MATRIXSYNTH: The First Guitar Synth Ever?


Sunday, May 25, 2008

The First Guitar Synth Ever?

Ultra Rare 1970s Ovation Condor Hammond Synth Guitar
"These Guitars are about as rare as hens teeth - I've found one on a french Guitar collectors internet site and a bit about them from Ovation, so here goes...

First thing to say about this Guitar is it looks absolutely immaculate; this guitar is over 30 years old but looks as though it could have been made a year ago. There are no noticeable scratches dings - ANYTHING. I am lead to believe that it is the world's first synth Guitar - a little piece of History.

The Guitar itself is basically from the Tornado / Condor range of epiphone which was made from 68-72 as part of their ill-fated thunderhead series, doomed to be priced out of the market by the Japanese Guitar explosion. The styling is 335 esque with a bit of Supro thrown in; fully bound (binding is in A1 condition), including the 'F' holes. I can only find one other Tornado (that's the regular model - no synth bits) on Ebay in Europe and that's up for sale at about 900 pounds...

Everything looks to be fully original, from the pickups, neck, hardware, electrics and the synth fitting.

With regards to the synth fitting, I don't have any means of testing it but as the guitar has been kept in such excellent condition, I can see no reason why it won't work. It was originally designed to go with the Hammond 'Innovex' synth unit, one of which was used by John Entwistle of the Who. Going to struggle to find one of these, huh? Well, I just so happen to have one of these up for sale too..."
images via this auction and this auction

2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I repaired it sounds like new
    you can use it on a regular guitar amp
    so let's hear from ye all

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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