# this guy is my new guitar hero



## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

he builds his own guitars with Optical pickups and plays them thru his comp, ...



[youtube]rmYRhdu9y7M[/youtube]

[youtube]ondema3bFCk[/youtube]


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## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

i love this guy. i wanna hang with him and learn everything he knows, ...

[youtube]t_gJgSp3yyk[/youtube]


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## headbandrocker (Jan 2, 2010)

Midi guitars are sweet,He steped it up wow.
les monkeyin around,pretty cool 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZo4zSORtw&feature=related


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## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

*Light Speed Guitars: The Story Of Ron Hoag And His Optical Guitar Pickup*

December 11, 2006





Every good electric guitar player knows their instrument is powered by magnetic pickups, but what if you could replace the magnets with an optical system using light to transmit the vibration of the strings to the amplifier? 
Ron Hoag didn't invent optical pickup technology; he says it has been available in theory since the early 1920s, but never fully realized until the advent of the silicon chip. In the 1960s, Hoag was working in electronic parts sales when encountered some new technology; photo transistors. Getting a good look at them, Hoag was inspired to try using the transistors to replace a guitar's magnetic pickups.
"I wondered if they could sense a guitar string" Hoag said. After a few tests, Hoag says it was clear the idea would work. He kept testing the concept and in 1968 he fully understood how the technology worked and had a guitar he could show to manufacturers.
"I put it on the market in 1969. It was a summer NAMM show I took it to, and Sunn Amplifiers offered me a corner of their booth to demonstrate the pickup," Hoag said. "Later, in 1970, I demonstrated [the optical pickup] to Chet Atkins. He liked it so well that he got Fred Gretsch to write me and ask about it." There was just one problem; Hoag claims his patent application was denied because no one believed that the optical pickup design would actually work. Without a patent, Hoag was unwilling to risk signing with Gretsch for fear of losing control of his ideas. 
"Gretsch unfortunately did what every guitar company did and said 'before we can talk we need to sign this disclosure agreement. I could not sign any agreement because I had no protection at all." In spite of this, Hoag held out hope, contining to show the guitar to a variety of companies. Each one had glowing reviews of the technology. "People came to the same conclusion I did, it's the best pickup because it has the full frequency."
Hoag pressed on without a deal, working on ways to improve the guitar's tone.
"This is a high fidelity pickup that treats the strings evenly." Hoag said, "When you played the steel strings it sounded more acoustic than steel string guitars at the time using magnetic pickups. I made a circuit to accomodate that and reapplied for my patent."
Hoag says his patent application was denied yet again, for the same reasons. No one believed it would work properly.
"That set the stage for the next 36 years of doing everything on my own. I did show to Gibson in 1972; they loved it but couldn't come to an agreement. I went to Rickenbacker, and they did sign an agreement, but for some reason it fell apart six months later."
Hoag still didn't give up. He went to work for Sunn amplifiers in the 80s and eventually got an audience for the design. "They asked me to demonstrated the guitar to them." 
"Then they fired me."
Some would give up after such a long series of rejections, but even now Hoag continues tinker with his optical guitars. "I've given them away to my grandkids, the rest I keep in my experimentation laboratory to amuse myself." When asked to sum up the journey he has taken with the optical guitar, Hoag paused a moment, then admitted, "After 38 years I've sold two pickups to Gibson, one guitar to ARP Synthesizers, and I've given the rest away to my family."
The last optical guitar Hoag sold was paid for in 1975, but even now, he is hopeful that someone will take an interest in the technology as a complete package. "I will deliver [an optical guitar] if I get an order. Everybody that has called or emailed wants pickups. I don't do pickups, I build them all by hand so it takes a long time." 
It's obvious he loves the technology, having tested it in every possible way. "I've had it play beautifully on all kinds of woods," he said earnestly, "Including a two-by-four."
Hoag says he doesn't know why the technology never caught on. "It is the best pickup in the world, so you tell me what's going on."
Ron Hoag's optical guitar, the Trad 60, is available at his website for under six hundred dollars, plus shipping.


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## tebor (Jan 2, 2010)

pretty cools vids.
The song in the first vid is my favorite.


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## headbandrocker (Jan 2, 2010)

shootin the shit 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBo-LGyljsw


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## nanskies (Jan 2, 2010)

talk about musical genius


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## InsaneInTheBrain (Jan 2, 2010)

Any idea if he sells them or if similar ones are available anywhere (midi guitar)? That would be perfect for something I was thinking about...

(Not synthesized adapter and not the buttons... true fret by fret recognition.)


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## nanskies (Jan 2, 2010)

he looks like hed be awesome to just chill with


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## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

InsaneInTheBrain said:


> Any idea if he sells them? That would be perfect for something I was thinking about...


i've been googling. i can't find a new or used one.


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## DaveyDoom (Jan 2, 2010)

Parker Fly is a popular midi guitar.


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## DaveyDoom (Jan 2, 2010)

derp double post


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## speedyseedz (Jan 2, 2010)

fdd2blk said:


> i've been googling. i can't find a new or used one.


from what i can tell in 2006 he released a guitar called k-max, I can't seem to find anything but information and sales pitches, but nothing on how to buy one so far.


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## guitarabuser (Jan 2, 2010)

There are actually a quite a few options to get your instrument signal into a digital format.

This is my favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzOqy4Y4Mo


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## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

these are "optical" pickups. they are picking up the string vibration with a beam of light. NO magnets. 


[youtube]UTHOmtMSCko[/youtube]


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## fdd2blk (Jan 2, 2010)

[youtube]xJKU2FpdkiI[/youtube]


the bass is cooler, ...



[youtube]Gmaqdm3514U[/youtube]


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## RedsGerrard (Jan 2, 2010)

pretty frickin sweet


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## guitarabuser (Jan 2, 2010)

No doubt this guy is a genius. Especially considering how far ahead of the industry he was. The only drawback to an optical pickup is tone. This is probably the only reason magnetic pickups have not been replaced by these. You have to rely 100% on the processing of the signal to get your tone. Of course companies like Line 6 have made incredible advances in signal processing and I could see a mairrage of this guy's pickups with one of their units making for a badass rig.


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