Designed by the engineers Vladimir A Gurov and V.I. Volynkin with the musical input from the composer Lucien M. Varvich, the Neo Violena was manufactured in Russia in 1927 and seems to have reached the USA during sometime during the 1930’s. The Neo Violena, as it’s name suggests, was a monophonic violin like instrument. The sound was generated by the player pressing a metal string to contact a metal conductive fingerboard; the position of the finger on the string determining the pitch and finger pressure varying the volume. Sound was produced from a heterodyning vacuum tube. The instrument was said to be capable of “producing a pleasant and ‘juicy’ sound that resembled different symphony orchestra instruments and possessed a wide range of sounding shades and timbres.”
“ On Thursday evening at the School House, A. R. Hamilton, president of the Hamilton College of Commerce at Mason City will give an address on “How the “Violena” Is Played” . The “violena” a musical instrument that is a whole orchestra in one, has been perfected at Leningrad, Russia, by the inventor, Vladimir A. Gurov and the young composer, Lucien M. Varvich. The player twirls a dial and the violena turns into a bass viol, another twirl and it becomes a guitar, still another and it is a flute, and so on. Besides its ability to reproduce faithfully almost- any musical instrument.”
The Bode Bugle. Page 5 USA. 28 May 1937.