The Vi-tar (or Vitar) was a musical instrument produced by the Exinde/Xinde Corporation in the early 1970s. Advertised as a cross between a violin and guitar, it was essentially a fiberglass-bodied electric violin with some very advanced internal electronics for the time.

History

The Vi-Tar was designed and marketed by Spencer Lee Larrison of the Exinde Corporation (Later the Xinde Corporation) in the early 1970s. Advertised as being designed "by a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology", it incorporated very advanced onboard electronics with active volume control for each string, a 'mute-tone' control and a built-in distortion called the "DynaFUZZ". Exact production dates and quantities are unknown. The basic design was patented in September 1972.

Construction

The body of the Vi-tar is a hand-molded fiberglass shell with roughly the same footprint as a standard violin. The upper 2 bouts are cut away to allow easier access to higher positions. It was designed to allow any standard chinrest and shoulder rest to be used. It was available in either a 4 string version, or a 5 string violin/viola combination in a variety of color combinations. The controls include separate volume controls for each string, a 'mute-tone', master volume and "DynaFUZZ" control. The bridge is a solid piece of acrylic and the magnetic pickups are built into fingerboard, allowing for the individual volume controls. The DynaFUZZ is an onboard distortion circuit. Vitar violin battery and cable

The electronics are powered by an external 18v battery box and the power is sent through the cable using a 4 conductor cable terminating in U174/U (TP120) connectors. The battery box also has the output to run to an amplifier or headphones.

Players

The Vi-tar is listed on many album credits, but by far the most well known player was John Franklin "Ellington" Blair. John Blair was an improvisational jazz violinist who primarily used a Vi-tar violin throughout his career. He released 4 albums of his own, but also played on many others with artists such as

Leon Thomas Amos Leon Thomas Jr. (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999), known professionally as Leon Thomas, was an American jazz and blues vocalist, born in East St. Louis, Illinois, and known for his bellowing glottal-stop style of free jazz singing in the ...

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and

Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...

. His 2 main Vi-tars were a white 4 string model he named 'Cleopatra' and a black 5 string named 'Nefertiti'. Other known Vi-tar players: * Siegfried Carver of the band Pavlov's Dog * Paul Bunker - former Hands violinist. * Mietek Glinkowski of the Mietek Glinkowski Jazz Ensemble *

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* Jean Luc Ponty *

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* Marc Bélanger * Richard Lee of Sidewinder and

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Miklós Both Miklós Both (born 3 June 1981, Budapest) is a Hungarian composer, performer, folklorist, singer for the band , guitarist, and vitar violin player.Szilvay GergelyKína, Erdély, Lakodalmas – Both Miklós világgá megy ppke.hu, 2013. január 29 ...

* Russell Bell of

Dramatis Dramatis are an English synth-pop band formed in the early 1980s. Chris Payne (musician), Chris Payne (Singing, vocals, Keyboard instrument, keyboards), Russell Bell (guitars, keyboards), Cedric Sharpley (Drum kit, drums), and Denis Haines (key ...

(on

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) * John Blair

References

External links

Vi-tar photos and information
* John Blair discography at Allmusic.com
Hands band history
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