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In
the mid-1980s a guitar manufacturing company was set up in the highlands
of Scotland to produce an electric
guitar of a design radically different from almost anything made before
or since. The Bond ‘Electraglide’, designed by Bournemouth luthier
Andrew Bond, featured a ground-breaking combination of original as well
as more conventional design features such as carbon-fibre construction,
high-tech electronics, a digital display and a fingerboard that featured
a height-adjustable nut and utilised saw-toothed shaped steps instead of
conventional frets. Launched with both great fanfare and secrecy at the
1984 Frankfurt Music Fair and Los Angeles National Association of Music
Merchants (NAMM) trade shows and much ballyhooed during its brief
existence, the Bond guitar ultimately failed to capture the imagination
of guitar players and the company was wound up less than two years after
the guitar’s debut.
Matthew has researched extensively into the Bond Electraglide Guitar,
Andrew Bond and the Bond Guitar Company. His 2005 MMus Dissertation on
the Bond Electraglide (127 pages) includes both the history and
technical specifications of all the Bond guitar variations along with
copies of advertisements, all of Andrew Bond's domestic and
international patents and a facsimile of the original owners manual.
In addition, Matthew has compiled an annotated Bibliography of the Bond
Guitar which includes almost every known reference to the instrument and
Andrew Bond in print including advertisements, press releases and
product reviews from the early 1980s to 2005.
Matthew's dissertation and the Bond annotated Bibliography is available for purchase. For further details
email Matthew.
To
access the full table of contents of the dissertation click here.
FOR SALE - There are a limited number of new old
stock Bond Electraglides available for purchase. Please
email Matthew
for details. |
