Over three years ago, Paul Vo, the creator of the MOOG Guitar and the Vo-96 acoustic guitar synthesizer, launched the Wond. This was to be the next step in EBow-style string-exciter evolution. But after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and 500 units shipped, the Wond mysteriously disappeared from sight. Now he is talking about the Wond II Project
For those who missed it, here is the first iteration of the Wond.
We profiled looper extraordinaire Bill Walker a couple of years ago. Here he is checking out the upcoming Paul Vo Wond sustainer.
The 2015 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California was more crowded than in years. The main trend, guitar-wise, seemed to be custom guitars that recalled old Harmonys, Silvertones, and oddball Italian or Japanese instruments; not forward thinking—but definitely cool. Also plentiful, as we shall see, were “freak-out fuzz pedals.”
The best in show from a modernist standpoint would have to be the GTC Sound Innovations Rev Pad. This Israeli offering may or may not see wide scale production and distribution, but this touchpad control of a dedicated multi-effect system—one that also offers expression outputs to control external effects—was the most interesting new concept on display.
Anyone familiar with the Moog Guitar will be acquainted with Paul Vo’s work. Vo pioneered string energy synthesis, where the sounds are a product not of processing the au but of affecting the way the strings vibrate. This method creates a variety of unearthly overtones and harmonics for some completely new guitar sounds. Vo created his own company—VoInventions—and has turned his inventor’s eye toward acoustic guitars. The result is the Vo-96 Acoustic Synthesizer. Try to check this out without your jaw dropping.
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