This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage guitar or bass you’re interested in selling please contact us. 
 
Here for sale we have a Roland G-808 Guitar Synth Controller. Made in the Fujigen Gakki plant in Japan in 1983, this instrument was designed for use with the Roland GR-300 Polyphonic Synthesiser, and was the top of Roland's line of guitar controllers. The GR-300 was the first truly playable guitar synthesiser, introduced in 1980. Its predecessor the GR-500 had such issues with tracking that it was virtually unplayable. This guitar synthesiser was at the absolute cutting edge in the early '80s, pioneering technology which is commonplace today. As the unit was released before the development of MIDI, the GR-300 & G-Series guitar controllers made use of a hexaphonic pickup that sends a signal for each string to the synth module. These signals are converted to control voltages which operate the synth's VCOs (Voltage Controlled Oscillator), thereby creating the synthesised voice. The GR-300 produced 6-voice polyphony, with two VCOs per string. 
 
The GR-300 was used extensively by legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny as part of his live set up, as well as on his studio recordings- first appearing on his '82 release 'Offramp'. Other notable users include Andy Summers of The Police who used the synth on Zenyatta Mondatta on tracks like 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' where 'synth washes' are heard in the bridge. 
 
The G Series guitar controllers were produced at the highly regarded Fujigen Gakki plant in Japan. The G-303, G-505 & G-808 were released alongside the GR-300, with this G-808 coming at the absolute top of the line with its thru-neck construction, Ebony fingerboard & Gold hardware. The G-808 cost £499 to buy at release in 1980, equivalent to over £2700 today. The body is constructed from Ash with a Walnut top & back, whilst the laminated neck is made from Maple & Walnut. The twin humbucking magnetic pickups are wired to a 3-way toggle switch & master volume & tone controls. The Hexaphonic pickup features extensive controls to be used with the synthesiser module, with VCF (Voltage Controlled Filter) Cutoff Frequency, Guitar Synthesiser Balance, Vibe depth, VCF resonance & a voice selection switch. 
 
This particular example has clearly been well-loved in its 46 year life, and has undergone several professionally performed modifications including the scalloping of the fingerboard, addition of a Stetsbar tremolo system & an extra 2-position toggle switch which reverses the phase of the pickups in the middle position. It would make the perfect addition to the collection of any synth aficionado, or perhaps a restoration project for someone looking to recreate those early guitar synthesiser sounds. 
 
This guitar is a commission sale. If you have a high-end or vintage guitar or bass you’re interested in selling please contact us. 
 
Please be aware that for international buyers import fees are not included in our postage and packaging cost, this only covers the cost of the guitar being sent to you. Import fees will be charged by Customs upon the guitar's arrival in the recipient country. Due to Brexit, this also applies to EU buyers. We advise checking the total import cost with Customs as this is not information we are able to accurately provide.