page_title: Guitaret
section_title: Famous performers
hierarchical_section_title: Guitaret / Famous performers
caption_attribution_description: English: Warren Ellis, musician (2006)
context_page_description: The Guitaret is an electric lamellophone made by Hohner and invented by Ernst Zacharias, in 1963. Zacharias also invented similar instruments like the Pianet, Cembalet and the Clavinet.
  The instrument itself was not popular, and was dropped from the product line in 1965, presumably because it failed to excite the market. It was one of a number of experiments that Zacharias made converting non-standard musical instruments to modern ones. Guitarets that have survived have problems with the reed dampening system, which means that the instrument has come to be played with two hands.
  Despite its obsolescence, its distinct tone has made it popular in both retro- and colourist settings, and it has experienced somewhat of a revival. It has been featured in soundtracks recently for this very reason.
  The Guitaret's sound is that of a thumb piano. It is plugged into an amplifier, and sounds like an electric thumb piano.
context_section_description: It is featured on Leo Abrahams's work (he was given a Guitaret by Brian Eno). Leo plays the Guitaret on the soundtrack for "Searching 1906" "I ended up playing a lot of guitaret (the rare thumb piano-like instrument that Eno gave me)."
  Warren Ellis plays Guitaret both on the Grinderman album and on the Soundtrack for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  Max Eastley (creator of instruments) plays Guitaret according to the Lord Jazz Discography
  Lali Barriere plays Guitaret in Pad (Projecte Achmed Digital) and with Ferran Fages in a Barcelona experimental duet GRUS. Lali also plays guitaret in "My Pony", last track of "Press the Space Bar", by Chicks on Speed and The No Heads. Lali also started the Guitaret Fan Club on Facebook, and contributed to Guitaret Album
  Michael Peters organised the Guitaret Album through the Guitaret Fan Club and uses the Guitaret for Live-looping. He played Guitaret in Tonlabor (2004–2006) as part of a collection of strange instruments
  Ivodne Galatea has released 3 albums of Guitaret music "The Ambitions of Curiosity", "The Geography of Thought" and "The Archaeology of Knowledge". Ivodne also contributed to the Guitaret Album.
  Saïd Zarrabi, the keyboardist in Les quitriches, a French beat band from Stuttgart, Germany and Quitriche-en-Auvergne, France doubles on Guitaret
  Aja West plays Guitaret on Aja West & Cheeba's Flash & Snowball
  Plamo includes Guitaret in his instrumentation.
  Roland Wolff plays the Guitaret in his stage music
  Martin Schnur plays his Guitaret sometimes in his stage music with the Original Wammertaler Musikanten.
  Icelandic band múm have Guitaret on their latest album and the track Illuminated features it
  Abandon the Earth Mission features a Guitaret
  It is sampled in the MOTU Electric Keys, so the Guitaret sound is likely heard more than the Guitaret itself. It can be detected by the harsh metallic clicking of the high C. There is also a (defunct) one for 9V Audio which extends the range by octaves, but transposes an octave as well.
  Loren Bouchard plays it on the theme song of Bob's Burgers.
  Joanna Newsom plays one on the title track of the album Divers (album).
caption: Warren Ellis in 2006.
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