Abstract: An electronic musical instrument having a fret board and a plurality of conductive frets may be coupled to a resistance ladder of discrete resistive elements. A conductive wire or a plurality of such wires selectively making contact with at least one of the conductive frets forms, together with the resistance ladder, part of a tone generating circuit. The circuit includes an oscillator which generates a tone in response to the conductive fret with which the wire makes contact. The circuit may also include a wave shaping circuit which selectively alters the shape of the generated tone and through a series of gradations alters its operating characteristics from that of a full wave rectifier to a linear voltage follower. Another embodiment modulates the phase of the generated tone by exploiting the dynamic impedance of a diode. One or more unique pressure sensitive touch pads may be employed for a glissando effect and/or for volume and/or tone glides.