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History of Multiscale Instruments

Bandora (instrument). The bandora or bandore is a large long-necked plucked string-instrument that was first built around 1560 and remained popular for over a century. A somewhat smaller version was the orpharion.

Orpharion. The orpharion or opherion is a plucked stringed instrument from the Renaissance, a member of the cittern family. Its construction is similar to the larger bandora and an ancestor of the guitar. The orpharion was invented in England in the second half of the 16th century.

Modern Multiscale Instruments

Ralph Novak set out to provide an "ideal" electric guitar for blues musicians, intending it to provide better tonality and to prevent his fingers from sliding from the end of the fret when bending the high E string. In 1989, Novak patented a fret arrangement that he called the "fanned fret". The patent has expired, but Novak retains the trademark term "fanned-fret".

Today, multiscale guitars and basses are manufacturered by many different companies, including Cort, Dingwall, ESP, Ibanez, Jackson, Strandberg and Warwick.

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