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Guitorgan
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The Guitorgan started out
in life as a Univox "Effie", a Gibson ES-335 copy. They
were bought in quantity by Musiconics International
out of Waco, Texas in 1969 and outfitted with organ
parts. Each fret has six segments and when the string
makes contact with the fret, the corresponding note
sounds. It can be played as guitar, organ or both. It
is believed that only about 3000 guitorgans were made. Bob
Murrell is credited with its invention and Musiconics
International (MCI) of Waco, Texas claims to have introduced
the world to the Guitorgan.
The organ notes are typically
keyed with switches on or under the frets. The guitar
remains playable but organ notes can be played instead
of or in addition to guitar chord. Murrell worked on
converting existing products from the late 1960s. In
1968, he had a significant run of instruments based
on semi-hollow body designs. The B300 and B340 are among
the most common examples from this run. He continued
to produce upgrades that included analog synthesizer
interfaces and even midi in the mid 1980s. |
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