The Vi-tar 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.

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

Leon Thomas

Amos Leon Thomas Jr was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois.Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University. In the 1960s he was a vocalist for Count Basie and others....

, Richie Havens

Richie Havens

Richard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...

 and Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...

. 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
  Pavlov's Dog (band)
  Pavlov's Dog is a 1970s progressive rock/AOR band formed in St. Louis, Missouri in 1972. Pavlov's Dog originally comprised David Surkamp, Mark Gahr on lead guitar, Mike Safron, Rick Stockton, David Hamilton, Doug Rayburn, and Siegfried Carver . Mark Gahr left the band and was replaced by Steve...
  
  
• Paul Bunker - former Hands violinist.
• Mietek Glinkowski of the Mietek Glinkowski Jazz Ensemble
• Scarlet Rivera
  Scarlet Rivera
  Scarlet Rivera is an American violinist. She is best known for her work with Bob Dylan, in particular on his album Desire and as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue.-Early career:...
  
  
• Jean Luc Ponty
• Michal Urbaniak
  Michal Urbaniak
  Michał Urbaniak is a Polish jazz musician and composer born in Warsaw, playing mainly the violin, lyricon and saxophone during concerts and recordings...
  
  
• Marc Bélanger
• Richard Lee of Sidewinder and Dragon
  Dragon (band)
  Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
  
  
• Miklós Both
• Rrussell Bell of Dramatis
  Dramatis
  Dramatis were an English synthpop band from the early 1980s. Chris Payne , Russell Bell , Cedric Sharpley , and Denis Haines were all originally members of Gary Numan's backing band. They formed Dramatis following Numan's announced retirement in April 1981.They released six singles and one album...
  
   (on For Future Reference
  For Future Reference
  For Future Reference is the only studio album to be released by the British synthpop band Dramatis. The album itself failed to reach the UK Albums Chart, however, one of the three singles released from the album, "Love Needs No Disguise" with Gary Numan providing vocals reached number 33 on the UK...
  
  )

External links

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