Multiac Spectrum Steel SA
The renowned electro-acoustic Multiac series gets a new steel string model with the addition of the Multiac Spectrum SA. It features a new larger mahogany body design, Seymour Duncan Lipstick pickup in the neck, Custom Godin electronics along with separate tone and volume controls for the Lipstick pickup, as well as 13-pin capabilities for computer & synth access.
Specs
Mahogany neck
Ebony Fingerboard
16" fingerboard radius
25 1/2" Scale
1 11/16" nut width
Chambered Mahogany body
Solid Spruce Top
Seymour Duncan Lipstick Pickup with separate volume & tone controls
Custom electronics with 13-pin output for computer access & direct control of Roland GR Series and Axon guitar synths
Feedback free at high volumes
Colors: Natural High-Gloss, Lightburst High-Gloss & Black High-Gloss (not shown)
Synth Access
The first Multiac Nylon prototypes were already nearing completion when we became intrigued by the possibilities presented by Roland's GR-1 guitar synth system. Guitars had already been triggering synths for many years but they were either very expensive and not really guitars but guitar-like triggering devices or they just didn't work very well. The GR-1 made the guitar/synth connection available to guitar players of all budgets and abilities. However, using the GR still involved attaching a significant amount of hardware to your existing guitar. So we began experimenting with the idea of a guitar built from the ground up with synth tracking in mind. Our old friend Richard McLish of the RMC pickup company already had developed a hexaphonic pickup and preamp system called the RMC Polydrive and we asked him to work on a version of his system customized for our new guitar, which we called the Multiac. Richard's system worked beautifully, however, we discovered that we could impact the tracking of the system with fundamental changes to the guitar itself. Bracing, scale length, string tension and wood selection all had some effect on the response time (tracking) of the synth. After about twelve prototypes we not only had achieved superb guitar synth tracking but we'd done it in a nylon string guitar. Several years have passed since the first Multiac made its debut and we continue to refine our designs and explore new possibilities such as the new Multiac Fretless. There are now twelve Godin models that include synth access.
