Custom Hand Made Electric Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I do genuinely enjoy seeing homemade self-designed guitars, even if perhaps such designs are not always practical or in some cases poorly executed.

This particular one-off guitar seems to be competently built and has a completely original body design, but I don't think this is one for playing sitting down. I think the maker was aiming to create something in the B.C. Rich mold. I do worry about the neck joint here though. It doesn't exactly have a neck pocket as such; it's more of a "neck ledge" which isn't going to allow for a snug fit and there may well be neck movement because of this.

I appreciate that the maker/seller may have put in a lot of hard work into this instrument but I do think that his starting bid of £499 is somewhat optimistic for a homemade instrument. I think the logic being used here is that because it is a one-off it is rare and because it is rare it must be worth a lot of money. Sorry, but it doesn't quite work like that.

However, he does generously allow that, "The rights to the guitars unique design will be yours once purchased." (sic)

Anyone fancy mass-producing this design? Here's your chance!

G L Wilson

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Rodolfo Cucculelli 14-string guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com

After the harpolyre, another example of guitar with so many strings that I doubt that it can played  if not like a harp - at least for the upper strings. Actually I have to admit that this Rodolfo Cucculelli 14-string guitar might reach the limits of my understanding of acoustic laws. It looks obvious though I learned to be suspicious with obvious (remember the reverse headstock controversy), but to me it is not possible fort these extra strings - having each a different scale - to be played with the frets and be in tune, am I wrong?

bertram

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Casio EG-5 cassette guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I'm aware of the Casio's MIDI and synth guitars, but I've never seen one of these before.

It's Casio EG-5 and is a real product of its age (the 1980s, of course) and a wonderful piece of "guitar cheese".

The insubstantial plastic body most obviously, and curiously, features an integral cassette player. Whether this is for recording the guitar as you play, or for playing your own backing tracks (or perhaps both) is not clear.

This particular example is being sold on eBay by a French seller and looks like it isn't currently in full working order (it'd need some strings for starters).

I'm wondering if this was a Japan-only model that somehow made it out to Europe. Has anyone out there seen one of these before? Perhaps you've even owned or played one? Please let us know in the usual way in the comments beneath this post.

G L Wilson

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1830 Harpolyre

guitarz.blogspot.com

No, Steve Vai was not the first one to show off with a triple-neck guitar - though this one is much more convincing! This early 19th century instrument was part of a creative wave for new instruments that issued the modern acoustic guitar. It seems to me that this is the ultimate form of harp guitar - an upgrade of the regular model that look so uncomfortable, and a much better solution than the modern too-many-stringed one-neck guitars... But I have to admit that I never put my hands on any of these instruments, so if anybody knows better, your comment is welcome...

More about harpolyres here.

bertram

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An unusual twist on the Strat design

guitarz.blogspot.com:

As we all know, the Stratocaster is the most copied guitar ever. These days many of these plagiarists like to tweak the design to put their own spin on it, but I've never before seen anything quite as odd looking as this.

I don't know if this is a mass produced item or a one-off created by an individual (I suspect the latter), but it looks like the maker has used a Strat template for the body except for the area of the treble-side horn where they've switched the template for an upside-down Telecaster. It just looks awkward to me.

I don't think it would be worthwhile asking the seller anything about this guitar because someone already asked him if he could show a photo of the headstock and he replied he didn't know what a headstock is! But apparently, it's an Uno, not that I'm any the wiser for learning that piece of information.

On the subject of the headstock, it's partially obscured in the photo but I suspect that it may well be an uncut "paddle" shaped head as sold by various parts suppliers.

G L Wilson

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Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic Bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've been waiting for one of these to come up on eBay for ages now, so that I could grab a photo and post it here on this blog. It's an Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic Bass and is considered by those in the know to be a truly legendary instrument.

These basses were produced between 1975 and 1985, and unlike many acoustic basses which are little more than bass versions of acoustic guitar models, the Earthwood was designed specifically as an acoustic bass.

It is a behemoth of an instrument. I don't know if you can appreciate it from the photo here, but this bass is huge. The body is nearly 7" deep. The scale length is 34" but unlike modern basses the neck joins the body at the 12th fret.

It has a phenomenal sound and is acoustically very loud. If you want to hear one of these babies, listen to the Violent Femmes whose Brian Ritchie famously plays an Earthwood.

The following clip, Country Death Song, is one of my own favourites:

G L Wilson

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Guest Blogger: Simon Wood

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Here's a post about ebooks from writer Simon Wood.

GOOD STORIES NEVER DIE (THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY)

For me, print will always be king. You can say what you like about other forms of media, but print will always be important. A book is tangible. It proves I wrote it, that I jumped through all hoops required of me and someone had the faith to publish it. There it is. A book. It’s real. It’s solid. Damn it, I wrote it and you can't take that away from me. Hopefully, you get the gist of how important this is to me.

Forgetting the bible and the Da Vinci Code, the life of a book or magazine is fleeting. There's a point where the publisher pulls the plug and the lights go dim on a story. That has meant a lot of great works disappear, lost to generations who had the misfortune not to be around when that story was on a bookshelf. Reduce this down to my own case, where my early books were with the small press with print runs numbering a couple of thousand and sometimes a lot less. The same is true with my short stories. Some of the periodicals I appeared in were no longer available before the calendar year was out. All those words lost like tears in rain (that was the for the Blade Runner fans).

But that isn’t necessarily true with the rise of electronic media. Now I know there's a lot of wringing of hands and renting of clothes when it comes to the state of publishing. Electrons are out to destroy traditional publishing. Something is coming in the way of print publishing and it’s scary. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m sure it’s going to mean change for everyone involved from writers and publishers to booksellers and libraries. But I don’t want to talk about how eBooks, Kindle, and deep discounts will be the end of publishing. I want to focus on the positives of what technology is doing for me as a writer.

There are stories I’m very proud of that never got widespread release but thanks to e-publishing, these stories are being kept alive. Long before Amazon’s Kindle threw a wrench in the printing works, Fictionwise.com provided a home for previously published fiction—especially short fiction. It has operated on a similar platform as iTunes where users download stories like songs. This proved to be a marvelous home for many of my short stories that deserved to be read. The lifespan of short stories is brief. As soon as the exclusivity rights run out or the magazine or anthology is done, I send the story along to Fictionwise. My stories live and can be downloaded for around fifty cents. For someone who has never anything I’ve written, it’s a nice try before you buy scenario.

Obviously, the expansion of the eBooks model has moved on leaps and bounds since the introduction of the Kindle. People, for better or worse, are latching onto eBooks. While this may be a platform for self-publishing, it’s also a lifeline for all those books going out of print—and I’ve done this with a couple of my titles that are going out of print. Dragged into Darkness went out of print in 2004 and only a handful of copies of Working Stiffs are still available. The chances of either these books getting picked up by a new publisher are slim. The demand at this point doesn’t support a new print run, but is plenty to an eBook retailer. I have to admit that I was slow at making Dragged into Darkness available, but I’ve been more on the ball with Working Stiffs. I’ve made both these books available through the Kindle store and over at Smashwords.com. Recently, I’ve been expanding my e-résumé with some of the nonfiction pieces that I wrote for Writer’s Digest. E-publishing also provides an outlet for stories that don’t fit into traditional buckets such as novelettes and novellas.

I have to admit, I’ve found it quite satisfying resurrecting work that I continue to be proud of.

So does this mean I’ve abandoned my print-is-king principles? Hell, no. My primary printing goal is to get published in print, but also in audio, graphically and electronically. What can I say? I’m greedy. I want it all. But what is of primary importance to me is that my work be available for people to read for the long term and the electronic revolution provides that. The thing to remember here is paper is finite, but electrons are eternal.

Yours keeping the stories alive,

Simon Wood

Simon Wood is an ex-racecar driver, a licensed pilot and an occasional private investigator. He's had over 150 stories and articles published. His short fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines anthologies, such as Seattle Noir, Thriller 2 and Woman’s World. He's a frequent contributor to Writer's Digest. He's the Anthony Award winning author of seven books. As Simon Janus, he's the author of The Scrubs and Road Rash. His next thriller, Terminated, will be out next June.

Learn more about Simon at www.simonwood.net and his work at:

Kindle Store
Smashwords.com
Fictionwise.com

Visionary Instruments' Video Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

It's probably easiest to let the video do the talking!

For more info, please see:

• http://news.cnet.com/2300-10797_3-10001824.html
  
• http://visionaryinstruments.com/Video%20Guitar.html

(Thanks Brad!)

G L Wilson

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Unusual folk instrument from Cassandra Elk

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an unusual-looking acoustic instrument from Germany's Cassandra Elk brand. Seeing as it has eight strings arranged in four courses, my guess is that it's a mandola or bazouki-type instrument.

It's an interesting design and one that immediately made me think of Bertram's "neckless guitar" concept. I wish there there was a photo of the rear of this instrument so we could see how the neck is formed; is it a distinct piece or is it integral to the body?

The eBay listing is in German so we may have to ask Bertam for a translation, I think.

G L Wilson

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You, Artist

I've been buried in deadlines, but several people pointed me to the current Harlequin controversy. Jackie Kessler sums it up nicely. So does John Scalzi. And Stacey Cochran has a different take on things.

In a nutshell, Harlequin is starting a vanity imprint, where authors can pay to have their books printed.

My feelings are mixed.

On one hand, Harlequin is a smart company, good at making money, and this seems to be a smart way to capitalize on a growing trend.

On the other hand, it could hurt their brand, and their many authors who get paid for (rather than pay for) their books.

The debate doesn't interest me much, though I do give Harlequin props for their forward-thinking, even if their implementation leaves something to be desired. After all, they're the first major publisher to recognize how much the average person yearns to create.

As a species, we're a productive bunch. I take daily walks, and force myself not to take my surroundings for granted. When you look around your world and realize how much is man-made, it's rather humbling. We build. We manufacture. We plant. We bend the landscape to suit our needs. And we create. A lot.

It's probably genetic. Our self-worth is very much wrapped up in things we're able to produce. Art is one of those things. And while it's less practical than a Chevy, or a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, it is more accessible.

YouTube is one of the most significant, and interesting, products of the modern world. Since the beginning of film and video, those with deep pockets decided what the masses would see.

But with the advent of cheap technology, and the inborn desire to create, regular people without deep pockets have been able to share their art (movies, rants, music, commentary, critiques, how-tos, etc) with the world.

At first glance, this could have been a self-indulgent disaster. And there certainly is a lot of crap on YouTube.

But there's also some really cool stuff. Stuff even cooler than the stuff being produced by the people with deep pockets.

The most amazing thing about YouTube isn't the ability to share your videos. The most amazing thing is that people are TUNING IN to watch these videos.

A whole lot of people.

If you go to Alexa.com and look at the top websites on the Internet, you'll notice many of them share a common denominator called user aggregated content.

In other words, regular people contribute to these websites, which makes them big.

If you look at Google, it is actually 100% user aggregated content. Wikipedia, Yahoo, Amazon, file-sharing lockers and sites, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook---the list goes on and on.

People dictate what people want to visit, and want to see.

Which brings us to reading.

The same genetic need that drives human being to write Amazon reviews, join Yahoo groups, share photos, upload videos, Tweet, and otherwise contribute to the overall output of humanity, also drives people to write books.

Amazon, and Smashwords, are catering to these writers by allowing them to upload their ebooks, for free. They understand the importance of user aggregated content.

My advice to Harlequin, and to all publishers, is to follow in the footsteps of Smashwords. But in a way that strengthens, rather than diminishes, their brand.

Here's what I'd do if I was in charge of Harlequin.

1. Create a community forum, where newbie authors can upload ebooks for free. These ebooks can also be downloaded for free.

2. Allow these free ebooks to be printed on demand for those who want to by them. Make a small profit on the printing, but keep the price reasonable, and the authors own the rights. This is a printing service, not a publishing service.

3. Let the community vet itself. Allow for discussions, reviews, ratings, author chats, and comments. Crap will be avoided. Cream will rise.

4. Hire editors to mine the ebooks, looking for gems. Then cherry pick those and traditionally publish the best of them.

To draw extra attention to the website, the publisher should also release their backlist as ebooks. But rather than give these away for free, they should be sold in a variety of ebook formats, for a low cost (say $1.99.)

So picture this:

You go to Harlequin's ebook website, which has thousands of inexpensive ebooks. It also has free ebooks, uploaded by newbie authors.

You can join the forums and discussions and rate and review ebooks. You can also order print-on-demand copies of any ebook there, newbie or backlist.

Editors can monitor the downloads and the comments, to discover new authors they can traditionally publish.

Harlequin exploits their extensive backlist, makes a lot of money (that they don't have to share with Amazon), and discovers talent by letting the users aggregate the content and vote on the best. They don't get into trouble by becoming a vanity press, and they also secure their spot in the upcoming digital revolution. At the same time, they become an ebook version of YouTube, drawing both writers and readers.

It all comes down to this: People want to write. In the past, unscrupulous folks have preyed on this desire, making big promises and charging big fees.

Publishers can capitalize on this basic human desire, make some money, and still be the good guys. You don't have to be a vanity press to nurture dreams.

Writers will eventually get their YouTube. It's just a question of who will create it first.

Giannini Craviola 12-string

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I must say that I've always loved the design of the Giannini Craviola guitar such as this example currently for sale on eBay. It's a non-traditional acoustic guitar design that doesn't simply borrow from the shape of certain electric guitars. I like that it looks half lute, half guitar; there's something almost baroque about it.

However, opinions about the playability of these guitars seems quite polarised in a love them or hate them scenario. These Brazilian-made guitars certainly have a bit of a cult following amongst those that love them, but you'll also find stories of unplayable guitars with warped tops and lifting bridges.

Examples produced in the 1970s and 80s were built of laminated wood - which could explain some of the above-mentioned problems - whereas more up-to-date examples are built from solid wood. If you fancy one of these guitars, here is one instance where you would almost definitely be better off buying a new or relatively new example rather than a vintage guitar.

G L Wilson

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1966 Teisco Demian Baritone VN-4

guitarz.blogspot.com

Isn't this Teisco Demian Baritone Guitar a delight for the eyes? Like many guitars of its generation - it was produced around 1966 - its origin is lost in the limbos of electric guitar history... Couldn't find any trace of a Demian brand - the name on the headstock - but saw it also labeled Silverstone or Ayar. Anyway the guitar is clearly a Teisco, the pioneering Japanese guitar company that started the endless love/hate relation between guitar makers of East and West.

I like the 4 pickups - I never played a 4-pickup guitar, but it allows plenty of knobs and switches - and all the chrome in front. The sound is supposed to be quite harsh - the magnets of the pickups are so strong that they attract all the metal around - and it suits to the brute in me... I have my share of great guitars, but I still miss a rough one with a harsh garage sound - I hate versatility in guitars!

bertram

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Orfeus Hebros Bass from Bulgaria

guitarz.blogspot.com:
I couldn't say what she'd be like as a player, but visually this Soviet-era Bulgarian-made Orfeus Hebros Bass is a beauty. Can you believe that they referred to this finish as "sunburst"? (Surely not, I think the seller must be mistaken). To me, it looks art deco.

As with many basses of similar provenance, it's short-scale and has a very narrow neck. This example has a fair amount of wear and tear which would imply that it's seen some use over the years. Either that or someone's been knocking it around a bit.

G L Wilson

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Yamaha SA-15

guitarz.blogspot.com

There is not so much information out there about the Yamaha SA-15 - like the SGV it was released in the late 60s but it was never reissued. I don't know it for a long time, but it was not a surprise to discover it, it's the good combination of Yamaha's long-lasting special interest for semi-hollow guitars and their great design work of this period.

Of course you cannot not notice the long lower horn - the Japanese trend that I love in Yamahas, Ibanez and Tokais of the psychedelic era, though unusual for a semi-hollow. Being quite familiar with Japanese art and design, it's the first time that I see an electric guitar that has a real Japanese feel, and is not just a copy or a variation of a Western instrument or an extravagant novelty - so I'm quite impressed.

It's a brilliant guitar, but if you google it, you will see it mostly with a sunburst finish, and there the magic is gone - like often...

bertram

[Additional: this black example sold on eBay just last week for $999 - GLWilson]

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Travis Bean TB1000 display guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Travis Bean guitars were first produced in 1974 and utilised an aluminium neck design, with the neck set deep into the koa body beneath the pickups and bridge with the strings passing through the aluminium centre section for increased sustain.

The design later evolved in the early Kramer line of guitars, which similarly had aluminium necks. These differed from the Travis Bean design in that each neck was essentially a T-section with two fillets of wood along its length so as to approximate the feel of a traditional wooden neck.

This particular example is a one-off Travis Bean display guitar and will surely appeal to collectors of this brand. (It's hardly going to appeal to someone wanting a working guitar!)

According to the listing this guitar was "built by Travis Bean factory to demonstrate the design and build techniques of the legendary Travis Bean Guitar. This guitar was hand carried by Travis himself to several musical instrument trade shows and was set up in the offices of the California factory. It is complete with its very own hand crafted stand and traveling box. Was purchased from famed Travis Bean employee Obie."




G L Wilson

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Megadriver's video-game inspired guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com:
Megadriver are, according to their website, "a Brazilian heavy metal band devoted to videogame music, the creators of GAME METAL". We see them pictured here with a Sonic The Hedgehog guitar and another guitar made from a SEGA Genesis console. I've seen guitars built from games consoles before and can't imagine that they'd sound that good or would be very solid. However, the Sonic guitar is very cool.

Hey, I'm no fan of video or computer games, so what do I know?

(This post, by the way, is dedicated to the little underweight hedgehog I found in my garden last night and who I took to Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital today, so they could fatten him up so that he's able to survive the winter. Which is also why I'm very late blogging today.)

G L Wilson

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1960s Vox Harlem with factory scalloped fingerboard

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This Vox Harlem is a model I've not seen before. The seller refers to it as being a "vintage Italian guitar", so that makes it one of the Eko-built Voxes. The seller also claims that the treble-side scalloping of the fingerboard is original from the factory, and has not been carried out retroactively. This is way before Yngwie Malmsteen and before even Ritchie Blackmore had scalloped fingerboards on their Strats. Could this Vox Harlem be the first electric guitar with this feature? Does anyone out there know of an earlier example?

Pre-electric guitars, it is my understanding that some baroque guitars had such scalloping, but I don't know the full history here. Again, if anyone can fill in the blanks, please leave a comment below.

G L Wilson

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Enter the Nook

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you've probably heard about the Nook, Barnes & Noble's contender in the biggering ereader wars.
My ebooks are now live on Nook. I was able to do this through www.Smashwords.com. Upload your books to Smashwords, and they'll upload them to the Nook (and also Sony.) I'll be tracking my numbers and posting them as the holiday season gets into gear.

For those who have already bought a Nook, or are planning to buy one, you'll be able to find my Nook links on my website, and also right here:

THE LIST by J.A. Konrath - Nook version $1.99

ORIGIN by J.A. Konrath - Nook version $1.99

SUCKERS by J.A. Konrath & Jeff Strand - Nook version $1.59

FLOATERS by J.A. Konrath & Henry Perez - Nook version $1.59

SHOT OF TEQUILA by J.A. Konrath - Nook version $1.99

DISTURB by J.A. Konrath - Nook version $1.99

TRUCK STOP by J.A. Konrath - Nook version $1.59

If you've been following my blog, you know I've made these books available on my website, on Smashwords.com, on Kindle, on iTunes, and they'll soon be for sale on Sony.

I have no idea what to expect in the way of Nook sales. I had zero expectations of Kindle, and was surprised how well they've sold. I had moderate expectations for iTunes, but have sold less than 100 books total in the two weeks they've been available.

In the case of iTunes, I've since tweaked the product descriptions to make them easier to find, and so browsers have a better idea of what they were buying. I'm watching to see if those numbers grow.

In the case of Nook, B&N hasn't even put up the product descriptions yet, so I did that myself as user reviews--which is something I'd also done with Kindle when I first uploaded the titles.

While tweaking the descriptions this morning, I had a few interesting thoughts.

1. The process of uploading ebooks, no matter where they are uploaded to, is time-consuming, laborious, and inefficient. But it still can be done in a matter of hours or days, whereas in the print world it takes months to publish a book.

2. Prices of ereaders are going down, while features are getting better.

3. I still don't have any clear answers why agents aren't getting their clients' blacklists and unsold books on these various ereaders. Shouldn't they be innovating?

4. Etailers still haven't courted any major writers for exclusive deals. Considering Amazon, Sony, and now B&N lose money for each ebook sold, it would make sense for them to directly approach some authors and perhaps actually turn a profit selling ebooks. Are they afraid of publishers? Why would they be, when the publishers are screwing them by charging hardcover prices for a bunch of ones and zeroes which cost nothing to copy or distribute?

5. Ebooks are being talked about more and more, and many sources predict they're going to be a hot holiday item.

6. There are still haters.

Let's talk about #6 for a moment. While I grew up reading print books, and have thousands of them, and love them dearly, and have many fond memories associated with print, I'm getting bored with the knee-jerk "print is the only way a story can be read" reactions I always seem to see whenever ebooks are discussed.

People love the feel and smell of books. They love owning the physical object. That's fine. I do too.

But it's the stories that I really love. The paper, or the ereader, is only the delivery system for the story.

And the ereader is simply better than print in every way, except when it comes to nostalgia.

This reminds me a lot of the early 90s, when many folks were hesitant to buy computers because they simply didn't see the advantages of owning one.

Yes, tech is scary. Yes, the old ways are comfortable. Yes, owning a physical object like a book satisfies some primeval hunter/gatherer gene.

But the story isn't on the paper, or on the ereader screen. The story is in your head. It will be in your head no matter what you read it on.

Why are some folks so resistant to a technology that will make books cheaper, easier to read, easier to buy, more accessible, and at the same time save 40 million trees per year and save a great deal of space around the house?

What exactly are the haters objecting so strongly to, other than disliking change?

That said, who here is interested in buying a Nook? Why or why not?

Michael Jackson commerative guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The Michael Jackson money-making machine continues to roll on after his death (if anything, it's gone into overdrive) and, no doubt, will continue to do so for many years to come.

Even guitar builders are getting in on the act now it seems, witness this guitar being sold by an Italian seller on eBay.

I won't say any more - I'll just let the photograph do the talking.

G L Wilson

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Vintage instruments used by Irish showbands and beat groups in the 1960s

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hello there,

I just came across your blog and thought that you might like to see my site with photos of guitars and basses played by Irish bands in the '60s.

http://irishshowbands.net/instruments.htm

Francis Kaye

It's worth having a look through the pictures here; it's quite interesting to see the instruments used by working musicians back in the 1960s. Not everyone could afford the likes of Gibson and Fender guitars, you had to make music on what was available. I'm not saying that all these instruments were bad, but Egmond guitars - for example - do not have a reputation for being the most playable instruments ever made.

I was intrigued to see a picture of one guitarist playing a Wandre Krundaal Bikini guitar with the amp and speaker pod attached. I suppose someone had to play them, I've never seen any photographic evidence before!

If you want to search the archives further, there's a lot more on this website than just the guitars: irishshowbands.net

G L Wilson

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Hand-made guitar, influenced by Les Paul

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The auction for this homemade electric guitar is finishing on eBay very soon. I love stuff like this; it's a case of a guy wants an electric guitar so badly but the only way he's going to get one is to build it himself. Luckily he gets some sound advice from a legend!

I'm going to unshamedly copy from the text of the auction itself, as it's quite a long story:

My grandfather served in the Korean war and was entertained by Les Paul’s band during his service, upon returning home from the Korean war he was very excited to learn to play electric guitar.

Being from an area of little means (a poor coal mining region) he decided to manufacture his own, there was a walnut tree that was struck by lighting a couple years earlier and died.

He cut down that tree and from the trunk section he salvaged a decent solid piece of wood,this was the summer of 1958, at this time he was working as a coal miner an his schedule be came demanding so he had to stop working on his guitar project,he spent many evenings studying guitar design and planed to make a conventional two piece guitar being neck and body separate pieces.

Sundays were his only day off from work and he spent afternoons at his church practicing his playing with the church orchestra, that spring at the Tula county fair, grand father learned that Les Paul was going to play three evenings he went each night bringing the walnut hopeing to show Les this wood and get advise about his guitars construction.

On the third performance grand father saw Les and his band loading their equipment on to a bus, he approched Les upon introduction grand father say's Les remebered him from the servicemans used to help for his shows in Korea;

Because of his excitement and many question about the guitar, the two of them; grand father and Les examined the walnut and Les said his guitars were two piece because the neck is made from expensive maple and to keep costs down he used adler for the body,but he suggested since the walnut was large enough why not try to build a solid one piece guitar and he gave grand father an address to write him and send a photo when it was completed.

By june 1959 grand father completed the shape of the body, sort of stratocaster style with a thick neck, he felt a thick neck for strength and his large hands would be best.

At that same time a neighbour’s home caught fire and burned, this neighbour played guitar an as it happened his Silvertone acoustic guitar’s body was destroyed, my grand father asked for it's remains and he salvaged the finger board nut and tuning keys.

Grand father wanted to customize the fingerboard so he cut chrome pieces from the bumper of an old car shaped them and inlayed the chrome into the finger board, also from the burned home he took from a dining table a piece of formica, a faux pearl table’s top surface and applied it to the headstock surface.

At this point he bought a used tail piece, a bridge and strings and he was playing his new guitar he recalls his total cash investment was under four dollars, he was very happy and after a few adjustments everyone agreeded that the guitar played very well.

Grandfrather Oven had some pictures taken and he mailed the pictures to the address Les paul had given him, along with the pictures he sent a letter asking for help with how he was going to install some pickups, to grandfathers amazement Les paul sent him two single coil pickups that he had wound by hand while developing a design in 1952 along with a diagram and two pots for volume and tone, Les asked for him to route two pockets to set the pickups into, grandfather was afraid the pockets may weaken the body causeing it to crack, so he screwed the pick ups to the top of the body as well as the pots with wires external as well.grandpa Oren played his guitar at church for fifteen year he studied jazz and played at the same fair where he recieved help from Les Paul many years earlier.

My grand father retired in 1965 and moved to New Orleans Louisana so he could play jazz and learn more about the music he loved, this was the only guitar he ever owned,he joined a band called the Bluzers and played at many night clubs in the french quarter, a down town section filled with blues and jazz clubs.

In 1979 grand father passed away, his grand son my twin brother Gene Du Buque wanted to learn to play and so he inherited the guitar, my brother learned to play on this instrument,he liked the sound but felt the guitar was ugly.

He removed the pick ups and disguarded the guitar. Gene put the pick ups in a fender telecaster and later sold the telecaster,I kept the guitar, over the year i often thought it would be wonderful if some one might appreciate it as my grand father did, so Denis may it bring you happyness.

This guitar sustains longer than any guitar i've ever seen I attribute this to it's one piece construction;

Cheers

Lyle Du Buque

(sic, throughout)

I think that's a great story. It's nice to know that the guy used the guitar throughout his musical career. I bet it had that certain mojo. Great also that the grandson learnt to play on the same guitar. I think, however, that it is such a pity that the guitar is not now destined to stay in the family.

G L Wilson

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Ergonomic Guitar Iberica 1C

guitarz.blogspot.com

It's not necessary to say much, the picture of this Ergonomic Guitar Iberica 1C tells the obvious: you take the most regular classical guitar and bevel it a little bit where it's necessary and you have a much more conformable instrument.

Not only electric guitars deserve ergonomics improvement, and the traditional form is not obligatorily the better one!

bertram

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1975 Gibson S-1

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Didn't think I'd ever be surprised by a Gibson Les Paul - until I discovered the S-1!

Love the Flying V headstock, and the pickguard shape simulating a SG on top of the Les Paul body is brilliant... Together with the Marauder, it was an attempt of Gibson to attack the Fender niche with its 3 single coil pickups on a flat-top. Didn't work though, and the 2 models were discontinued in 1980... I won't tell much more, these guitars have their pages on Wikipedia if you want extra information!

bertram

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Egypt Karnak Luxor from 1986

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This guitar does have a very 80s vibe to it - perhaps it's the metallic lilac finish. It wouldn't have looked out of place in any of the hair metal bands of that era. Oddly, it doesn't have a locking trem - just a regular one, but if you're like me that will be something in the guitar's favour.

Egypt Guitars were built in Glasgow, Scotland, and the business is still going although these days mainly functions as a guitar repair shop. If you check theie website you'll see an Egypt Pharoah Isis from 1985 that shares the same body shape as the guitar pictured above, only in mirror image. (Hey, Gibson don't hold the monopoly on "reverse" body styles).

Anyway, the auction for the Karnak Luxor is finishing in a little over 4 hours as I type this, so why not bid? You could snap up what looks like a very nice guitar (although possibly playing in a 80s cover band might be a pre-requisite!).

Additional: It didn't sell and has been re-listed here.

G L Wilson

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Can anybody identify this guitar?

guitarz.blogspot.com

I found this guitar on a German-Swiss site and it might be called a Dulci but I can't find anything more about it... I'm not even sure if it's really a guitar - is it a travel acoustic one, a 6-string ergonomic ukulele or some hybrid I've never heard of until now?

So just for the sake of my curiosity, I call for the expertise of the innumerable guitar lovers who read this blog...

bertram

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double-neck 12/8 Shergold Modulator

guitarz.blogspot.com

This is the double-neck Shergold Modulator inspired by Mike Rutherford's custom model. Of course it doesn't have its characteristic splitting/recombining system (if I understand well, Rutherford claimed Shergold's exclusivity for this innovation, and I don't think that there's been any other builder that made a similar guitar) but it has the typical 12-string guitar neck on top and an quite unusual 8-string bass neck (Rutherford has been Genesis's bassist and rhythm guitarist behind Anthony Phillips then Steve Hackett before becoming the front guitarist, that had him develop a special style requiring a special instrument), plus the Modulator long upper horn that makes it look much better than the single neck (what a long sentence, and all these brackets!) .

If you want to know more about Shergold guitars, you can have a look at the most exhaustive website about them or wait a few weeks to read GL Wilson 's '500 guitars' book!

bertram

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E-Volution

So it's 2014, and I'm in a reading mood.

I take out my ereader. At the push of a button, I bring up several different ebook stores, and begin to browse for something to read. Several stores are having sales. One of them gives all the books away for free--the only catch is each contains ads, much like a magazine.

I peruse the free site, download the latest thriller from my favorite author, and jump into the pool, floating on a raft while I read. There's no worry; the reader is waterproof.

There's construction going on in my neighborhood, so I put in my wireless ear buds and press the SFX button. As my eyes pass over the words, I'm treated to some background music, much like a movie soundtrack. There are also ambient sounds--crashing waves during a beach scene, crickets at night, the blowing wind when the main character goes to the desert for a showdown.

An ad comes up. It's a coupon for my local pizza joint. Pizza actually sounds pretty good. I touch the screen and order a pizza, using the coupon, paying for it immediately.

Then I hit the AUDIO button and close my eyes, letting the book read to me for a while as I float around. The narrator is good--using dialects and different voices for different characters. I pause the book, and access a search engine to see what other books he's narrated. I find two that sound interesting and download them on the spot.

I go back to the book, then get an announcement that my pizza has arrived. I climb out of the pool, thank the delivery guy (I already tipped him electronically) and then go into the family room with a slice.

I sync my ereader to my TV and adjust the words to scroll down the screen as I'm eating. During a particularly exciting helicopter chase, I see an author footnote. I click on it, and the author appears in a video clip, explaining the research he did for the scene, and showing the actual helicopter in flight. Normally I wait until after I finish the ebook before I delve into the extras like commentary, footnotes, vid clips, previous drafts, etc.

I get to another ad, which I skip, and then my wife comes home and says that her favorite author is appearing at a nearby bookstore. She grabs her ereader and we head out.

We get there early. The store contains over 300,000 paper books, but they're all shelf copies, not for sale. I hang out in the thriller section, and thumb through a few paper books. I find one I want, and scan the bar code on the back with my ereader, instantly buying it.

The author arrives. We sit and watch while he does a little talk. He has some printed books for sale, and if they run out, the bookstore says it will print more while we wait.

After the presentation, he signs some ereader covers. My wife has a clear plastic cover for her ereader, and the author has a cardboard covers he signs, which slips into the plastic.* Then he gives away some exclusive content to anyone who buys the book--a deleted chapter not available online. My wife buys an ebook. She promises to lend it to me when she's done, transferring it from her reader to mine--which is how e-lending at the library works.

On the way home, I sync my ereader to the car stereo, and let it read the next chapter. Another ad comes on, for a new book by this author. I bookmark the ad. I'll either buy the book, or download the ad version, later tonight.

I go back to the pool, alternating between reading and being read to. When the book is finished, I delve into the bonus features. The author included a tie-in short story, which I love. I contact the author's website and tell him so, then spend a few minutes posting my book review on his forum. This leads to me text chatting with another one of his fans, who suggests a new author I'd never heard of.

Two clicks later, I buy this new author's latest, for $1.99.

My wife asks if I want to watch a movie. I decline. I've got more than enough here to keep me entertained.

My ereader text box opens up. It's the author, thanking me for posting a kind review. He asks me if I'd like to be a beta reader for his new thriller, which won't be released for another two months.

Hell yeah, I do. He sends it to me instantly.

Boy, do I love this thing. It's easily the best $99 I've ever spent.

------------------
* The plastic slip cover is Boyd Morrison's idea, which is smarter than my original idea: publishers making ereader covers that look like book covers.

70s Shergold Modulator 3

guitarz.blogspot.com

This is a Shergold Modulator 3 - that I first noticed because of its square knob plate, the kind of things that I love in a guitar (the general shape is not so exciting)!

Then I deepened a little bit the subject and I discovered that the square knob plate actually allows to interchange the electronics of the Modulator series - there are 6 versions -, and that Shergold was a kind of spin-off of Burns - actually a company that provided woodwork to Burns and Hayman and other British brands before making their own guitars in 1975, first from left over material.

Shergold's guitars and basses have been used by Joy Division / New Order musicians, and Genesis's Mike Rutherford played a famous double neck 4/12 custom guitar that could be reassembled in different combinations of basses and guitars... - I'll come back on Shergold double-necks in a following post.

bertram

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Pointless triple-neck

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Uh-oh! You know you're in for trouble when you see a Tennessee-brand guitar. They are often very wacky instruments, but don't be fooled as the workmanship is shoddy and the instruments themselves are reported to be virtually unplayable.

But let's put aside the provenance for this discussion. Just look at this thing: it's a triple-neck comprising 8-string bass, 10-string bass, and 6-string lap steel.

Just WHY?

Why would anyone need that combination of necks on a single instrument? To start with, how many bass players double on "lap steel"? Not that this could ever be a real lap steel. Is the player supposed to un-strap it mid-song, sit down and lay the instrument on his lap for a lap steel solo?

Perhaps the "lap steel" neck was added because it was lying around at the factory at the time this ridiculous instrument was assembled.

Let's forget the lap steel neck. What about the two bass necks? Why would any bassist ever need a 8-string and a 10-string on one instrument? (That is to say, a 4-string and a 5-string with doubled courses, rather than 8 and 10 individual non-paired strings). Surely if you needed to play a song that required both 8-string and 10-string bass, all you'd need would be the 10-string neck and you could ignore the low B course in the sections that "require" the 8-string. In the same way, I can't see why anyone would ever need a 4-string and 5-string bass combination on the same instrument. I could understand a 4-string and 8-string, or a fretted and fretless, but this instrument shown above offers nothing of advantageous use.

It's utter nonsense, and as I've commented on previous occasions, Tennessee guitars seem to be put together by people who know nothing about guitars.

G L Wilson

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Franquin's Gaffophone

guitarz.blogspot.com

OK, GL Wilson stunned me with his Omstrument and there would be no possible answer to this extreme instrument if genius Belgian comics artist Franquin didn't invent the infamous Gaffophone.

Franquin's prominent character Gaston Lagaffe (seen here playing the Gaffophone) is not well known by English-speaking audience since these comics were never translated in English, but he and his monstrous instrument are famous in French- and Spanish-speaking countries, also in Scandinavia...

The Gaffophone is supposed to have an horrible and destructive sound (Gaston being himself a terrible musician, also playing sousaphone), being thus a frequent reference and joke amongst continental European guitar and brass players.

Some Gaffophones have been built for real, but of course could not match its supposed terrific sound.

bertram

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"Carol Brown" - Flight Of The Conchords

guitarz.blogspot.com:

This week I've been listening to "I Told You I Was Freaky", the new Flight Of The Conchords album featuring songs from Season 2 of their TV series. I wanted to include the above clip on this blog because I just love those guitars they are playing. Yes, I know they are just props. Basically, Jemaine's guitar is a video editing console with a guitar neck attached to it, and Bret has a similarly obsolete-looking video mixer with a bass neck. Imagine if guitar synths were really as cumbersome as these! They do bring to mind the Stepp MIDI guitar.

G L Wilson
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The Omstrument

guitarz.blogspot.com:

In our previous post about Uli Jon Roth's Sky Guitar, Bertram, my co-blogger here at Guitarz, made a note in the comments appealing for "Less frets, more strings!"

Is this enough strings for you, Bertram?

With a combined total of 46 strings, the Omstrument is the creation of Jack Haas and is a gestalt instrument comprising harp, guitar, longneck dulcimer, strumstick, and tanpura. And before you ask, yes, they are supposed to be played together at the same time.

Perhaps it's easier to let one of Mr Haas' videos do the talking:

Before anyone else comments, yes I am aware of Pat Metheny's 42-string Pikasso guitar created by luthier Linda Manzer. It's a crazy-looking guitar with strings all over the place, but surely more portable than the Omstrument!

G L Wilson

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Uli Jon Roth's Sky Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Thanks to KC for jogging my memory. The guitar that the Gruggett Raindrop reminded me of was Uli Jon Roth's Sky Guitar, as seen pictured here.

To unashamedly quote from his Wikipedia entry:

Uli Jon Roth has (or at least has had) at least five of these "Sky" guitars. They are made by a British luthier, and also used by the guitarist from Fair Warning. The first three Sky guitars were as follows: One had 36 frets, another had 42 frets, and a third one is fretless which was used on the Beyond the Astral Skies album. In an April 2001 Guitar Player Magazine interview, Roth reports that the guitars are either fretless above the 30th fret or have whole step fret spacing above the 27th fret, with 35 effective (half step) frets. All of the Sky guitars with frets have extensive fretboard scalloping as is favored by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen (who was influenced greatly by Roth) and many neoclassical metal guitarists. The Sky guitar's pickups are custom 4 coil humbuckers made by John Oram, with one guitar having an Oram pickup hidden under the 24th fret. The guitars named Mighty Wing and Destiny each have 7 strings and the others have 6 strings. The 7th string is a low B string. The US company 18th Street Guitars made 50 commercial versions of the Sky guitar in 2004, each reportedly selling for $18,000 USD.

G L Wilson

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Highly optimistic French eBayer

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Someone has applied a very poor imitation Fender logo to this cheap and nasty vaguely-Telecaster-styled guitar from the 1970s. These appeared under various brandnames; it's probably one of Teisco's poorer efforts.

So, how much do you think the seller is asking for this dreadful example?

Would you believe €9,990.00? That's approximately £8,939.96 or US$14,754.10 which is quite frankly outrageous for this horrible plank!

I'm unsure as to whether the seller is incredibly stupid and really thinks that this is a long lost Fender prototype or whether he/she is aware that it's a pile of crap and is hoping someone out there is stupid enough to pay that kind of silly money for something that is actually hardly worth 50 quid (and that's being generous).

My French isn't very good - perhaps someone can translate the listing and what crazy claims the seller is making about this sorry guitar.

G L Wilson

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Gruggett Raindrop guitar from 1966

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This Gruggett Raindrop was apparently one of only six such guitars and was built in 1966 for a band called - appropriately enough - The Raindrops.

Bill Gruggett, the maker of this guitar, also built guitars for Mosrite and Hallmark Guitars back in the day, and is currently working with the re-launched Hallmark company.

The Raindrop guitar reminds me of a more modern guitar, possibly 80s-era, but I can't quite put my finger on what it might be.

I wonder what happened to the band The Raindrops too, incidentally.

G L Wilson

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Petrol tank 3-string guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:
This 3-string slide guitar has been made from an old Villiers's petrol tank, a Pearl high hat stand and cymbal stand, and some aluminium box section! I'll let the following YouTube video do the talking:



See also: three-string slide guitar made from a BSA engine casing

G L Wilson

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Billy Boy guitars

guitarz.blogspot.com

When surfing the Web I like to discover small guitar companies - I actually have in mind to start a new blog about these companies, for those who are bored to death with the endless reproduction of the same Fender / Gibson 4 models... I'm too busy now for an extra blog but I'll think of it seriously for 2010...

Anyway, browsing for what's going on in  the field of Italian guitars (you remember that Italy is providing regularly amazing vintage guitars for this blog), I just discovered the Billy Boy "brand" - well I think that the company is just one guy! Billy Boy guitars don't have a proper website but get along quite well with a MySpace - if you're interested, go there and check the many pictures presenting his different models.

Billy Boy has just three guitar models, the solid body that you can see on the picture, a semi-hollow and a Jumbo model - there are also some basses. His trade mark is the cartoonish skull bridge that exists also with a trem (if you don't like it, you can also ask for another bridge). Since his production rate is not high enough to produce stock guitars, most of Billy Boy's are one-offs, not for the shape, but for the pickups and knobs combinations. The picture I chose shows guitars with two humbuckers + one central lipstick and they are already slightly different. If you check other guitars on the Billy Boy MySpace, you'll find quite radical pickup combinations that I'd be embarrassed to describe here!

bertram


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