far different than the mellow sunbursts that were commonplace. unfortunately the designs were too far ahead of their time for the time. Sales of the original V and Explorer were in the hundreds and the third in the series the Moderne only existed in prototypes. These guitars obviously proved that they were guitars of the future. Gibson reissued the V in 1967 and it and the Explorer gained top notch status in the late seventies and early eighties when it was adopted by the hard rock and heavy metal crowd to represent the menacing riffs.

The Roland GR

Introduced in 1977, the Roland GR guitar and the later GR guitar and floor unit were a breakthrough in guitar synthesizers. Not only could you get the traditional guitar sounds from the pickups but you also had the synthesizer producing thick, electronic sounds that were otherworldly. This instrument was quickly adopted by experimental guitarists as well as those who would become part of the “New Wave” sound of the early 80’s. Roland has continued produce successful GR series of guitar synthesizers opting to market only the module and hex pickup so you can use any guitar of your choice. Fender has come full circle with the GR ready strat which allows you to play the traditional strat and plug into the Roland GR module for the phenomenal synth sounds.

The Parker Fly

The Parker Fly, first produced in 1993 by Ken Parker was a departure from the tried and true formula for guitar building. The materials were non traditional and the electronics incorporated both standard pickups as well as a piezo electric pickup in the bridge for acoustic sounds. The body shape was designed to fit the player and perfectly balance the guitar while playing. This instrument gained popularity as a jack of all trades for musicians seeking to capture acoustic and electric guitar sounds without having to switch guitars. This instrument challenged the notion that a thick slab of mahogany or ash was needed to produce a great sounding guitar.

The Line 6 Variax

In 2003, Line 6 unleashed the Variax. After years of perfecting amplifier modeling technology the company embarked on a journey to bring a multitude of great guitar sounds to the masses. Modeling all the classic guitars from Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, the tone of the guitar lives completely electronically. There are no standard pickups. The sounds are generated completely by the guitar. Alternate tunings could be employed at the turn of a knob without having to actually retune the guitar. This makes it a dream to go from standard tuning to open G for some great slide licks.

While we do know that the classic designs and sounds are not likely to go away anytime soon, nobody knows what the future of the guitar is. With technology advancing so quickly, I’m sure it won’t be long before the next futuristic guitar hits the stores.

Scott