Crossing the Electronic Divide: Guitars, Synthesizers, and the Shifting Sound Field of Fusion

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Abstract

Guitar synthesizers gained prevalence in the 1980s thanks to the work of guitarists such as Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, and Allan Holdsworth. This chapter explores how the guitar synthesizer challenged prevailing ideologies of technology, technique, and tone in the guitar community and was ultimately a commercial failure. It traces a brief history of the electric guitar and the synthesizer and their subsequent conjoining. The chapter discusses three cases in detail: Metheny’s use of the Roland GR-300, McLaughlin’s use of the Synclavier II, and Holdsworth’s use of the SynthAxe. The chapter concludes with an examination of the critical reception of the guitar synthesizer and speculates about the future of technological synthesis across the analog/digital divide.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Relentless Pursuit of Tone
Subtitle of host publicationTimbre in Popular Music
EditorsRobert Fink, Melinda Latour, Zachary Wallmark
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter11
Pages253-276
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9780190908027
ISBN (Print)9780199985227
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Oct 2018
Externally publishedYes

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