New Signature Model From Industrial Guitars

Myk Freedman · From: Brooklyn

Hello fellow steelers!

I am really excited to be posting about a new collaboration between me and master builder Chris Fouke of Industrial Guitar. We'd been discussing ideas for a while and finally finished up a signature model. I'm really proud it. You can check out the link below to see the all the specs.

http://www.industrialguitar.com/viewitem.php?groupid=0&productid=28

As many of you know Chris and his work I wont go too deep into how amazing his steels are. All of them completely hand made with sustain that lasts for days. I'll just write about one specific feature I'm really keen on that's rather unusual: the killswitch! This is a rare option on a lap steel and something I've recently been incorporating into my playing a lot. Having one has opened doors I hadn't previously thought about. I say this because while it's a simple modification that's not out of place on an electric guitar, it's so completely unidiomatic to the steel. It's as contrary to the long, lush, swelling sounds associated with the instrument as you can get. The dramatic electric interruptions to the pitches coupled with the microtonal possibilities transport the familiar timbres of the steel to those of an analog synth. Or, at least, it can.

Let know what you think!
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http://mykfreedman.com

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

Nice guitar. Actually the momentary kill switch was a pretty popular modification beck in the 50s - some guitars had them built in and some people added them.

Some people used them to emulate the "Speedy West" style chatter/stutter sound although I prefer the way Speedy did it by hammering the bar on the strings.

Of course, it's been used by the "underarm guitar" players since at least the early 60s - Pete Townshend was a big fan of it.

I'd be interested to see how you use it.

Myk Freedman · From: Brooklyn

Hey Jeff,

Thanks for the feedback. I had no idea they were common. I've never seen one on a steel. But shows you can always learn more. Do you know of any cool classic recording featuring one? I'd love to hear how it was used.
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http://mykfreedman.com

Jeff Mead · From: London, England

Myk,

If you do a search on the forum for "stutter button" "stutter switch" and "momentary switch" you'll find a lot of stuff.

There's a thread here which starts with a nice picture of Basil's lovely old Gibson triple neck which is factory fitted with one on each neck.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=275644&highlight=stutter

My theory is that these were fitted to a lot of guitars because people thought that was how Speedy West and others got the rapid staccato effect they were hearing but, in fact he used a bar slam technique.

I tried to find examples of people using the stutter button on early recordings to very little response. Most of the examples posted were in fact examples of bar slam or bar chatter, although the stutter button is still commonly called "the Speedy West stutter effect" or "the poor man's Speedy West".

But one thing's for sure, even if not many people used it, lots of guitars had them fitted or retrofitted.

I'd still be interested in hearing some more examples of it or some videos.

Peter Jacobs · From: Northern Virginia

Myk - that is a gorgeous guitar! I've always been impressed with Chris' workmanship, and the design of his steels in general, but this one really connects with me. Congrats on the new axe - can't wait to hear it what you can do with it.
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Peter
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www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos

Stephen Abruzzo · From: Philly, PA

Congrats on your own Signature model Myk.

Looks pretty cool. Chris does nice work. Still have my Dan Walsh signature.

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