The Infinite Guitar is a modified

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

created by

Michael Brook Michael Brook (born 1951) is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, music producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores. His collaborations with musicians around the worl ...

, as a way of allowing a note to be held with infinite sustain (hence the name). It consists of an electronic circuit that takes the signal from a standard guitar pickup, amplifies it, and feeds it back into a separate pickup coil. When set up and used correctly, the result is a continuous sustained note that can be used as is, or treated to create new sounds or emulate traditional instruments. In addition to his own instrument, based on a Tokai copy of a

Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

, Brook produced two other Infinite Guitars. One belongs to

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...

, and the other belongs to

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

of U2, who used it to record "

With or Without You "With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their fifth studio album, ''The Joshua Tree'' (1987), and was released as the album's lead single on 16 March 1987. The song was the group's most successful single ...

" from 1987's ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ''T ...

''. The principle has been the subject of patent litigation in the past, and is (or was) available commercially in several forms, including the Kramer Floyd Rose Sustainer, the Sustainiac, the

Fernandes Sustainer An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

, the Guitar Resonator and the

Moog Guitar The Moog Guitar is an electric guitar developed in 2008 by Paul Vo that controls the level of energy within the strings of the guitar to modify the capabilities of the guitar. The guitar can send energy into strings to allow for infinite note sus ...

. Additionally, it has been suggested that Michael Brook was inspired by the Holland Infinite Sustain Guitar introduced prior to his design. In 1978, guitarist Randy Roos and Steve Holland modified an SG guitar with a stainless steel fingerboard and infinite sustain device. The sustain device was patented by Steve Holland. The guitar can be heard on Randy Roos' recording "Mistral" which features Roos,

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...

and

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

, among others. Similarly, musician and producer Jim O'Rourke has suggested that the concept did not originate with Brook, who refined previous similar designs by others.As quoted in "The Dirty 30", ''Guitar Player'', January 1997

References

External links

1995 Interview
with Brook, i
Sound On Sound
magazine, including a sidebar of Brook's guitar setup.

References

External links

See also