# New Musical Instrument: Kitara Digital Guitar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443 "2011-01-21T13:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/21 "2011-01-21T17:52:58Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Well it would still be quite revolutionary to have keys all over the fretboard, but you triggered them with strings rather than a gimmicky screen. Not so revolutionary–the [SynthAxe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SynthAxe) did that back in the '80s. It had strings (actually separate sets of strings for fretting and picking) that triggered the sounds by contact with the frets, which made left-hand bending possible. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/22 "2011-01-21T18:02:16Z")
SynthAxe, Kitara, Key-tar - anyone else rolling their eyes at what the Marketing geniuses come up with for names that are guitarrific? - The CompuTar! - The Midi-Tar! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/23 "2011-01-21T18:06:59Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > SynthAxe, Kitara, Key-tar You’re making my [Key-tar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ioD3KcVSE) Gently Weep. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/24 "2011-01-21T18:19:02Z")
Someone is making a current generation key-tar, but it’s something like, 600 bucks, so even _I_ couldn’t justify that stupid thing, lol… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/25 "2011-01-21T18:53:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > You’re making my [Key-tar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ioD3KcVSE) Gently Weep. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/26 "2011-01-21T19:34:27Z")
I’m very intrigued! Just to have an instrument that will custom retune between songs or transpose with no effort at all would be superb. I’d have to get one in my hands to find out what it can and cannot handle, but I’m feeling that burning desire!!! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/27 "2011-01-22T03:13:47Z")
> **[Line 6](https://line6.com/variax-modeling-guitars/)** > > Create, record and perform with guitar in new ways. This’ll do that too, and quite a bit more. What this Kitara does that is interesting is the touchscreen parts that are _not_ the fake strings, I think. I’m not sure what they are, but they seem to be basically on the fly modulations… like a Kaossolator built into the guitar instead of strings. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/28 "2011-01-22T13:15:29Z")
You guys do know that ‘kitara’ is the Finnish word for ‘guitar’? ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/29 "2011-01-22T14:09:45Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > SynthAxe, Kitara, Key-tar - anyone else rolling their eyes at what the Marketing geniuses come up with for names that are guitarrific? > > - The CompuTar! > - The Midi-Tar! Meh, the others I’ll give you but kitara is just Finnish for “guitar”. edit: beaten over the head with a kitara by Toxylon ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/30 "2011-01-22T15:32:47Z")
Ultimately, the source is the Greek Κιθαρα which became Cithara in Latin. C before i still produced the hard ‘k’ sound of Greek kappa at that time; it was later that c before became a soft ‘s’ sound. Latin had no equivalent for theta, so ‘t’ was the closest pronunciation. The Greek instrument was closer to a modern harp than to a modern guitar. Online Etymology Dictionary [reference](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=guitar). Interesting [article](http://www.angelfire.com/sk/syukhtun/kithara.html) on kithar/guitar. From there we get the words guitar, zither, sitar, etc… Other languages have altered the word as is appropriate, eg. French ‘Guitare’, Spanish ‘Guitarra’, Italian ‘Chitarra’, Finnish ‘Kitara’. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/31 "2011-01-22T15:57:02Z")
And here’s a [much longer demo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO5_CXkQ6c8) from NAMM. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/32 "2011-01-23T04:39:47Z")
As I thought. The ball mode has potential, but I’d hate to try doing anything with string mode. But that’s just my perspective. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/33 "2011-01-23T08:04:11Z")
I’ve always wanted to play a synthesizer but I’m a guitarist, not a keyboardist. This looks pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/34 "2011-01-23T19:32:18Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > You guys do know that ‘kitara’ is the Finnish word for ‘guitar’? Nope; per **Le Ministre** , I just assumed it was a phonetic variant that leveraged the etymylogical history of the word…which isn’t too far from wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443/35 "2011-01-23T20:03:21Z")
I bet Pete Townsend wouldn’t play one. 🙂 Quasi [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-musical-instrument-kitara-digital-guitar/568443.md?page=1)