Here's an unusual non pedal guitar
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- chas smith
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- Location: Encino, CA, USA
Here's an unusual non pedal guitar
This is an instrument I made about 8 years ago mostly out of the junk that was in my back yard, it has a dozen bass strings with 4 EMG pickups, 2 at each end. The steel plate (thin sheet) is 24" in diameter and the tallest rod is 60". This is welded to a cylinder that is welded to a brass Dobro body (that was a reject when I welded for Dobro) that is welded to a steel thin wall 2x4 that feeds a "folded horn" resonator. Usually I bow the rods and strings.
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- Larry Bell
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Looks like a shrine for the Ark of the Covenant.
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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro
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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro
- Ray Jenkins
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- chas smith
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Thank you all for the nice comments, it's called 'Bass Tweed', I think it sounds 'pretty' although it can produce some pretty aggressive sounds with a minimum of coaxing. I've released two albums 'Nikko Wolverine' and 'Aluminum Overcast' using this and my other instruments on Cold Blue Records http://www.coldbluemusic.com/pages/newreleases.html
Also Frog Peak has Nikko. Amazon is supposed to have them in classical, but they seem to be unbelievably disorganized.
You should know that this is NOT traditional music. Oh, and not the world series trophy, the Dodgers didn't do so good this year.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by chas smith on 06 December 2001 at 11:44 PM.]</p></FONT>
Also Frog Peak has Nikko. Amazon is supposed to have them in classical, but they seem to be unbelievably disorganized.
You should know that this is NOT traditional music. Oh, and not the world series trophy, the Dodgers didn't do so good this year.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by chas smith on 06 December 2001 at 11:44 PM.]</p></FONT>
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Not really an "objet d'art", most of those you can't fire up and conjure green ceiling snakes, or evoke dining in a shark cage with the ex-wife. A no nonsense musical assault platform,(beautifuly wrought) which has also brought tears to these eyes.
T. Sage Harmos
P.S.- Support your loco steel player- buy nikkowolverine.
T. Sage Harmos
P.S.- Support your loco steel player- buy nikkowolverine.
- Bill Fulbright
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Anyone every heard of a composer named Harry Partch?
Harry made instruments of his own design much like this one, devised notation, and created symphonies with them.
Look him up sometime... He was another breed... He was recognized as a 20th Century composer... especially in the late 60's and early 70's.
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Bill Fulbright
1998 Sierra U12 7x5; Gibson ES-165; Peavey 50-410
ICQ# 2251620 Bill's Website Launch Pad
Harry made instruments of his own design much like this one, devised notation, and created symphonies with them.
Look him up sometime... He was another breed... He was recognized as a 20th Century composer... especially in the late 60's and early 70's.
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Bill Fulbright
1998 Sierra U12 7x5; Gibson ES-165; Peavey 50-410
ICQ# 2251620 Bill's Website Launch Pad
Partch's cheese slicer was the Surrogate Kithara- http://www.eyeneer.com/CCM/Composers/Partch/Instruments/surrogate.kithara.html
Mike Perlowin did a great article on this in the old SGW magazine. Harry Partch was into wood and glass, Chas Smith is a man of metal.
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T. Sage Harmos
www.harmosmusic.com
Mike Perlowin did a great article on this in the old SGW magazine. Harry Partch was into wood and glass, Chas Smith is a man of metal.
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T. Sage Harmos
www.harmosmusic.com
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Chas, the strings don't look like they have any "arch"...can you bow them singly, or do you bow them all at once? I assume the little "sliders" on the rods are there for tuning purposes? That'd be my guess, anyway. I still say it looks more like a work of art than an instrument.
If Frank Lloyd Wright had had the same inclinations as Shot Jackson, I guess this is what his steel might have looked like!
If Frank Lloyd Wright had had the same inclinations as Shot Jackson, I guess this is what his steel might have looked like!
- Ray Montee
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All I'd like to know about this most unique instruments is:
When you play Orange Blossom Special on it, is it easier to do than on a PP Emmons?
Does it stay in tune in a Hot/Cold TV studio?
How long does it require to tear-down and set-up for a gig?
How does it weigh?
What does the case look like?
Inquiring minds want to know.......
When you play Orange Blossom Special on it, is it easier to do than on a PP Emmons?
Does it stay in tune in a Hot/Cold TV studio?
How long does it require to tear-down and set-up for a gig?
How does it weigh?
What does the case look like?
Inquiring minds want to know.......
- chas smith
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- Joined: 28 Feb 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Encino, CA, USA
When I play Orange Blossom Special on it, it's unrecognizable.<SMALL>When you play Orange Blossom Special on it, is it easier to do than on a PP Emmons?</SMALL>
If you ever get to play it, you'll realize that that's not an issue. Actually, the bottom photograph was taken at Village Recorders in West LA at its first recording session. It was for a film score to "Flesh and Bone" with Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, James Caan and a then unknown actress, Gwyneth Paltrow in 1993<SMALL>Does it stay in tune in a Hot/Cold TV studio?</SMALL>
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>How long does it require to tear-down and set-up for a gig?
How does it weigh?
What does the case look like?</SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Moving it around is an event, it doesn't like to travel. The cartage company was 'into it' and they were very gentle. It weighs as much as it looks like it weighs and the setup only involves putting the extentions back on the appropriate rods.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL> the strings don't look like they have any "arch"...can you bow them singly, or do you bow them all at once? I assume the
little "sliders" on the rods are there for tuning purposes? </SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Most of the music for the ambient sections of a film score is in whole tones and longer. When I bow a string it's usually just the bottom one. What gets the workout is bowing the rods and depending on where I bow each one and how hard I bow it makes a huge difference in what pitch it makes and how pretty or aggressive that note is. These kinds of instruments are not adept at playing traditional melodies and since there's a whole orchestra available that's really good at that, these things are more usefull in other areas. The sliders on this one are set collars that clamp down on the spring pins that are used as couplings for the rod extensions. On another instrument I made, they were used to tune some of the rods and were also strategically placed on different nodal points on each rod to calm down some of the
"splash".<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by chas smith on 14 December 2001 at 10:43 PM.]</p></FONT>
- chas smith
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