"Play 100s of songs in minutes" with the RalBar three-string electric guitar

Three-string guitars are nothing new - last year's Danelectro-like Electric Loog proved that - but the RalBar offers a new, dulcimer-like take on the format for beginners.

Designed by Australian guitarist and former dentist Brian Dyskin, the teardrop-shaped RalBar is tuned CGC to a 5th chord (ie, a powerchord), so chords are neither major nor minor, which reduces the risk of playing the 'wrong' chord, and means they only require one finger.

The edge of the fretboard is also marked with Roman numerals, so there's no need for chord names - it's "like painting-by-numbers for guitar," Dyskin told Mixdown.

What sets the instrument apart from its contemporaries is that the RalBar is built like a real electric guitar, with a mahogany/basswood body and quilted maple top, set neck, 25" scale and a pair of Dyskin Designed single coil pickups, with pickup selector, volume and tone controls.

It's not going to replace your first real-six-string, but the RalBar is a stepping stone to learning the real thing, and an acoustic version is on the way soon, too.

RalBar instrument combos - including a gigbag, starter amp, cable, tuner, strap and spare set of strings - are available now for AU $465 (£235/US $340/€300 approx) from Dyskin Guitars.

Michael Astley-Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.