Vitar violins

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Musical instrument

title: "Vitar violins" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["violins"] description: "Musical instrument" topic_path: "general/violins" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitar_violins" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Musical instrument ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Vitar_violin_front_view.jpg"] ::

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

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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

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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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Vitar_violin_battery_and_cable.jpg"] ::

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, Richie Havens and Lalo Schifrin. 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:

References

References

  1. "Musical instrument".
  2. [{{AllMusic
  3. "History of hands".
  4. "MySpace.com - Mietek Glinkowski Jazz Ensemble - RALEIGH, North Carolina - Jazz / Electroacoustic - www.myspace.com/mietekglinkowskijazzensemble".
  5. "Scarlet Rivera "Scarlet Fever"".
  6. "Jean luc ponty".
  7. "MICHAL URBANIAK - Atma (1974)".
  8. [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/violin-and-viola-playing-and-teaching-emc "Violin and Viola Playing and Teaching"]. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Susan Spier, Helmut Kallmann, Nancy McGregor, Flora Matheson Goulden. 11/07/2007
  9. [[Dragon (band)#1975-1979: Initial stardom]]
  10. "Napra - 'Oh, What A World!'".
  11. "John Blair – Southern Love (1976, Vinyl)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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