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Yeah — I don't really see how it can work except on the bass strings (played open).

This is a novel but slightly peculiar take on this problem. But there are lots of other things, right?

Listing for others since I suspect you know: all of this scheming about live-manipulating the basic tuning of an electric guitar dates back to the Parsons-White stringbender (and arguably further, since that was a way to get pedal steel sounds), which has led to stuff like the Duesenberg Multibender, the really extraordinary MayTrem (which keeps all strings in relative tune as the pitch is bent), the amazing Hipshot Doubleshot which lets you tune a guitar or dobro in two separate open tunings and switch between them instantaneously with a lever, etc.

Ed Gerhard added single-string frets to the bass side of his weissenborn (acoustic lap steel) that he can play with the fingers behind his slide or (incredibly) with his thumb.

All of these things are sort of fiddling at the edge of the question of a musical instrument, which is: should you confound their constraints or work within them? It's a bit like the thing about whether a dulcimer should be diatonic, whether you should add just the frets you need, whether it should be chromatic, whether it should have removable frets, etc. etc.

As a sort of hobbyist lap steel player I find all these things fascinating, but I think the ultimate question is — where do you draw the line? There are lots of things I can't play on a six-string lap steel, but should I change the instrument so I can, or should I accept the role the instrument plays, and play the things I can?

Another way to look at it is: why is the Harpejji niche? Why isn't everyone playing the Linnstrument? Why don't all pianists play the ROLI Seaboard?

Yeah, I really dislike it when writers use stalling as a tactic.

The angle of the wrist on the front page makes me wonder about RSI.

Then the article did its job, driving you to the actual website.

which is exactly the role of the thumb in classical guitar

so this is solving the fact that using a guitar pick forces you not to use your thumb

i do now!

I thought that was the joke.

Yes! And every time I hear Kottke mentioned, I cannot resist sharing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La-QiWzwgOM

Leo Kottke, Doc Watson, and Chet Atkins playing Last Steam Engine Train together.

wow, instantly brought me back to the film "Days of Heaven", and then discovered that is the correct thought. never thought to check who did the music, but I love the movie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBgwuM11q0o

Thanks. This site has an aggressively annoying paywall.

> rather be able to 'unlock' extra tones deeper than the open string

Doesn't down-tuning and then using one of these accomplish that?

I use some chord fingerings that leave the low E and A strings open and form the rest of the chord with the D, G, and B strings. Chords with intervals that start in the second octave sound really dreamy and are easy to play. There is no way to extend that to more than two bass notes without something like this. Four bass notes open up much more interesting chord progressions.

"But it goes up to G" "Can't you just CAPO the third fret?" "...it goes up to G"

Not to discredit the invention, it's very cool indeed.

TransTrem doesn't allow for single string pitch changes though, it's more of a solution to easy alternate tunings when you have a whammy bar.

A simpler solution is probably using a crossover or synth-pickup so you can split the bass notes to a pitch-shift pedal.

"instrument that's already trying to destroy your hands if you play it just a little bit wrong"

that's not the fault of the instrument, that's your fault.

There is a less capable model (unifret) that doesn't require moving the pickups or adding much dampening to the soundboard.

All the frets past 18, too.

It couldn't add a quarter tone between each semitone on the guitar, it looks like it's just duplicating the lowest 2 or 3 frets on the bridge side.

this shortens the string from both sides and gives the player the ability to engage/disengage as part of their right-hand playing.

Because of the way intonation works in string instruments (e.g. by fine-tuning the saddle of the bridge on electric guitars/basses), I think that you'd be able to have this set up to work well in a few playing positions, but just as the frets get smaller as you go higher up the neck (because of the way pitch works on a shortened string) I'd expect the intonation to get out of whack in other spots on the neck.

They do different things. This like, instead of playing an F and a G on the low E string by fretting the first & third fret with your fretting hand, you can "fret" it with your strumming hand, which would free your fretting hand for the other strings around the 12th fret. This, in a way, lets you play a bass line and high melody without moving all over the fretboard wildly. The video on palmfrets.com shows this more clearly.

As a beginner player, this isn't worth worrying about, IMO. It might unlock some interesting composition options for someone writing a song for themselves... Normally, you have a bassist playing those parts for you, though.

Especially when 8,9, and 10-string guitars exist.

> The exception is the B which is tuned to the fourth.

I was going to say it's a major third, but then realized you meant fourth fret.

> And this really only extends the higher range.

No, the palm frets are only under the bass strings. So what it does is allow you to play first position bass string notes at the same time as higher position treble string notes. It extends the possible chord voicings, not the whole instrument range.

agreed. this is another gimmick product on an instrument that reached its apex 70 years ago.

I had a slightly different take, which is that the Chapman Stick already exists.