You've Never Heard a Guitar Do This

[@gretschfreak]

The whole freaking thing is a giant fancy ebow! Love that it's polyphonic and that you can engage strings separately with the dip switches.

[@RhettShull]

It’s so much fun to play, seriously I’ve never had an experience quite like it.

[@LP23D6]

@@RhettShull You need one Rhett

[@3dsman]

@@LP23D6 I think it’s one of those things where it’s way more fun to play than to listen to. Don’t take that the wrong way.. it sounded cool but…

[@gilbertlabonte5095]

My thoughts exactly. Still want one though🤣

[@Reprodestruxion]

You guys missed out on the moog guitar and the parker fly

[@g00d34]

Someone send this thing to Jonny greenwood right now

[@beachcomber4141]

YES!!!! He could have done "there will be blood" soundtrack with nothing more than this instrument. Jimmy Page could have done some magic with this 'guitar'as well!

[@lossie8086]

that's literally exactly what I was thinking

[@fuzzysurf1083]

Spot on!! My first thought was Ed O'Brien. The two of them could take Radiohead into the stratosphere with this instrument.

[@KNIGHTJUMPS]

Or Jimmy Brownstone.

[@jmeakin4]

This in the hands of Jimmy Page was my first thought; but, I suspect David Gilmour would create something special with it too.

[@JoseSalas-wn7im]

Great for movie soundtracks and special effects.

[@spooky3120]

Bring back Clint Eastwood! We have the soundtrack.

[@HooksBill]

Horror movies

[@WZRDbatzinger]

Dystopian present

[@djmonize13]

Honestly it reminds me of some of the effects that were in Poor Things

[@othandwayodlepu8004]

Sound like Poor things soundtrack

[@boboblaw]

it is astonishing to me that without ever coming across this dudes polyphonic sustainer guitar, last year, i made a polyphonic sustainer guitar that is also fretless, and it looks form factor wise, almost exactly the same as this. it even has the individual sustainer control, with the harmonic function. this was made years before i made mine, but im kinda surprised how similar they are, even without ever seeing this. convergent designing lol

[@simonrongeholmmadsen]

Do you have any vids of it? I built one aswell

[@freddie.7531]

Hey I’m building one as well as a noob, I’d reallly love some tips on how you did it.. I’m planning on using a lm386 amp with 3 single coil pickups basically… What did you use?

[@cadencerobot]

Man I need one so bad

[@j3ffn4v4rr0]

Wow, you guys!! Where can I learn how to build this??

[@geraldbayley5781]

Word I made one too😂

[@switchmuso]

The first 40 seconds were a true eye-opener on your amazing ear!!! You went with each chord and improvised a top line that was really beautiful! Hats off!

[@stulora3172]

Look up King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King. Thank me later.

[@CorbCorbin]

The Crimson King was coming out of that fretless, polyphonic pitch shifter guitar.

[@Chris-vg8zn]

I absolutely heard In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson.

[@eti313]

I’d like to hear it through a Mel9

[@billgaber4282]

or Belew's 1st solo: "Big Electric Cat"

[@garycoates4987]

That's very true Belew had a fretless guitar synth, and also even though not used by king crimson the first generation Roland guitar synthesizer had a built in sustainer pickup

[@povilasl5383]

thats the same thing I wanted to say, totally king crimson and floyd vibes.

[@Ramiroocampo]

I like how this video wasn't narrated at all. It added to the atmosphere of the playing.

[@stockholm1752]

It’s like guitar meets an Ondes Martenot . This is fantastic. Well done.

[@seanoh7677]

How do I buy it? I need the sad whale noise guitar.

[@KnuckleheadStuey]

Perfect

[@briansavage932]

😂😂😂

[@thoomish3556]

Earn his respect and prove yourself to the master

[@madsenamplification]

I want one too!

[@bobjones2041]

one blue whale, two blues whales

[@catlord357]

DUDE. crazy i’ve been following ducan for forever now. so glad to see him getting some eyes

[@PaulSmith-cg1yv]

I have been wanting to build something like this for a while and here is someone who has done it! Well the spring tank guitar combo with polyphonic sustain system... Nice to see other people are thinking outside the box... Love This! Run separate signals out like a subsix to separate effects and think of what sounds could be created.

[@homeslice287]

BOSS cries in Erus-GS1

[@ericpeterson9110]

If you are interested in this i think the Moog guitar did something very similar. Disontinued and i'm not sure about used prices, but could be worth looking into.

[@spudwashington3880]

It has a pleasing sound to the ear for sure like the tonality

[@Guilhem74]

That thing is fascinating, sounds like a cello or viola mixed with a highly textured electric guitar. Fantastic!

[@mentalcog2187]

The emotions and ambience you can emit with that is boundless! You could literally create an orchestra of wonder with it and leave people guessing. *_"Rhett made quick work of falling into the vibe of that guitar!"_* Just amazing!

[@Irkennalpha]

This should be a Sigur Rós/Freth Frith signature model, also Johnny Greenwood is looking for your location

[@miguelfitzsimmy5610]

That's incredible. I'd never leave the house again if I had one of them.

[@maeyer]

A house or this guitar?

[@travgpeters1]

bullshit .. why would you never leave the house ?

[@miguelfitzsimmy5610]

@@travgpeters1 shall I explain it slowly for you?

[@bradbrad247]

Duncan is the sole luthier of a tiny town on the edge of Lake Superior. He built a custom cab for my quilter a few years ago

[@rudolphpyatt4833]

Immediately made me think of Robert Fripp and Steve Hacket; very 1970s sounding.

[@richardclark.]

Or was it sublimal because of the Crimson nod?

[@ubdejones1]

Been following diskobebe for a couple of years. Guy is a genius

[@iiivanoeee]

same

[@Carfiuz]

Jonny Greenwood is salivating right now

[@Dungeon_of_Regret]

It’s Ed obrian that makes a lot of those sounds you attribute to greenwood.

[@BigBoaby-sg1yo]

@car… yup he would once he learns to play the guitar 😂

[@user-of9ut1hd9q]

Mk.gee is out there just salivating right now

[@maeyer]

I feel like watching every sci-fi movie from the mid 70s to 90s after watching this. Brilliant.

[@DavidFell]

Actually, I have, but that’s because I saw Duncan build one at last year’s Summit, and was present for the science fair seen in this. Nice seeing you in person, although we didn’t interact.

[@commodoor6549]

In the year 2277, there will be a man not too different from David Horowitz. He'll walk into a thrift shop filled with 20th &21st century bric-à-brac. Beneath a pile of lava lamps and iPhones a Duncan Price polyphonic fretless sustainer guitar will be uncovered. He'll try to research it, but very little will be known of how this beautiful and strange *_Blade Strummer_* came into existence.

[@geceergen]

I completely buy that vision. Also, freakin love hillowitz

[@straunwagner6322]

I want both of these immediately. But mostly The pug

[@TheBeardsShow]

Well tbh he could probs just pull up this video

[@GH05THiLL]

that would make such a killer movie. someone out there?

[@zloboslav_]

FINALLY someone has done it again!!! It's been like a decade since the Moog guitar... I love it!

[@erikstalsbergbarnett2551]

Pretty cool seeing Duncan get some recognition. I learned a lot from him while we worked in the same space. Dude really is a mad scientist when it comes to guitars.

[@MashaT22]

Josh Scott, our resident Americana Expert and Enthusiast. 🤣🤣🤣 (Totally true!) Btw, Andre Fludd turned me on to this Fretboard Summit. It’s like a hackathon for guitar nerds. Wish it was closer to NYC cause I’d totally love to see that. The Jamstik Studio guitar is capable of doing similar effects with the best polyphonic midi controller on the market for $500-$799 (depending on whether you catch a sale or buy b stock, but full price for the headless is $799 - the have other models for a bit more). It’s not a fretless, but you can still get similar effects with the right midi controller. If someone is looking to get similar tones, you could theoretically try to convert the JamStik Studio (which will void the warranty, of course) into a fretless - even with the frets, you’d get pretty close. Still, this guitar in the video is pretty epic. It’s nice to just have everything on board and get the tactile experience. Really cool! Thanks for showing us!

[@jimnewcomb9155]

It's in Chicago, if that helps

[@tranka6112]

That's so amazing about the guitar: Evolution never stops! Great plaing, Rhett! The slow glissandi - stunning space odyssey vibes there. Wow!

[@hamburger512]

That is so effing sick I’d love to play one

[@RealKingChief]

delicious

[@heymrguitarman7637]

There's some videos from a few years ago where Guthrie Govan plays a fretless guitar and he makes the thing sound incredible. But then again he makes everything sound incredible

[@RhettShull]

This isn’t just a fretless guitar

[@Maschine_Elf]

Id love to hear what he could do with this thing.

[@martinkrauser4029]

It's incredible is that he plays out of tune on those old Vigier demos. Him having poor intonation is very unlikely to have remained the case, but those particular videos aren't his proudest moment - even as his groove and note choice are as impeccable as ever. He just hasn't had the opportunity to practice that skill yet - and it's great that that exists because you can show that to a learner and they can see that the skills that the masters have at their fingertips have been hard-earned, not given.

[@Maschine_Elf]

@@martinkrauser4029 For sure, but there wasnt multiple sessions for the Vigier, it was one session for Guitar Interactive magazine with Michael Caswell that got clipped up. So, your seeing the first hours of him using a fretless.

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

I love the nod to Livin' on the Edge!

[@RhettShull]

Huh?

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

@@RhettShull you played a riff at the beginning that sounds just like the end of Aerosmith - Livin’ on the Edge.

[@richardclark.]

@@mikemorrisonmusic you somehow imagined that and missed King Crimson?

[@jhardy0786]

Every sound effects guy in Hollywood will want one of these

[@scottshand8559]

So for the first time ever playing one of these you did amazing! The sound is ethereal, really like an organ-guitar? Not sure what I can compare it to but you made it sound really cool brother.

[@RhettShull]

It makes you rethink everything you know about guitar when you play it, it’s so much fun.

[@IssamUAhmed]

Cool instrument and well played, Rhett. You looked super into it, almost like your were having a spiritual experience!

[@40WattPodcast]

Duncan is a total mad genius.

[@simonrongeholmmadsen]

I love anything Duncan does! His work has been so inspirational to me. I just finished making a guitar very much like the blue, polyphonic sustain guitar! Even put in a reverb tank aswell

[@godofrainbows]

That’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. In all seriousness, this should be made available to the public. Wow.

[@Hazamandeous]

I would play it so much lol.

[@nomar-nagim]

Been following Duncan on instagram for a while, his ideas are crazy and amazing. Glad to see longer video showing off his works and talking about dem sustainer guitars!

[@arbiagolli9297]

This guy will play and buy literally anything, except a PRS 🤣!

[@MegaKolak]

😂

[@jamesogara7053]

What are you talking about?! He’s done multiple videos about PRS guitars. He even did one video where he compared 5 different PRS guitars. Does your the search bar on your YT app even work?

[@dylanjastle]

@@jamesogara7053he notoriously doesn’t like PRS over other traditional guitars

[@gavinhorning5705]

Probably because PRS aren’t great guitars lol

[@Steaminlidz]

@@dylanjastleHow is it notorious to hold a personal opinion? I “notoriously” don’t like bananas.

[@coreyspencer8423]

Guy behind Josh Scott near the beginning is John, who owns Voltic. His DTF fuzz is probably the best drive pedal I’ve ever played, and a lot of people are starting to think that, and you should absolutely order one and demo it. It’s a harmonic percolator but for the MASSES

[@teddnagurski5583]

Ryan at 60 Cycle Hum needs to get his hands on one of these.

[@mjeffn2]

Mexico, MO. LOL. I went to military academy there in the 60s. The only memorable thing from that experience was that the movie theater there let us 13 year old kids in to see the movie “Barbarella.”

[@Hard.Clipping]

This is sick, did you tried it with Tube Screamer?

[@shalabazertheboltstruck8645]

Lol underated comment

[@Hard.Clipping]

@@shalabazertheboltstruck8645 yes, thank you :)

[@THEJADAN200]

I've followed Duncan for awhile on Instagram. So cool to get a full in-depth video of his beautiful creation.

[@FiestaRed]

That blue guitar is hands down the most beautiful guitar I've ever heard. If I can't ever buy one I'm gonna do my best to create one because that guitar is something else. Fretless guitars are a species of their own and I'm all in.

[@ArturBrzozowski444]

Finally someone did a full video on this piece of wonder! Thank you Rhett! As well as thank you Duncan for creating this crazy instrument and showing it to the world 🤍

[@Soobysounds]

What a fun writing tool.

[@koenmartin8624]

Wow! Those guitars sound like something straight out of the Dune movie score!! Amazing sound!

[@11000038]

There's 10 Chinese factories copying this as we watch. A Harley Benton version will be available by Xmas.

[@Ryan_Q3L]

Serious post-rock vibes with that fretless guitar! Very cool sounds.

[@soundssimple1]

They should still print the frets on the neck as a guide. I made a fretless bass but on removing the frets I filled in the slots with a wood filler paste with a brass/gold dye so that it still appears to have frets which is a great guide when playing.

[@jackpijjin4088]

Oh, that would give it a neat 'kinsugi' effect on the fingerboard-

[@soundssimple1]

@@jackpijjin4088 very exotic thankyou ! but really it just looks like polished brass, like the frets 1 to 5 that I left in place. 🎸

[@larryeckerdt9750]

Free your mind and your soul will follow

[@JamesVytas]

0:51 sounds like a Radiohead song

[@danieloduntan1983]

I thought the exact same thing lol

[@gasmoneyindustry]

More like Sigur ros

[@jmelara324]

Actually I have, not identically but almost the same. Matt Bellamy of Muse had a double neck version of his guitars made, with a mirror finish too. The top guitar was fretless, fitted with two P90s in the bridge wired together to act as a big humbucker, a string mute, and a Fernandes Sustainer. The bottom guitar was also fitted with the same things but fretted, as well we not having the string mute. You can see this in a few live performances from around 2010, playing songs like Resistance and Uprising. It ended up getting damaged after falling from a raised pillar part of their stage set up during a tour, it wouldn’t be seen again until years later where the top guitar was fitted with some sort of metal fingerboard, though never again used live.

[@allend3127]

It's definitely pronounced "piezo".

[@RhettShull]

Still unclear

[@allend3127]

@@RhettShull 😜

[@whssy]

😂

[@GeoffroyVincens]

We French people all say "pee-hey-zo", without a second thought. It's stuff like "dreadnought" we tend struggle with.

[@Demonat865]

I'm so glad ppl remember the moog guitar, I'm ready for a modern video about it. There's 0 info about it except for like 10+ years ago, not much did that, but this seems like a really awesome concept and sounds incredible. I like it more than the moog guitar.

[@philipatoz]

Just imagine this guitar in the hands of Robert Fripp!

[@richardclark.]

Was that a subliminal thought because of the Crimson nod?

[@philipatoz]

No, I didn't listen closely to the talk in the video. But I was just thinking of the kinds of sonic things Fripp has done, and especially the textures produced by this guitar. To this day, I kick myself for not going to see Fripp demo his frippertronics and tape loops, setup, around 1979, he did a small, post-Crimson tour showcasing these, and made a visit to a large record store in Atlanta (Peaches?) - he wasn't really known very well in the States. Probably could have been able to ask him a few questions.

[@madsenamplification]

Duncan is brilliant! That fretless sustainer guitar is so cool!

[@TranscendentBen]

12:00 The Moody Blues! Now you got me wondering how they pitch-shifted the Mellotron. Did they have a variable-frequency AC power supply back then?

[@trev3971]

A Mellotron has a pitch control.

[@CorbCorbin]

I was hearing Moody Blues and the Crimson King.

[@TrueManCrowyote]

I own a Vo-96 and had a Moog guitar, so yes I've heard things similar. I'm glad to see someone else innovating.

[@ryanmct1892]

Because we can, does that mean we should?

[@RhettShull]

Yes, yes we should.

[@TheZachCrouch]

This thing seems like a sonic one trick pony, an ebow for an entire guitar. HOWEVER that thing sounds so dang cool I want to hear like all of the genres use it. Go put this thing in a Nashville studio for a year and document everyone who touches it, I bet we’d get some wildly cool music.

[@TheBoomtown4]

How come a good percentage of good guitar players are giants? It must make it easier, therefore: should us under 6’ers be playing 3/4 scale guitars?

[@GigginDude]

I was hearing Piper at the dates of Dawn. This thing is freaking awesome. I could see this leading to the creation of a whole new sound a whole new genre, a whole new way of playing.

[@darwinsaye]

Reading comments of guitar-only musicians drooling over these makes me happy that I didn’t limit myself to one instrument. Yay for having synthesizers, so I don’t have to want one of these just to make these sounds.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Same... if this was affordable and easy to obtain, I'd love to add it. But since I already have an expensive synth that does this with an easier to control interface (easier to control for polyphonic shenanigans). Otherwise, this would be tempting.

[@darwinsaye]

@@GizzyDillespee I feel similarly about guitarists who buy octave pedals to fake bass parts. Man, all I can think is how they are denying themselves the enjoyment of playing an actual bass. (Bass was the last instrument I taught myself after keyboard, guitar, and drums, and it turned out that playing bass got me the most work as a musician I ever experienced in my life)

[@charlesolver303]

WANT. Also, Rhett - for the first time playing fretless (let alone this thing), your improvs are really lovely.

[@MoneyGrip70]

This just lowered my blood pressure !!! Not even kidding. Love it

[@guitarsean]

So cool. I love my sustainiac pickup and I've always wished for more than one note at a time.

[@ready2start]

Duncan made magic with this

[@cineM4RL]

Fun fact about Mexico, Missouri… they have a military school, and due to the status symbol of sending your kid to an American military school among wealthy folks from Mexico, the student body tends to have an incredibly high percentage of kids from Mexico (the country) going to school in Mexico (the small Missouri town.)

[@green_monday]

this needs funding. For 20 years I play a classical guitar and push it into my amp for buzzy drones but it is limited to G-D spaces on the guitar. This is fuggin' killin me.

[@Berndaddie]

That is the coolest guitar ever. It expands what you think the parameters should be for guitar. What happens if you make a fretless Chapman stick and use sustained pickups? Make a bass version? Love the sound possibilities. Thx Rhett and Duncan.

[@FesRJoseph]

Truly impeccable guitars here. Honestly speechless hearing the sound of thes

[@Steven-u5w]

I've got to hear this guy play. What I've seen is a awesome game changer I'm putting a Spring reverb into a guitar. This is a game changer. Got to listen to this I must check out more of his videos. It's getting a bit late now though at this time of night. Keep up with a nice work and I'll check you out sometime. Wow!

[@musicmnw1982]

I could see this being used for all kinds of things. I wouldn't buy one because I'm not that kind of player but people in the industry and future players would go nuts for this. Don't stop inventing new ways to play.

[@AdamLevyGuitarTips]

I got to spend a few minutes with that guitar at Fretboard Summit. So wild!

[@DaviTrombela84]

Os Mutantes were already using polyphone pickups in the 60s. The combination of ebow, fretless, coil reverb and polyphonic is really great though! Very impressive indeed!

[@shredgd5]

Rhett, you did a great job playing that for the first time so musically!

[@Piplodocus]

My initial thought as it began was that I can get close with my EHX SuperEgo, but then as it goes on you see how cool these guitars really are and how much more you can get from them than just what the SE does. Sweet. Love that reverb tank. 😁

[@Insanabiliter_In_Linea]

You pick it up and mess with it and it just instantly turns into a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song. Absolutely incredible, dude should absolutely make one for Godspeed, they would eat that shit up.

[@codelicious6590]

SO. Frickin. Cool! What a time to be alive I love the mad-scientist aspect and the current DIY spirit of our culture right now! More! Everybody, be inspired, create, dabble, inspiration is contageous.

[@Bruisewillies]

There was an Australian guy under the name New Complexity who had something similar, but as an effects unit and there's the Sound Stone Armonica using a similar method of driving and feedback. All beautiful stuff!

[@FreakingOutWithBillyHume]

Saw the reel on Instagram and had to come right over to hear this. Incredible!!!

[@danpeabody5687]

I think one of those would get you out of a creative rut in about a second! Very fun! You need to put these out for sale.

[@nancyvanrijn9732]

You definitely need one, that thing sounds awesome 🤯 Bit of a Sigur Rós vibe, love it 👌🏻

[@geraldponce8336]

Feel like I seen some movie with that effect before? Some post apocalyptic scene with the main character wondering around aimlessly in a wasteland.

[@LittondeJarnette]

Dude sincerely felt the need to explicitly state this is his first time.

[@stevemason5173]

I put together a guitar that a friend of my uncle made a hollow body copy of a Telecaster from copper. It looked like a huge shiny penny. I had never seen anything like this. I bought an old beat up "EL~CHEAPO" Decca guitar from the 60s, from a pawn shop and made it work with this copper hollow body. Once it was all put together, adjusted and set up we could not believe the sound of this guitar. Those old vintage pickups were amazing for feedback and sustain. The power of the old pickup combined with the copper body worked well together. It wasn't great for playing, but was just OK. The sound was amazing. The guitar was at the trade show in Chicago in with Fender sponsorship.

[@FraserLGuitar]

I saw Mason Stoops play one of those guitars, such a skill. Sounded incredible in the right context.

[@freq9939]

One of the coolest instruments I’ve ever heard/seen. Hope to get one one day

[@gracecyoung]

Very soundtrack/cinematic vibes. For some reason Gattaca is coming to mind… I’m also imagining Sigur Ros-style stuff would be a trip on that. I would love to hear it with some nice FX too, but like you say, it’s already beautiful just straight into an amp.

[@ChaseInman-oi6ko]

The sounds he gets from these remind me of the game Hylics. That game has a very trippy soundtrack

[@JohnRyan-zh2bg]

You really must get one of these, it sounds brilliant in your hands!

[@nomorenukes]

this will be the future of guitar. not even needing to strum, self sustaining. insane.

[@randydean23]

I know a guitar builder/luthier who currently has a business with Charlie Hunter making hybrid guitars. At any rate he was an independent contractor with Moog back when they were still in Asheville and he made several of the Moog Lap steels for them. Not sure if he ever kept one personally, but he might now where one is located. I have also wanted to play one of those for a minute.

[@coryburns13]

that thing is like a synesthesia machine...about 10 mins in I started smelling red and hearing blue...like I don't recall dropping any acid in the last 20 years, but...whoa man!!! that's freakin trippy!

[@stevenscott6658]

That ending section was one of the most blade runner sounding things I’ve ever heard.

[@820hurleyj]

Yes I have. It was a synth guitar I played in Guitar Center in the 80s or 90s.

[@nasticanasta]

What you're doing is feeling your way around that fretless neck, I recognize this because I started out on a fretless bass in high school. People were amazed I could play, but I found incredibly easy. I had no musical training I was self taught but yea sliding up and down is feeling your way ....when you start trying to play chords and the rest get back to me, and you don't bend strings playing a fretless guitar like bending with frets. I was listening to Larry Coryell and Philip Cathrine playing fretless acoustics back in the mid 70's...but wouldn't a sustainer pup on a fretless do the same thing? (yes). Then ya got guys like Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush making his SG sound like a slide guitar without using anything but a plain ol SG Special. I bet he would play magic!

[@lucky_spyke]

One of the musical choices that is generally erased from instruments like this is quick playing, faster moving lines, etc. In that way, it’s similar to Terry Riley’s works in Just Intonation. Lots of really fascinating textures, but little linear direction. Glenn Brancas’ symphonies are in the same musical arena. Static structures that float in place, harmonics that create frequencies that beat against one another is the only tangible rhythmic evidence available to the ear.

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

Damn , he should build an 8 -string bass version too ! Love it ! ThAnky Spanky !