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Topic: Guitarzilla |
chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 1:06 am |
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I made Guitarzilla over 10 years ago. It was made to be used as an "effects guitar" where I would either roll the bar on the strings so that the pickups (George L 5 way) on either end would hear different chords made out of the same tuning or I would "prepare" it, which means I stuck things like long drill rods or springs or metal things in the strings and picked or hit it with hammered dulcimer hammers.
It has a short scale 10 (22 7/8"), a long scale 10 (28 3/4") and a 5 string bass (34 1/4") necks. It's made from an aluminum channel 12" by 46 3/8". All necks share the same bridge so that all the strings are in the same plane which means I can "prepare" across all three necks. The bass neck and the middle neck have the traditional frets drawn on them although, the bass neck only has them on one side, the other side has a more complicated just scale. The stainless dots are mathematical divisions in Just and they turn around and reverse themselves on what would be the 12th fret.
The reason I made this guitar is I had hacked-up my Super Pro and put pickups on both ends of the neck for the soundtrack on the movie "Lost Boys" and I wanted to convert it back to sort of normal and there was a call for the kinds of sounds this thing makes. I wish these pictures were better.
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 10:34 am
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Chas
You amaze me. I think
this is a true work of art my friend.
You certainly live up to your reputation.
You could work on my guitars any day.
Great looking Bigsby you have that belonged to J.M as well,,,,thanks for sharing these. |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 12:41 pm
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| Jody, thank you and you're welcome. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 3:11 pm
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| That's outa-this-world! What a neat looking beast ... sure looks like it would be fun to bash out a few licks on it. Great workmanship. |
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George Keoki Lake
From:
Edmonton, AB., Canada
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 3:27 pm
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[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 27 November 2004 at 05:01 PM.] |
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 18 Dec 2001 7:39 pm
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Hey George
Why dont you take lessons on the computer..
 yuk yuk yuk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Thanks for your card,,,,why did you send it
"postage due"???
Do you want to borrow my sno blower??? its a
"dual action blower" you know
Its a HONDAMONICA the latest in Jap technology,,, grinnin & crying too. |
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Sage
From:
Boulder, Colorado
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Posted 20 Dec 2001 7:40 am
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| Chas, I've never seen a "mirror in the middle" instrument before. When you play it, you're actually visualizing both ends as being bridges at the same time- like Junior Blue, right? Has anyone else done this as far as you know? [This message was edited by Sage on 20 December 2001 at 07:42 AM.] |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2001 12:02 pm
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Sage, because there's a pickup on both ends, that makes each end a bridge. If you look at the guitar from the perspective of the 12th fret, which is the center of the string, then it really is a mirror image. In earlier threads we've talked about how the frets are simply divisions of the string length and if they are in Just intonation, they are simple fractions. So the 7th fret is a 5th and it's a 1/3 of the string length, (the 5th fret is 1/4 of the string length). If I weave a metal bar through the strings (capo) at the 7th fret in from both ends, I've divided the string into 3 equal divisions. This would be the simplest thing I would normally do and it would be a 3-way "behind-the-bar" sound.
Has anyone else done this as far as I know? Well the 'quick answer' is why would they want to. If you're playing "Orange Blossom Special" this will be a real handicap.
John Cage was 'preparing' pianos back in 1935 so this is hardly an original idea on my part. What it does very well is make 'organic' textures, and what I mean by that is, unlike the traditional synthesizer 'wash', that we all know and love, the texture here is acoustic and all made from the same tuning, so it has a more 'homogenous' sound to it. |
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Loni Specter
From:
West Hills, CA, USA
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Posted 27 Nov 2004 4:08 pm
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| bump |
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Dan Sawyer
From:
Studio City, California, USA
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Posted 27 Nov 2004 4:28 pm
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Loni, thanks for the bump. Chaz is seriously deranged. ;-)
Looking at that gave me an idea. What if one of the side's pickups was on a seperate volume control. Then the player could fade in the "funny" behind the bar sounds at will. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Jackie Anderson
From:
Scarborough, ME
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Posted 27 Nov 2004 4:37 pm
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| Only from the mind and laboratory -- I mean machine shop -- of Dr. Chasenstein.... |
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Terry Farmer
From:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 27 Nov 2004 7:34 pm
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| Chas, you should write a book. The stories I read about your life and accomplshments are fascinating. Put me down for an autographed copy. [This message was edited by Terry Farmer on 27 November 2004 at 07:35 PM.] |
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