SynthAxe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SynthAxe

The SynthAxe is widely covered in numerous interviews on this site. Here are the main points:

What is the Synthaxe?

The SynthAxe is a guitar-like synthesizer controller, mainly invented by Bill Aitken, and introduced to the market in the mid 80s. This means that it is shaped like and can be played by guitarists. However, it produces no sound of its own. All input is transferred electronically to its MIDI output, which is then sent to an external synthesizer sound module. While it shares some traits with a guitar, it also differs from a guitar in many respects. The SynthAxe features two sets of strings. The right hand set of strings is used to control note attack exclusively, much like a piano keyboard. The left hand strings cover the neck. The neck has an electronic circuitry which detects when a string is fretted. The neck strings can be set to trigger the sound by themselves, facilitating legato and tapping techniques. In addition, the body of the instrument featured keypads which worked very much like a synthesizer keyboard, except the pitch was determined by the left hand position. There were pads covering single and multiple strings. Allan favored these keypads, as they allowed him to play block chords, and to control dynamics after the initial attack. In addition, Allan purchased a breath controller, which allowed him to control dynamics by breath, finally fulfilling his dream of playing a wind instrument.

Allan's adoption of the SynthAxe

Allan was introduced to the SynthAxe at an early stage, and immediately became the instrument's main proponent. He was highly enthusiastic about almost every aspect of the instrument. Mainly, it meant that he could retain (and expand on) his guitar technique while controlling synthesizers, without relying on glitchy pitch-to-voltage technology common in guitar synthesizers. The only major concern he had with the instrument's design was the wide spacing of the frets. Frets were evenly scaled on the neck to allow equal playability. However, this meant that Allan could not perform some of his multi-fret stretches in higher positions on the neck, which again meant that some of his favorite chord voicings were unplayable.

Allan introduced the SynthAxe on "Atavachron", which featured the instrument widely. The SynthAxe also played a major role on "Sand" and "Secrets". He continued using the instrument on studio albums throughout the 90's. However, his use of the instrument was severely impeded when the SynthAxe company went bankrupt. The instrument was costly, and never attracted a large number of buyers. Servicing and maintenance of the instrument became very difficult. This meant that its use for live concerts became very risky, and Allan soon retired it for live use. At one point, he became so disillusioned that he sold his SynthAxe as well as all his synthesizer modules. However, facing withdrawal symptoms, he was able to purchase one that he kept in the studio. After his divorce sometime around 2000, he was not able to maintain a permanent home studio. Thus, he used the SynthAxe extensively on the mostly one-man album "Flat Tire", which was released in 2001. From then on, it was used sparingly, and Allan's recorded output diminished. Two SynthAxe tracks were included on "Tales From The Vault".

The SynthAxe in interviews

Allan's use of the SynthAxe alienated a large part of his audience, which consisted of a large number of guitar players. Still, it was a major topic in interviews, especially from 1985 to 1990. This means that there is a lot of material, which should ideally be categorized further. The remainder of this article simply quotes all articles where Allan talks about the Synthaxe.