The new 360 Systems guitar synthesiser is a redesigned comprehensive package that allows far more control and much better tracking than its predecessor. Major new features include two transposers that can be foot-activated, string selector switches, hex fuzz and a programmer jack that can be hooked up to a digital memory. The visual aspect of the unit is clean and efficient: the unit can sit upright on top of any guitar amp with all controls and output jacks in direct view.

In exploring the variables available in this new unit, it's logical to follow the signal flow through the unit from guitar to amplifier.

A special 'hexaphonic' pickup can be mounted on your favourite guitar, an option which is especially desirable. Besides a redesigned, more effective pickup, 360 Systems use a heavy duty connector on the end of the guitar cord from the synthesiser unit to the connector on the guitar.

The initial decision in determining how this guitar synth processes signals from the pickup takes place in the string select control centre (similar to Arp's Avatar) allowing you to pick the strings with which you want to trigger the synth. This is an important feature — when a fingerpicking style is to be played, you can choose to have only the bottom strings turned on. So you would get the bass pattern played through the synth while a 'straight' guitar sound would come from the top strings. Any variation can be employed, like when you just want the top note of a chord to sustain. This can produce a great effect on slowly-played arpeggio chords.

A LED level set is visible on the front panel to simplify initial front end adjustments. This writer had a prototype model that had already been calibrated.

One of the most creative design changes is an expanded transpose section which contains two transpose controllers that can be either manually or footswitch controlled. This allows the player to preset two different intervals and actuate them at will, while playing. For example, you could preset transposer 'a' to a third above your normal guitar pitch. If you were interested in having the synth play a diatonic harmony (as opposed to a parallel one) you would programme transposer 'b' to a fifth above normal guitar pitch. In playing a normal scale on guitar, the sequence of how you used the foot pedals would affect which transposer was in the circuit and, as a result, which kind of harmony would be played.

In an A scale — with capital letters signifying the note played and the lower case letters denoting the footpedal used (transposer a or b) - the sequence for playing a diatonic harmony would be as follows: A-a, B-b, C-b, D-a, E-a, F-b, G-b, and A-a. You have, for the first time, harmony conforming to a diatonic scale from one string into and out of a guitar synthesiser.

In addition, there is an oscillator select switch which lets you pick whether you want both oscillators to transpose to a preset (a or b) or just transpose oscillator 2, which leaves oscillator 1 to follow the normal corresponding pitch. When lines are played in conjunction with a fat, normal lead sound from a guitar amp, it's useful to have the ability to choose between having both oscillators transpose, or just one while the other follows the normal guitar pitch.

The basic synthesiser used in the 360 Systems guitar synthesiser is an Oberheim expander module which has been slightly modified. The main difference from a standard Oberheim unit is the external rotary control pot. In a far left position you can mix in a maximum amount of 'clean' guitar signal, which comes from the hexaphonic pickup. The far right position brings in the hex fuzz, which can be processed through the filter/envelope. The hex fuzz can be used in conjunction with the oscillator output and a normal guitar sound to provide a sound some describe as 'holy mother of fatness'. There's also a trigger LED on the front panel that tells you when the pitch-to-voltage converter is 'tracking'.

Speaking of tracking, this has been so much improved that you can get an average of 13 seconds of sustain on the A-string (3rd to 7th fret) with radical finger vibrato. The G-string averaged 5 to 7 seconds. The guitar with which I tested the synthesiser was a recent year Les Paul; it responded well and the GS exhibited a minimum of glitching error. At least things are getting better in this department — not perfect, but definitely 'new and improved'.

The connector panel is at the bottom right of the front panel of the system and there are a wide variety of outputs. The high and low outputs from the synthesiser connector panel can match up the GS output to a guitar amp or recording console. There's also an independent hex fuzz output not affected by the filter or envelope. The hookup to an external synthesiser is achieved via trigger and voltage-controlled outputs. On the effects jack connector panel there are two jacks available for the transpose footpedals (a and b), a sustain jack which allows you to sustain a triggered note forever (even if you've stopped playing the note), and a filter output which lets you sweep the filter section of the GS with a footpedal. All jacks are standard ¼in.

The latest version of the 360 Systems guitar synthesiser has many impressive features. Those really interested should try to get a thorough demonstration and compare its flexibility to the other GS units available.

Tom Seufert has been a professional musician, songwriter, arranger, vocalist, engineer and producer for more than ten years. He started one of the first 'home' Teac 4-track studios in California in 1972, which has grown into a personal 24-track professional set-up.