My new guitarviol by Jonathan Wilson!

[Carltone]

Check this out...
A hybrid of a guitar and cello... play it like a regular guitar or bow it... It's got a radius'd fretboard like a cello, but six strings in standard guitar tuning!
Here's the luthier, Jonathan Wilson demoing my new instrument
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkj5Xy1YKmE

and here is a close up of it...
Patina'd copper top over a mohagany body
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll262/togawino/IMG_2230.jpg

more info on these unique instruments at
www.bowedguitar.com

I should be getting it in a few days... can't wait!

[matte]

electric arpeggione.

[cubado]

wowza !

[enharmonic]

That's wicked! :dude

[esoteric pete]

knifes!

[Neill]

sick. i want a fretless version.

[David Myka]

Carl,

That is a wicked cool hybrid instrument. A friend of mine just showed me this website last week and I thought they looked like fun to play. You'll have to let me know how you like it.

~David

[Carltone]

Carl,

That is a wicked cool hybrid instrument. A friend of mine just showed me this website last week and I thought they looked like fun to play. You'll have to let me know how you like it.

~David

Hey David! How's the new shop?
I'm still LOVING and jamming with the Dragonfly~ 'ole number 45!!!
I've been watching your site evolve and your instruments are looking even better!(How is this possible?!?!?!)

I can't wait to get my hands on this guitarviol... You should contact Jonathan Wilson... he's a lot like you in his approach to building instruments... very open and curious to explore new ideas.

Great to hear from you! I need to get another Myka on order!

[gmprak]

That looks interesting! I'd like to know how it plays/sounds as a regular guitar...the youtube demo seems to focus more on the bow.

[splatt]

..... very beautiful instrument!
enjoy it.
dt / spltrcl

[HHB]

whoah! that is amazing

[dc_jcm800]

Neve thought of that. Cello radiused fingerboard.
My 2 favorite stringed instruments, guitar and cello.
GAS!!!!!!!

[ThePK]

- Very cool. Would love to check one out.

[Phloored]

So cool. Looks incredible!

I can hear that on some sigur ros pieces or....

Innovation is a wonderful thing. (Tips hat)

Enjoy that immensely!

[Carltone]

That looks interesting! I'd like to know how it plays/sounds as a regular guitar...the youtube demo seems to focus more on the bow.


There are several demos that Jonathan does on Youtube... just search by "guitarviol" and you'll find plenty... there are some sick acoustic demos, as well...Once I stumbled across his site I knew I had to have one!

Once I get the instrument I'll post an in depth review on all aspects of it:D

[EunosFD]

Outstanding!

[Shredcow]

Very nice... how does it play as a guitar?

[Thor]

Very cool indeed!!

That cat can really play too!

Enjoy your new instrument in the best of health,

Edward

[El Kabong]

That sounds beautiful. I would love to here what Matte would do with it.

[Kyle vs. Guitar]

I'm going to take a wild guess and assume this is a different Jonathan Wilson than the guy who builds GVCG guitars.

[banjoze]

whoever made that is one heck of an artist...

[whoismarykelly]

Is this different than the Togaman guy?

[Bryan T]

Very, very cool idea. I think they are aesthetically very cool and the timbres available seem broad. But what's up with the intonation issues?

Bryan

[lhallam]

Liking this concept.

[matte]

http://www.smca.at/presse/images/Arpeggione_SMCA_Kat._Nr._B_12_27.JPG

[ArtimusPrime]

THATS THE ROCKIN'EST F*&KING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN OR HEARD!!! That looks like hella fun!!

[prsflame]

That's sick!! Congrats. I have not gassed for anything in years, but that's something I'd love to have, being both a guitarist and violinist....Seems like it would be alot of fun to play.

[redgold]

Inspiring!

Ray

[Carltone]

Very, very cool idea. I think they are aesthetically very cool and the timbres available seem broad. But what's up with the intonation issues?

Bryan

I assume you're talking about the middle part where it went out of tune?

I believe Jonathan made that video a few hours after completing the instrument. Fresh strings usually don't hold tune for long...

Otherwise, the intonation is much like a violin or cello, completely in your own hands and ears. I am expecting a 2 to 3 month "break in" for my own personal technique to gel (actually hoping, that is...)

[Sam Evans]

Love it. Love it Love it.

SE

[mattc41]

one of the most inspiring videos i've seen in a while. incredible!

[Bryan T]

I assume you're talking about the middle part where it went out of tune?

Not really. Every clip I listened to had some intonation issues on the single note playing. I couldn't decide if it was coming from the left hand (fretting too hard or playing 'fretless') or the bow (bowing too hard might push the string sharp). I hope it is just the player and not a design issue with bowing.

I'm curious to hear some hands on reports with this instrument.

Bryan

[GovernorSilver]

Not really. Every clip I listened to had some intonation issues on the single note playing. I couldn't decide if it was coming from the left hand (fretting too hard or playing 'fretless') or the bow (bowing too hard might push the string sharp). I hope it is just the player and not a design issue with bowing.

One does not have to press the string all the way down to the fret to bow a note on a fretted instrument. Thus, having frets does not guarantee perfect intonation on single note lines.

Where bowed string players find frets helpful is in playing chords and switching to pizzicato (plucking).

[firebird]

What a fantastic looking instrument! Such an utterly cool design, like something very ancient built by a skilled artisan using whatever tools he could come up with. I love things like this. And being a guitarist who loves the sound of a cello ............. well, this stringed instrument blows my mind. It's just too much for me to absorb right off.

[Carltone]

What a fantastic looking instrument! Such an utterly cool design, like something very ancient built by a skilled artisan using whatever tools he could come up with. I love things like this. And being a guitarist who loves the sound of a cello ............. well, this stringed instrument blows my mind. It's just too much for me to absorb right off.

I felt the same way! I saw an ad in a vintage guitar magazine. Went to the website. Poked around there for about 20 minutes... found a couple of youtube vids... WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY WITH THE REALIZATION...then I immediately called Jonathan and put one on order!

All this happened about 1 hr after the initial investigation... about 6 months later and boom! She's mine!!!

[Carltone]

Not really. Every clip I listened to had some intonation issues on the single note playing. I couldn't decide if it was coming from the left hand (fretting too hard or playing 'fretless') or the bow (bowing too hard might push the string sharp). I hope it is just the player and not a design issue with bowing.

I'm curious to hear some hands on reports with this instrument.

Bryan

Intonation is a very personal issue with violinists and the like... I generally disregard slight variances like that on these type of instruments. I view it as unique like a players vibrato...everybody's is a little different. I didn't notice anything way off in any of the clips, personally...

[GovernorSilver]

One area where I think Wilson innovated is magnetic pickup design for bowed instruments. Most electric bowed instruments simply use piezos and are intended for players who want a reasonably "acoustic" sound at rock band volumes, but without feedback. Very few are designed for a deliberately electric tone.

If the electric guitar world were like the electric bowed instrument world, all guitars would have only piezo pickups - no humbuckers, no P90s, no filtertrons, etc. I'm guessing the reason for this current state is most bowed players just want an "acoustic" sound and only a few are clamoring for explicitly electric tones more suitable for playing rock.

The problem with magnetic pickup design for bowed instruments is that strings behave differently when bowed as opposed to plucked with a pick/fingers. Wilson's design sounds like a good solution, based on the clips I've seen/heard.

[TogaMan]

One area where I think Wilson innovated is magnetic pickup design for bowed instruments. Most electric bowed instruments simply use piezos and are intended for players who want a reasonably "acoustic" sound at rock band volumes, but without feedback. Very few are designed for a deliberately electric tone.

If the electric guitar world were like the electric bowed instrument world, all guitars would have only piezo pickups - no humbuckers, no P90s, no filtertrons, etc. I'm guessing the reason for this current state is most bowed players just want an "acoustic" sound and only a few are clamoring for explicitly electric tones more suitable for playing rock.

The problem with magnetic pickup design for bowed instruments is that strings behave differently when bowed as opposed to plucked with a pick/fingers. Wilson's design sounds like a good solution, based on the clips I've seen/heard.

Hi,
Thanks for your kind words. Actually, The Magnetics on my GuitarViols are mostly intended for plucked applications. You can get some Chinese Erhu sounds with them though. The planar motion of bowed strings is problematic for typical magnetic pickups. Imagine the string being the center of the clock. Plucked, it travels in an eliptical pattern (all directions). Bowed, it travels almost exclusively in the path of the bow. Imagine the pickup coil at 6:00 and the bowed string plane is going from 9:00 to 3:00. Basically it is in the plane of rejection and any signal will sound out of phase, thin, scratchy. In fact, when lifting the bow away, it becomes louder because the string returns to it's eliptical path. I plan on video blogging this soon.

The meat of the GuitarViols bowed sound comes from the bridge saddle pickups which also can go Hex/MIDI. Sort of a pseudo acoustic sound and when overdriven, electric. Depends upon how you dial it in. The saddles are made to my exacting CNC specs and are optimized for the planar motion of the bowed string. Often, I'll blend the mag with the bridge.

Anyway, thought I'd peek in and say hi.

Cheers;
Jonathan

[reentune]

Welcome, Jonathan.

What a fabulous contribution you've made.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
I'm sure we can all benefit.

All the best.


Mark

[mojocaster.com]

Wow. Just wow. The Youtube clips are great, too.

[Structo]

Very cool!
Yes I was wondering about the pickups as well.

Very neat design.
Is there anybody using these on recordings that I could check out?

[TogaMan]

Very cool!
Yes I was wondering about the pickups as well.

Very neat design.
Is there anybody using these on recordings that I could check out?

Thanks! Actually, if you have seen the movie "300" (Warner Bros) you have heard one through much of the soundtrack. Check out a track called "Xerxes Tent" http://warnerbrosrecords.com/300soundtrack/ A little in "Iron Man" too. Many of my clients are film/TV composers. (Actually that and the video game industry has me pretty busy!) There is a world music group called "Niyaz" with Loga Torkian. Loga gives his a work out on two Niyaz Albums. Here's a live clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91pMQfuZf04

I cut a CD with my jam group 2GV a few years back. Thing is, I do not play often as I am busy building! http://cdbaby.com/cd/2guitarviols

Stay tuned for a review in Premiere Guitar Magazine. (not sure when... but soon)

Cheers!
Jonathan

[Carltone]

Here's a shot I took of my new love.... this instrument is unbelievably cool:AOK
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/38/l_3074102e301a4591aaf2c91b785f343d.jpg

WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW...

More to follow....
A bit of first impressions now that I've played her for a few hours.

The guitar tone is very archtop-ish / acoustic sounding. The mids are very rich and the highs detailed and crisp. Much like an archtop, the notes are quick and the sustain is short on the bass notes. String bending is a bit of a tradeoff... you can bend certain strings better than others... NOT really a big deal to me...The fretting of the radius'd fretboard takes a little getting used to, but that is coming along nicely. This is definately a fingerstyle instrument when playing the guitar portion. So, it's all in all, very different feeling from a guitar, but not totally alien. I seem to adjust pretty easily... partial chords are certainly easier to fret than bar chords (haha~ duh!)
BUT here's the cool part... when you bow...LOOKOUT! This instrument sings, sustains , and resonates beyond belief! I'm so knocked out by the bow~action...I'm in shock... It's nearly as deep and thick as a cello and as sonorous and delicate as a violin. It certainly has a sound of it's own that is just as beautiful as any concert instrument I've heard. I can't believe it! It took me a couple of hours to make a real, true sound with the bow, but that was because I put way too much rosin on it... Once that wore off a little the notes just BLOOMED out of it. now I know how much to rosin, and it's instant beaytiful tone production...
Jonathan has hit one outta the park with this instrument... it's a whole different world with this in your hands...

[TogaMan]

Thanks, Carl!

Yeah, there is a physics issue with bending the 1st string around that radius......complex as it is.....generally the 2nd string will treat you better.


FYI: My personal instrument is set with higher action and scalloped fretboard. Just a preference of tone and bending. I generally set up stock instruments with friendlier action.

Cheers;
JW

[Carltone]

More pics!
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/16/l_7724ea99c408455b8a7d397d998e0c34.jpg
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/41/l_2988bca8f6c142a5b1861d8c2433485e.jpg
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/38/l_d81bf8ed9e9b42e2b51d75930885189d.jpg
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/60/l_6666c62d823b4ca19f62cc3973989d1e.jpg

[GovernorSilver]

Mighty fine lookin' axe there!

Here's Wilson's own history article, which mentions the arpeggione that Matte alluded to:

http://www.togamanguitars.com/history.php

The acoustic model looks nice too (and it's fretless!!)

http://www.togamanguitars.com/images/choose_acoustic.jpg

[Bryan T]

More pics!

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/60/l_6666c62d823b4ca19f62cc3973989d1e.jpg

I'd like to hear more about the nut. It looks like it has some compensation cut into it.

Bryan

[phantasm]

Hmmmmm. The youtube videos seem to be screwy.
Maybe they'll be back up later.
Very cool!
One of the best things i've seen on here in months!

[Bryan T]

One of the best things i've seen on here in months!

I agree. This is definitely one of the most interesting instruments I've seen on TGP.

Bryan

[GovernorSilver]

Found this cool demo of the acoustic GuitarViol here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3T72plXUs&feature=related

Among the things that are demoed are fretless-like glissando when bowing this fretted instrument (just like playing slide on a fretted guitar).

I have no business relationship to TogaMan, but damn, I'm tempted to sell my celli (I have an acoustic and an electric) and get a GuitarViol, to consolidate my musical efforts.

My electric cello has hexaphonic output, but has only limited functionality with my Roland VG-99 as any model that involves pitch shifts (eg. bass guitar, any alternate tuned guitar model) sounds terrible. This is because the VG-99 was not designed to handle scale lengths greater than 25.5".

[bluesjuke]

That is cool!

I've seen these but had no idea that it was Jonathan doing them.

[Bryan T]

I've seen these but had no idea that it was Jonathan doing them.

Is it the same JW as GVCG?

Bryan

[garyrogue]

A bow thing happing has always been in my head. This cool and so nice.
thanks for posting links.
Gary

[GovernorSilver]

Jonathan, if you're still around...

I read on your forum that there is a semi-hollow version in the works? Can you report anything at this time on how that is coming along?

BTW, I like erhu sounds... :dude

[swimrunner]

That. Is. So. Cool.

[TogaMan]

Jonathan, if you're still around...

I read on your forum that there is a semi-hollow version in the works? Can you report anything at this time on how that is coming along?

BTW, I like erhu sounds... :dude

Thanks! I don't always have time to, but I like to check in from time to time.

The Semi-Acoustic is in the works and I have some on order. Basically, it is coming full circle to my early "Electric Arpeggione" (of 18 years ago..)structually (only better!). I initially began to do solid bodys to solve my problem of not hearing my loop in live looping situations where soundmen often screwed up my monitor mix. (Damn those acoustically efficient instruments and looping!) Then, other people wanted one, so I began building them! On the other hand, I also build acoustics. Then, I (along with some clients) saw a need for a semi-acoustic. I am currently developing one and it is coming along quite well. I will have to reverse engineer the prototype and tool up for subsequent ones because the carve requires a lot of man hours! The Top is active with bass-bar/soundpost. So, mechanically, it is like a violin or acoustic model in that regard. However, it will have the BOWD pickup system that can be MIDI'd....and, a secondary acoustic under bridge pickup for blend. So, it will be electric....and..... acoustic. Look for updates on my site and YouTubes in a few weeks....

Cheers!
Jonathan

[j_m_s]

looks awesome!

[bluesjuke]

Hey Jonathan, Welcome to the Gear Page!
Good to see you here.

[GovernorSilver]

Thanks! I don't always have time to, but I like to check in from time to time.

The Semi-Acoustic is in the works and I have some on order. Basically, it is coming full circle to my early "Electric Arpeggione" (of 18 years ago..)structually (only better!). I initially began to do solid bodys to solve my problem of not hearing my loop in live looping situations where soundmen often screwed up my monitor mix. (Damn those acoustically efficient instruments and looping!) Then, other people wanted one, so I began building them! On the other hand, I also build acoustics. Then, I (along with some clients) saw a need for a semi-acoustic. I am currently developing one and it is coming along quite well. I will have to reverse engineer the prototype and tool up for subsequent ones because the carve requires a lot of man hours! The Top is active with bass-bar/soundpost. So, mechanically, it is like a violin or acoustic model in that regard. However, it will have the BOWD pickup system that can be MIDI'd....and, a secondary acoustic under bridge pickup for blend. So, it will be electric....and..... acoustic. Look for updates on my site and YouTubes in a few weeks....

Cheers!
Jonathan

Sounds interesting! The Gibson 335 of arpeggiones/violas da gamba?

It's been interesting to read about how a concern for ergonomics has driven your designs, btw. Looking forward to seeing these updates.

[TogaMan]

Sounds interesting! The Gibson 335 of arpeggiones/violas da gamba?

It's been interesting to read about how a concern for ergonomics has driven your designs, btw. Looking forward to seeing these updates.

It is crazy, I even have to make some of my shop implements ergonomic!
I have something in my shop called a "Fret Mule"; essentially a wooden saw horse converted into a fretting jig. Basically, I bolt a neck and clamp the headstock to it while I have hooks hold my tools. I just take it outdoors and work in natural light while sitting in my chair. The Fret Mule holds the neck in a comfortable position as I install frets!. Perfect lighting, perfect working stance. Fresh air. What more do I need? Used it today, in fact. I believe we should question why we do things the hard way. Actually, much of what I do, I still do the hard way although I generally prefer a nicer, more scenic way of doing things. That's how I roll......


:)

Jonathan

[TogaMan]

Heres a Premere Guitar review that just came out...

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Nov/Review_TogaMan_GuitarViol.aspx

[murkat]

Is it the same JW as GVCG?

Bryan

I'm not think'n so....

[TogaMan]

No, I am not the Jonathan Wilson of GVCC. I was billed by mistake for about $500.00 worth of stuff from a mutual vendor a couple years ago! I hear great things about his work though I have never met my namesake.

J

[bluesjuke]

Hope that was easy to straighten out.

[brian_dm]

Wow that is BEAUTIFUL...I am very interested in getting a guitarviol...how can I do so? Thanks :)

[GovernorSilver]

This might be of interest to GuitarViol owners who went for the Ghost Hexpander option:

http://www.keithmcmillen.com/

[Carltone]

I just posted a link to a youtube I made if anyone is interested in watching me try to play this beast...

Checkout the "video and audioclips" section for the link... look for the Guitarviol thread.
I've had the instrument for about 4 months now... and it's just getting where I can make a good bow sound with it (more or less:NUTS)
It's a very fun thing to play!!!

[Nulgnoy]

I want one!!! but i cannot afford one!!!

anybody selling theirs?