More and more often on eBay these days I'm seeing guitars bearing the Tennessee brand. These guys don't play it safe with tried and trusted popular models. They seem to make up the most outlandish designs possible such as crazy multi-necked instruments (I've featured some of these before) and they always seem to be very cheap so as to appeal to the buyer who thinks "That guitar might well look crazy, but at that price I'll give it a whirl." It's an interesting marketing strategy.But are these cheap 'n' cheerful (and very probably nasty) instruments actually playable? I'm not just talking quality and set-up, I also wonder if some of them are actually physically possible to play.
A case in point is this ridiculous six string bass and twelve-string guitar on one neck combo. I can't imagine why anyone would want such a thing in preference to a doubleneck. How difficult must that be to play? The difficulty would be further compounded by the two parts of the instrument having separate fingerboards and scale-lengths. I'd love to hear from someone who's played a guitar like this? Just what are the advantages, because I can't see any.
Just because it is possible to build something, it doesn't mean it's a good idea to go ahead and do it. (Even if the headstock does look kind of impressive!)
BTW, for this model, it looks like "Tennessee" copied this guy's design and added the extra strings themselves. From his comments on a previous thread on this blog, the guy who designed the original didn't seem to know how he was going to approach playing it. Then more recently I saw that he had adveristed it for sale! I wonder why?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxcXu1nZohQ
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't answer the question of what advantages there are of having the bass and the 12-string guitar share the same neck. The guy in the video could have done the same thing on a doubleneck - in fact it would have been less trouble when playing the bass part.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can play it in a tapping style but ,in this case,rather buy a Chapman stick...
ReplyDeleteWho or what is the name of the manufacture of Tennessee Instruments? Are they still in business? Five years ago I received one of their doublenecks as a gift...This version is Left-Handed, 4 string fretless with a 5 string fretted bass. and is headless (like Steinberger basses).. after a complete set-up...IT actually sounds alright...
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