STAR SWITCH
The unique Magnatar is an expanded guitar/keyboard, twelve "strings" by twenty-three "frets", and set into a piano-style keyboard case for two-handed playing on a flat surface. The intention is to provide a two handed instrument with an extended range so that piano literature as well as new types of music can be accessible to guitar players. The MAGNATAR spans six octaves and a fourth from the low C natural on the piano. Counting duplicate notes, there are 276 keys in all, color coded in black~and white by note-name, exactly as are the keys on a piano.
The "strings" are offset in straight fourth intervals so that the keyboard appears as twelve overlapping sections of a piano keyboard. This color-coded structure yields a unique two-dimensional pattern which readily identifies the note-names on the fingerboard. Keyboard splits, channel assignments and the musical register may be programmed independently into rectangular zones on the MAGNATAR fingerboard to allow for playing of up to 46 patches simultaneously. Special attention has been given to mapping rhythm sets to zones on the fingerboard so that certain drumming techniques may be achieved. A menu/display system is provided with a 2-line by 40-character LCD display, 8 "soft" keys, an Edit-mode key, data entry keys, and data slider. Controllers are four pressure pads programmable for pitchbend, modulation, pan, and aftertouch. At the rear panel are 1/4" phone jacks for MIDI volume and sustain pedals.
The instrument is available directly from the factory in a variety of colors and materials. A 2-line by 40-character LCD display is provided with 8 "soft" keys, an Edit-mode key, data entry keys, data slider and four pressure pads for pitchbend, modulation, pan, aftertouch, etc. 1/4" phono jacks are provided for SUSTAIN and VOLUME pedals. The MAGNATAR is available directly from the factory in a variety of colors and materials.
