Guitars as art

January 29, 2006 11:21 AM

NAMM 06 oddities. Guitars as works of art. Also found on that page: the Mikey guitar which functions as a frettted or fretless instrument with the flick of a switch.
posted by KevinSkomsvold (6 comments total)

Cool. While more in the vain of the second link, my favorite is the Parsons/White String Bender, a built-in mechanical switch used by the late, great Clarence White, which allowed B-string bends that simulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar.
posted by horsemuth at 12:18 PM on January 29, 2006

That Playboy guitar is surprisingly tasteful. And what do you do with an 11-string mandolin? Or a fretless banjo?

All of this stuff is pretty neat though. If I was a billionaire, I'd collect guitars more than anything else.
posted by bardic at 12:28 PM on January 29, 2006

The Dimebag Darrell memorial guitar is a tad puzzling. I don't like to remember my metal guitar dudes as having a nasty head cold.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 1:12 PM on January 29, 2006

I guess there is only so much you can do with a guitar to break the mold... The "nightmare" style just doesn't do it for me and the double neck acoustic is hideous. Unique in a mad shop teacher sort of way, but ugly all the same. The Dipintos look nice in a classic way and seem to be very reasonably priced. Making the body into outlandish sculpture doesn't cut it for real innovation -- it has been going on since the 80's...and before I'm sure.

This is the only one I've seen lately that seems to be truly revolutionary as to the construction (wood based polymer) and architecture. I'd love to get a chance to play one.
posted by pwedza at 1:16 PM on January 29, 2006

did someone say revolutionary?
posted by ism at 4:26 PM on January 29, 2006

That Mikey guitar is crazy. The only problem is that string height is a critical factor in the way a guitar plays. So, as the frets go away, the action instantaneously raises 1/8 of an inch.

I'd love to play one and be proved wrong. Its not like I could afford one, though.
posted by tcobretti at 5:13 PM on January 29, 2006