Keyed guitar

Keyed guitar (Fr.: guitare à clavier; Ger.: Tastengitarre; It.: chitarra a pianoforte), an improved *English guitar, patented by Christian Clauss on Oct. 2, 1783, and again by John Goldsworth in 1785. The improvements took the form of plucking or striking devices; in the former a number of buttons placed on the right side of the body controlled levers that plucked the strings; in the latter a detachable box was affixed to the body, with 6 keys and piano hammers that struck the strings. In both…