Some musicians break the rules. Circle Guitar was built for them.

A guitar that strums itself. Freeing you
to express yourself in new ways.

Made to order in numbered batches.
Batch Two opens 10 November.Batch Two is open until 31 December.

Hear it Batch Two Book a Session

A new way to play

“For me, as a musician, it’s about finding new sounds, and it’s about finding new ways of making sounds.”

Ed O’Brien, Radiohead

Circle began with a simple question: what would it sound like if a guitar strum never ended?

The answer changes how you play the guitar.

The wheel

A motor-controlled wheel carries picks, held in place by magnets. As it spins, they strike the strings.

Move the picks or change the speed, and the rhythm changes.

Fits the way you make music.

Circle Guitar sits in the space between an electric guitar and a digitally controlled instrument. At its simplest, the guitar’s own controls drive the wheel, and it plugs into a standard guitar rig.

At its most advanced, it is a guitar you can sequence, and MIDI gives the wheel precise acceleration and deceleration, for new kinds of guitar rhythm. Pedals and plug-ins can process its audio in time with the wheel.

You can, of course, play it like a normal guitar too.

A musician seated in a recording studio with a white Circle Guitar across his lap, both hands on its controls, a mixing desk beside him

Every Circle Guitar does all of this.
There are four options you can choose to control it.

The player

“I play guitar. I don’t want to program it.”

  1. Standalone

    • Encoder sets speed, start and stop
    • Buttons set the speed, 1× to 6×
    • Tap the Home button for a single turn, ending at Home
    • A volume fader for each of the six strings
    • Standard ¼-inch out, or a multichannel out with each string on its own channel

  2. Pedalboard

    With a Morningstar MC Pro

    • Builds on Standalone
    • Presets that change your effects, sweep the speed or set tap tempo
    • Expression pedal acceleration
    • Time-based effects synced to the wheel
    • The guitar’s buttons become yours to map

The producer

“I sequence MIDI and work in a DAW.”

  1. MIDI controller

    Tested with BeatStep Pro. Others yet to be tested.

    • Builds on Pedalboard
    • MIDI clock and CV sync with drum machines and Eurorack
    • Sequence the wheel and the guitar’s sound like a synth
    • More complex, evolving rhythms

  2. DAW

    • Builds on MIDI controller
    • Full control of rhythm and audio processing
    • Automate speed and effect changes
    • Gate single strings with envelopes, LFOs and VSTs

It arrives set to Standalone, ready to play. The other three are there when you want them.

“The most revolutionary new guitar in half a century.”

Guitar.com

  • Ed O’Brien playing Circle Guitar

    “This is an extraordinary new guitar, and I’ve already put an order in to buy the first one.”

    Ed O’BrienRadiohead
  • Paul Epworth playing Circle Guitar

    “Circle Guitar opens up a million brand new and original creative possibilities in the studio.”

    Paul EpworthProducer
  • Lee Kiernan playing Circle Guitar

    “The moment you hold it, you are forced to think differently about what is possible.”

    Lee KiernanIdles

MIDI Innovation Awards 2025 winner badgeWinner, Hardware Prototype, MIDI Innovation Awards 2025 Patented Made with Gordon Smith

A white Circle Guitar

Batch Two.

  1. Made to order in a small numbered batch.

  2. Open from 10 November to 31 December 2026, or until every place is reserved.

  3. Ready to ship four months after the batch closes.

Batch Two
A musician playing Circle Guitar, the wheel blurred in motion

For artists exploring new ground.

Play Your Impossible.

Batch Two Book a Session

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