Guitar Hero: Baxter Featured in Popular Science Magazine

The April issue of Popular Science Magazine features Boyle Fredrickson Attorney Keith Baxter and his invention, the Servo-Electric Guitar. The Servo- Electric Guitar is a self designed playable instrument that is half computer, half guitar. Baxter rigged a prototype that connects a self-built three-string guitar frame, complete with circuit board and numeric keyboard, to his personal computer through a USB cable.

To translate his keyboard strokes into actual guitar cords, Baxter wrote a special piece of software that matches each button press to a specific tension on the guitar strings. The result is an automated rock experience. Baxter plans to continue modifying his design and hopes to one day perfect a version with an onboard computer for easier pick-up-andplay ability.

“I found that playing a standard guitar was too much work,” jokes Baxter. “I just didn’t have the dexterity to make the chord transitions I wanted at the speed I wanted. So, I decided to take things in another direction. I came up with a new design that uses computer technology and basic motors to play those chords that were previously out of my reach. Now I can produce Jimmy Hendrix inspired riffs or Hawaiian slide guitar with only a slight change in the program.”