List of keytars

Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater playing a Zen Riffer keytar alongside guitarist John Petrucci

A keytar is a keyboard or synthesizer hung around the neck and shoulders, similar to a guitar.

List of keytars

Dates Model Type I/F Notes
1795 Orphica[1] acoustic piano – a portable miniature piano in horizontal harp form.
1963 Weltmeister Basset[2] electric bass piano using struck reed – an electric piano bass, similar to Hohner Bass or Rhodes PianoBass, used by dance bands in East Germany probably late 1960s.
1966 Joh Mustad Tubon[3] (in the UK: Livingston)[4] electronic bass organ – tube-shaped monophonic electronic keyboard instrument with guitar strap.
Used by Paul McCartney in 1966 to compose the intro of "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) (later replaced by Chamberlin),[4] Ralf Hütter of Kraftwerk on the album Kraftwerk (1970),[4][5] Swedish and Finnish bands during the 1970s, including Lådan.[6]
1977 Hillwood RB-1[7] synth piano – used by Haruo Chikada (The Vibratones).
1977 Powell Probe controller (CV/Gate) Roger Powell's keytar by Royalex
1979 PMS Syntar[8] synthesizer (CV/Gate) an earliest synthesizer keytar product, prior to the Moog Liberation in 1980
1980 Davis Clavitar controller (CV/Gate) used by George Duke, Herbie Hancock in 1980.
c.1980 Davis Clavitron
 unknown unknown
1980 Moog Liberation synthesizer CV/Gate
1980 Royalex Probe controller(CV/Gate) Jan Hammer's keytar by Royalex, ca. 1980.
1982 Dynacord Rhythm Stick (Jamma)[9] percussion controllerMIDI & CV/Gate
1982 Roland SH-101[opt grip] synthesizer CV/Gatecontrol grip was optional.
used by Bob Casale (Devo).
1982 Sequential Circuits Remote Prophet controller SCB used by Geoffrey Downes of ASIA and Dave Stewart.
(SCB:Serial Control Buss, a MIDI prototype developed by SCI)
1982 Yamaha CS01[no grip] synthesizer with breath controller CV/Gate used by Chick Corea in the early 1980s.
1983 Yamaha KX1 controller MIDI used by Herbie Hancock in 1983, George Duke in 1983.
1983 Korg Poly-800[no grip] synthesizer MIDI
c.1983 Yamaha CS01II synthesizer with breath controller CV/Gate
1984 Korg Poly-800 MkII[no grip] synthesizer MIDI
1984 Casio CZ-101[no grip] synthesizer MIDIa medium size keyboard with strap pins
1984 Korg RK-100 controller MIDI
1984 Yamaha KX5 controller MIDIa medium depth keyboard
1985 Lync LN1 (The Lync) controller MIDI
1985 Roland AXIS controller MIDI
1985 Yamaha DX100[no grip] synthesizer MIDIa mini keyboard with strap pins
1986 Casio AZ-1 controller MIDI
1986 Siel DK70[opt grip] synthesizer MIDIcontrol grip was optional
1987 Korg 707[no grip] synthesizer MIDIa synthesizer with strap pins
1987 Yamaha SHS-10 electronic keyboard MIDI
1987 Tyco HotKeyz toy keyboard – a toy keyboard
1988 Lync LN4 controller MIDI also Jan Hammer signature model existed.
1988 Yamaha SHS-200 electronic keyboard MIDI
1989 Tsumura JD21[10] percussion controller MIDI
1990 Lync LN1000 controller MIDI
1990 Formanta Mini synthesizer (MIDI)
1991 Junost 21 synthesizer (MIDI)
1993 Roland AX-1 controller MIDI
1999 Baldoni Midi Accord
 accordion controller ? MIDI
2000 Suzuki MK-3600
YAMAHA YMK-80 		electronic keyboard MIDIa keyboard for marching band
2000 Lag LeKey controller (MIDI)
2001 Roland AX-7 controller MIDI
2002 Casio SA-75 electronic keyboard MIDIa mini electronic keyboard with handsfree microphone and strap pins
c.2007 Zen Riffer Solo Axe keyboard controller (MIDI)
2008 Behringer UMA25S[no grip] controllerUSB & MIDI
2008 Zendrum percussion controller (MIDI)
2009 Roland AX-Synth synthesizer USB & MIDI
2009 Stoneboard controller MIDI
2010 Politrep[no grip] controller MIDI
2010 Roland Lucina AX-09 synthesizer USB & MIDI
2010 Mad Catz Rock Band 3 Wireless Pro Keyboard Video game controllerPS3 & MIDI
2012 Alesis Vortex controller USB & MIDI
2014 Korg RK-100S synthesizer USB & MIDI used by Rick Astley in 2016

Custom/rare keytars

Rare keytar products

Drum/Percussion keytars

  • Dynacord Rhythm Stick (also known as "Jamma" since 1982) [9]
  • Tsumura JD21 [10]
  • Drumitar / Zendrum (2008)
  • "Riday T91"

Custom made keytars

In alphabetically order :
  • "Alien Guitar Simulator", a selfmade keytar by Le Orme keyboard player Michele Bon.
  • "Arcadetar", a keytar-like keyboard controller combined a pitch sensor in 20 inch. (50 cm) long, developed by Italian musician Andrea Lomuscio of Teapot Industries in 2012.
  • Jeri Ellsworth's FPGA-based C64 keytar[11]
  • Lady Gaga's custom made keytar during The Monster Ball Tour in 2010.
  • "Lag Circulaire" made for Jean Michel Jarre
  • "Lag Insecte" made for Jean Michel Jarre
  • "Lag Mad Max" made for Jean Michel Jarre
  • Matthew Bellamy's "Keytarcaster" Manson, made for playing Undisclosed Desires from Muse's 5th studio album, The Resistance
  • Prince's "PurpleAxxe", also played by Tommy Barbarella
  • "Politrep", a copy of the Zen Riffer keytar made by order at the website space4keys.com
  • "Remote" for Jean Michel Jarre's studio by Lag
  • "Syblade", a keytar designed to be unique and to inspire.

Customized keytars

Based on minimoog keyboards
Based on Yamaha KX series
Based on Roland AX series
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Orphica (?Vienna, c.1805)". Centre for Performance History, Royal College of Music.
  2. ↑ "Weltmeister Basset". blackroses.de. Archived from the original on 2002-03-22.
  3. ↑ "Joh Mustad AB Tubon (1966, Sweden)". Stockholm Music and Theatre Museum. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22.
  4. 1 2 3 "The ‘Tubon’ Joh Mustad AB, Sweden, 1966". 120 Years of Electronic Music (120years.net). The instrument was manufactured by in 1966 by the Swedish manufacturer of electronic tube organs, Joh Mustad AB, in Gothenburg, Sweden and also sold under license in the UK as the ‘Livingstone’. Very few of the instruments were sold outside of Sweden but one was purchased by Paul McCartney ( the original score for ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ includes a Tubon intro which was replaced by a Chamberlin on the final recording) and by Ralf Hutter of Kraftwerk in the early 1970s.
    See also: photographs of Paul playing Tubon 1, 2 (at the Schloss Hotel in Hamburg, during The Beatles’ last world tour), Tubon part score of "Strawberry Fields Forever".
  5. ↑ Sean Albiez, David Pattie, eds. (2011). "Kraftwerk (1970)". Kraftwerk: Music Non-Stop. A&C Black. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-1-4411-9136-6. It is also worth mentioning the use of phasing and the application of ring modulator effects to the keyboard's Tubon sound, which gives the music an industrial quality.
  6. ↑ "Lådan: Va i helvete har dom för sig inne i banken efter tre?". YouTube.
  7. ↑ "Rockeyboard RB-1". Hillwood Keyboard / Synthesizer Catalog 1977. Hillwood Musical Instrument/Zen-On.
  8. ↑ James D. Maier. "The Performance Music Systems Syntar".
  9. 1 2 "The Jamma & Dynacord Rhythm Stick official site". — including the stories, photographs, videos, technical stuffs and manuals (see below).
    • Dynacord Rhythm Stick MIDI - operating manual. Dynacord.
    • UK application 8,423,427, Jones Peter Stephab (Dynacord Electronic-Und Geratebau GmbH & Co.), "A Music Synthesizer, Especially Portable Drum Synthesizer", published 1984-09-17 (EP 0195038 A1 (published on 1986-09-24), WO 8601927 A1)
    • US patent 4,867,028, Peter S. Jones (Dynacord Electronic-Und Geratebau GmbH & Co.), "Music Synthesizer Especially Portable Drum Synthesizer", issued 1989-09-19 (a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 871,442, filed as PCT EP85/01927 on Mar. 22, 1986, now abandoned.)
  10. 1 2 "JD21 official manual" (in Japanese). Tsumura Inc.
  11. ↑ http://blog.makezine.com/2012/05/19/jeri-ellsworth-rocks-a-commodore-64-keytar/
  12. ↑ Jan Hammer playing Cruder in 1970s. ShowBiz.cz (photo).
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