Synthaxe Full system 1986 "Graphite"

The most famous exponent of the SynthAxe is of course the late Allan Holdsworth. Through his inspired playing the SynthAxe has acquired legendary status among guitarists.

I am selling my SynthAxe which I have owned since I played with the chart topping UK band Hue & Cry in the late eighties (see video). I played it live and also on several of the band's recordings. I also used it as a really useful composition tool. The great thing is you can control any MIDI synth with the SynthAxe. I intend to sell the SynthAxe "AS IS". It is now over thirty years old and has spent the last decade in storage. The leads, which connect the various components/pedals/console of the system, originally had a "glossy" finish which has not stood the test of time - so it requires replacement leads, (cost around £400 GBP). This apart, the SynthAxe is in good working condition. The console allows many performance parameters to be adjusted. The console display screen looks a bit like the ones on those old Nokia phones; not easy to read in dark conditions. I eventually used the console only to switch octaves. The technology is old and is now prone to occasional glitches. I have therefore listed the SynthAxe condition as "very good".

Original owner's manual included. SynthAxe system in four original flight cases included. (The metal stands for the controller and the console are not flight cased and will be packaged appropriately). 

Shipping: The buyer must pay for shipping plus insurance. The price quoted here is for shipping  and does not include a price for insurance. Please be aware that the actual price for shipping may be different from the price quoted here. The actual price for shipping will depend on the location of the buyer.

General Information:

The SynthAxe is a fretted guitar-like MIDI controller, created by Bill Aitken, Mike Dixon, and Tony Sedivy and manufactured in England in 1985. There were less than one hundred made; making this a very rare and collectible instrument. It uses electronic synthesizers to produce sound and is controlled through the use of an arm resembling the neck of a guitar in form and in use. Its name comes from the words synthesizer and axe, the slang term for guitar. The system was developed as a joint venture funded by Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

The SynthAxe itself has no internal sound source; it is purely a very powerful MIDI controller and needs to be connected to synthesizers to produce sound. The neck of the instrument is angled upwards from the body, and there are two independent sets of strings.

The fretboard is continuously scanned and sends signals to synthesizers which produce the sound. The left set of strings determine the pitch played, through contact with the frets on the neck and by sensing the side-to-side bending of the string. The right set of strings are velocity sensitive; these strings can be plucked, strummed or damped in the same manner as a guitar. A "keyboard" made up of six keys can also be used to trigger notes instead of the strings. (Source: Wikipedia)