This guitar was most notably used on the song “So Far Away” from the Brothers in Arms album. It was built for Mark by Rudy Pensa to be used with the Synclavier – an early digital synthesizer, to create the song’s iconic sound.
The guitar remained with Mark until 2024 when it was auctioned for $350,000.
Specs
To control the Synclavier, Mark’s guitar needed to be equipped with a special pickup that would convert the guitar’s physical string vibrations into signals that the synthesizer could interpret. If you look at the photo above, you can see this pickup on the guitar sitting between the bridge, and the closer of the two regular pickups.
These “regular” pickups, based on the looks, were mini-humbuckers made by Seymour Duncan. They are obviously smaller than the standard pickups, and you can see the “SD” logo engraved on the metal cover.
Aside from the added synth pickup, this guitar could also be played as a normal guitar or blend traditional guitar sounds with synthesized ones. This could be done with the additional volume pots clearly visible on the guitar – a total of six of them. However, in which way specifically the guitar was wired is unfortunately unknown.
Usage Live
This guitar was most notably used for “Ride Across the River” in Sydney in 1986, and most likely for most of that tour. For that occasion, Mark used it just as a regular guitar, without the synth.
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