Friday, 16 January 2009

1950s Plastic Maccaferri Guitar

Let's leave the NAMM coverage to all the other blogs. I'm going to continue featuring the weird and wonderful here!
Maccaferri plastic guitar
This Maccaferri plastic guitar is an early example of a guitar manufactured from alternative materials. I like how the dot markers on the fingerboard seem to go right through the neck and can be seen on the reverse.

According to the listing:
"Mario Maccaferri, a former concert guitarist and French reed maker, immigrated to the United States in 1939. While he continued his reed making in the United States, difficulty obtaining the reed itself led him to devise reeds made from plastic, a material that caught his attention at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. He filed a patent application for the novel reeds in 1941, and it was awarded the following year. Maccaferri soon began producing other plastic consumer products, including clothespins, hangers, plastic tiles, acoustic tiles, and later 8-track and cassette housings. Before the war, Maccaferri had designed a guitar for Selmer, Paris, which became famous as the guitar of choice for jazz artist Django Reinhardt. In 1949, Maccaferri combined his interests in musical instrument design with his expertise in plastic to produce the Islander Ukulele, the first plastic stringed instrument. Priced at an affordable $5.95, the instruments were highly commercially successful. In 1953, Maccaferri introduced his plastic guitars, which were not meant to be a cheap substitute for a wood guitar, but rather a highly functional instrument that happened to be constructed from plastic. In 1964, the name of the company was changed from French American Reeds Manufacturing Company to Mastro Plastics Corporation. By 1969, criticism and slow sales caused Maccaferri to cease production of his plastic instruments, the rights to which were sold to Carnival Industries, which never elected to manufacture the instruments. Following his retirement in 1981, Maccaferri continued pursuing his interest in plastic instruments with the development of a plastic violin, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1990. Maccaferri died three years later at the age of 92."

...and there's a Plastic Uke too!

Maccaferri Islander plastic baritone uke
I particularly love the coloured plastic swirl on the reverse of this plastic Maccaferri Islander Baritone Ukulele.

Thursday, 15 January 2009

Charvel "Arcade Hell" Guitar

Charvel Arcade Hell GuitarHere's a Charvel guitar featuring unique artwork by Florida-based Beyond Custom Guitars.

This particular design is called "Arcade Hell", and if you ever hung out in amusment arcades back in the 1980s or are a fan of retro games you can probably see why.

I don't normally like guitars with over-the-top very "busy" finishes, but for some reason this appeals to me.

And I don't even like computer games.

A Few Links to Share

  • gUitarRENgUitarREN is a new blog from a would-be guitar designer. This guy has a whole bunch of new and refreshing ideas as to what an electric guitar could look like. I especially like his concept of a "neckless" guitar! (Actually, the neck would be integrated as part of the body). The blog features his sketches, cardboard-mock ups, and hopefully as time goes by we'll see some completed instruments too! Recommended.

  • Play Away Guitars: UK-based store specialising in travel guitars (Traveler, MiniStar, Aria Sinsonido, Pignose, etc).

  • Guitar Age: Netherlands-based site with crazy and sometimes cheesy guitars for sale (Eko, Crucianelli, Wandre, etc). Great pics!

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Mickey Strat

Mickey Strat
Considering that this Fender Japan Strat is a limited Mickey Mouse edition it's actually quite restrained. I've seen other Disney-themed guitars that are truly horrendous to look at.

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Lindert Locomotive T Bass VI

Lindert Locomotive T Bass VIHere's an "old school" style 6-string bass (i.e. tuned as a guitar but an octave down - guitar string spacing, etc), this one being from the now defunct Lindert compnay from Washington, DC.

I quite like the Tele styling although I'm not overly sure about the fake speaker effect with the tweed cloth inlaid. Nevertheless, it's hard to find what I consider proper 6-string basses these days (and most "baritone guitars" don't go down low enough) and have you seen the prices that a Fender Bass VI now commands?

Nevertheless, I feel an itchy bidding finger, although I really shouldn't as I don't have room for any more guitars.

Must... restrain... myself...

Thursday, 8 January 2009

Doublenecked DulciCaster

Doublenecked DulciCasterHere's an oddity for you. It's half electric guitar, half electric mountain dulcimer. It also has the guts of a Line 6 Variax guitar.

For more details check out www.DulciCaster.com and check out the videos of DulciCasters in action.

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

BC Rich Acoustic/Electric Mockingbird

BC Rich Acoustic/Electric MockingbirdJust imagine! This BC Rich Acoustic/Electric Mockingbird could be just the guitar you need for that Glam Rock/Folk Duo that you've been meaning to start!

(Is it just me or do acoustic guitars built to electric guitar designs look just wrong?)

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Ron Asheton, RIP

Ron AshetonVery sad news. Ron Asheton, the legendary guitarist of The Stooges has been found dead at his home.

Full story here.

Monday, 5 January 2009

1993 Rolf Spuler Paradis serial no.2

1993 Rolf Spuler Paradis serial no.2
Before discussing the guitar pictured here, let me first apologise for the extended hiatus of this blog over the holiday period. I didn't feel I could ask a guest blogger to stand in for me whilst I was away considering the season and that other people might want to celebrate the holidays too.

I didn't actually intend to leave the blog for quite so long. I wanted to post something a few days ago, but after searching for the weird and wonderful on eBay all I could find was the same old stuff that people have been trying to flog for ages. Perhaps it's just a bad time of year for guitars on eBay?

Anyway, now I'm back and hopefully normal service is resumed and I'll try not to let my new non-guitar blog stop me from posting here as frequently as you're used to.

So... The rather beautiful guitar we see pictured here is a Rolf Spuler Paradis nylon-strung "acoustic" electric guitar dating from 1993. These guitars are pretty rare beasties and this particular one is actually serial No.2 which might account for the high asking price of $26,000.00. I noticed this guitar for sale on eBay before I went away for the holidays and I see it's still unsold and has been re-listed; it's a beautiful guitar but it's hardly surprising no-one is buying right now given the price, be it fair or not.

Note that the guitar is headless but has an low E-string extension allowing you to drop it to a low D whilst keeping all the fretting across the neck the same. This was a trick that Kubicki Factor basses also employed. The recessed machineheads in the rear of the guitar offers a simple but elegant tuning solution on a headless guitar.

If you want to hear what a guitar like this sounds like, then once again I'd point you in the direction of the "Nine Lives" album by Steve Winwood which features Jose Pires De Almeida Neto playing one of these very guitars.

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