Post by 4real on Aug 7, 2013 19:27:33 GMT -5
Recently we had a bit of a thread on the Marxoguitar (guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/6960/marxoguitar)that came out of a discussion on a doors song...and I ahppened to come across an interesting "guitar" in the back of a magazine and so, looked it up and seems even more interesting than I had first thought...
www.beyondthetrees.com/taprootphotos.html
This instrument has a baritone neck, scolloped above the 12th fret and synth out on the six sting. It also has 8 percussion synth triggers. The sympathetic strings are on a 'sitar' jawari bridge and can be plucked, strummed or 'hammered' with a 'marxophone' hammer mechanisim...the sympathetic strings also have a damper should you wish to turn them off.
Something I've menatally played around with and would love to do, apparently they have a name, are 'sharpening levers'...if anyone has ideas on this kind of thing, message me...I'd love to be able to easily bend behind the nut and lock strings to say a tone above...perhaps some might like a research project on this aspect...
So sure, a little over the top, a lot of strings to keep in tune and a distinctive though unweildly axe to have to swing and string...but then, there are some interesting ideas and there seems to be other 'nuts' around here with at least an interest in many of the aspects of these kinds of instruments...
Here is a very good video on this guitar from the maker explaining and so one can hear the thing...
There is a movement of such 'harp gutiars' all a bit different in nature but some interesting ideas.
I recall as a teen seeing a bass that was made 'half fretted' for instance, fretless above the 12th fret as I recall. Scolloping above the 12th fret is an interesting compromise too and has been built into variaous instruments from time to time and would not be too hard to do I imagine.
I am actually keen to 'simulate' that sitar effect with a cheap digital sitar simulation I have in my Korg AX1G. The idea is to run the mag pup through it. It seems to use ring modulators or soemthing and you need to select the key to the tune you are playing to get the appropriate 'effect' of those sympathetic stings, but it is actually quite a convincing and nice sound electronically, so not requiring all those strings!
Anyway...these things are interesting and might stimulate ideas or aspects of design that might be useful or interesting to explore...
I have a feeling that my next 'project' one I am happy with my main guitar and amplification, will be another electro acoustic that I have and try out Pat Metheny's 'Mephis tuning' (I think he calls it)...for his grammy award winning album "what's it all about" he restrung his baritone with higher stings in the middle and 'thinks' in terms of three sections...the two top strings for the melody, the low two for the bass (sometimes in a dropped tuning) and the middle two an ocatve higher than normal standard. I think, with appropriate guages one might get a similar effect with a standard guitar, perhaps tuned to D and with high strings in the middle for a similar effect, it really opens up the range and can produce a wonderful sound in arrangements. I've ordered the book of the album, if only to check out how these arrangements work and may well be tempted to create some kind of guitar that one might be able to attempt some of that stuff.
But I do admire how well the design and integration and aesthetic has been carried out on this instrument, it certainly is an achievement in design and mechanical engineering and functional art...
Feel free to add other interesting instruments into this thread or to explore ideas, especially those levers,they seem particularly cool...
www.beyondthetrees.com/taprootphotos.html
This instrument has a baritone neck, scolloped above the 12th fret and synth out on the six sting. It also has 8 percussion synth triggers. The sympathetic strings are on a 'sitar' jawari bridge and can be plucked, strummed or 'hammered' with a 'marxophone' hammer mechanisim...the sympathetic strings also have a damper should you wish to turn them off.
Something I've menatally played around with and would love to do, apparently they have a name, are 'sharpening levers'...if anyone has ideas on this kind of thing, message me...I'd love to be able to easily bend behind the nut and lock strings to say a tone above...perhaps some might like a research project on this aspect...
So sure, a little over the top, a lot of strings to keep in tune and a distinctive though unweildly axe to have to swing and string...but then, there are some interesting ideas and there seems to be other 'nuts' around here with at least an interest in many of the aspects of these kinds of instruments...
Here is a very good video on this guitar from the maker explaining and so one can hear the thing...
There is a movement of such 'harp gutiars' all a bit different in nature but some interesting ideas.
I recall as a teen seeing a bass that was made 'half fretted' for instance, fretless above the 12th fret as I recall. Scolloping above the 12th fret is an interesting compromise too and has been built into variaous instruments from time to time and would not be too hard to do I imagine.
I am actually keen to 'simulate' that sitar effect with a cheap digital sitar simulation I have in my Korg AX1G. The idea is to run the mag pup through it. It seems to use ring modulators or soemthing and you need to select the key to the tune you are playing to get the appropriate 'effect' of those sympathetic stings, but it is actually quite a convincing and nice sound electronically, so not requiring all those strings!
Anyway...these things are interesting and might stimulate ideas or aspects of design that might be useful or interesting to explore...
I have a feeling that my next 'project' one I am happy with my main guitar and amplification, will be another electro acoustic that I have and try out Pat Metheny's 'Mephis tuning' (I think he calls it)...for his grammy award winning album "what's it all about" he restrung his baritone with higher stings in the middle and 'thinks' in terms of three sections...the two top strings for the melody, the low two for the bass (sometimes in a dropped tuning) and the middle two an ocatve higher than normal standard. I think, with appropriate guages one might get a similar effect with a standard guitar, perhaps tuned to D and with high strings in the middle for a similar effect, it really opens up the range and can produce a wonderful sound in arrangements. I've ordered the book of the album, if only to check out how these arrangements work and may well be tempted to create some kind of guitar that one might be able to attempt some of that stuff.
But I do admire how well the design and integration and aesthetic has been carried out on this instrument, it certainly is an achievement in design and mechanical engineering and functional art...
Feel free to add other interesting instruments into this thread or to explore ideas, especially those levers,they seem particularly cool...
