Is it a guitar-shaped synth or a synth-shaped guitar? This is a question one might ask when faced with Love Hultén’s latest creation.

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For those new to Love Hultén’s quirky designs, the Swedish audio visual artist, synth-builder and woodworker is the mastermind behind some of the most bizarre and incredible-looking musical machines we’ve seen. Last year, he turned a cactus garden into an instrument by integrating a device called Plantwave, which turns biodata from organic objects into MIDI.

And now, we have a portable MIDI guitar that’s infused with a NES-style chiptune synthesizer. The instrument, created in a collaboration with musician Catbeats, is built around the YouRock MIDI guitar technology.

Features include a bunch of tone-shaping buttons and knobs, a detachable neck for easy transportation, as well as a detachable clear dome at the bottom corner for the extremely important task of replacing the cat avatar underneath — because why not?

To top things off, the guitar also comes with a custom strap that’s “made from extraterrestrial skin” to complete the look.

“Kickstarted 2024 with a weird one for my friend,” Hultén says of his latest invention. Check out the axe in action below.

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Of late, Love Hultén’s has also collaborated with Chase Bliss on a custom synth that integrates some of Chase Bliss’s new products. The synth, in all its mint green glory, utilises a Korg Minilogue, Yamaha Reface CP, a Roland TR-08, as well as Chase Bliss’s own Mood MKII and newly launched Lossy.

“It’s dream-come-true time today! We made a Love Hultén,” said Chase Bliss of the project. “It will be living at the EU Hub in Amsterdam and was a workplace anniversary gift for one of our very early employees and EU Director, Tyler Devonald.”

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