Stratocaster Evolution / Everything Changes but Guitars (I wish I knew the original source.)
At first, it made me laugh and think “humph, yeah…” in agreement. The more I thought about it though… it’s wrong. How is it wrong?
Well as far as concept cars go, it’s a whole different world from everyday-use practical cars. Nothing has gone all that far from 4 wheels, 2 headlights, gasoline powered. (Yes, there are hybrids and flex-fuel all over the market… but arguably people don’t like them unless they look like “normal” cars.) But, this blog isn’t about cars. I’m sure you knew I was going to talk guitars, because that’s what I do.
There are a ridiculous amounts of varying styles of guitars & guitar innovations out there. Some of them may not be “reinventing the wheel” exactly, but there is always some great stuff happening, and there has been since the inception of the stringed instrument. How do you think we got so many varieties?
Krank Amplification | Evolution Of The Electric Guitar
I agree that too many axe-slingers fall into the Stratocaster or Les Paul shape trap. For years I held a disdain for both shapes… but I come back to them. Why? Perhaps they’re good designs. Perhaps they’re iconic. Perhaps they sound incredible. Perhaps they work. There aremany other options out there. If you find yourself chuckling to and agreeing with this graphic, I challenge you to help me to add to my list of innovative guitars.
Let’s talk about how the guitar is ever-evolving… Shape, materials, string count, innovation, & general insanity.
Indy Custom Flycaster (or Tele-V?)
There are lots of shapes out there past the Stratocaster or Les Paul, whether it’s somewhat normal or custom insanity. There’s the SG, the Telecaster, V’s (Flying, Jackson & more), hollowbodies like the Artcore or Gretsch models, the Explorer, the Ravelle, all the crazy B.C. Rich shapes, the Airline, even the Flycaster. Are there really not enough guitar design shapes out there to satisfy you? The Stratocaster doesn’t need to change shape, because there are plenty of other options out there! I’m barely hitting the tip of the iceberg here. I didn’t even touch on my B.B. Stone, FlipOut, or Batman axes. How many distinct guitar shapes can you name in the comments? (Actual produced shapes, not one-offs!) Bonus for posting or linking to photos.
World’s Largest Playable Guitar being set up at the Carnegie Science Center – Pittsburgh, PA (Photo Credit: Kara / @ohidontthinkso)
The traveling guitar exhibit is at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh right now. I can’t wait to check it out. It’s got the world’s largest playable guitar. I was lucky enough to get a preview the other day via Twitter. Tell me that’s not an innovation? It will no doubt inspire many to pick up the guitar, or dust off the one they already have. The entire exhibit displays guitars, how they work, their history, & all kinds of fun interaction.
So, next time you think that the guitar has become stagnant, I ask you to go get your hands one one of the many non Strat options above… or even a non-standard Strat option… like a Fat Strat, hot-rodded wiring, or a backwards one. There are plenty of different, innovative, and goofy guitars out there. Rock out on something original!
So, this past weekend, I finally got a chance to work on customizing my New York Pro, I thought I’d get a bunch of it done all at one time. Well, I hit a roadblock or two as I was taking it all apart. (Of course.)
Once I got my work bench set up on the basement, taking everything apart was quite easy. I just took out all the hardware, and when I went to line up the new pickguard, it didn’t fit. It’s really close, but it doesn’t fit. I’m going to have to file or cut or sand or Dremel or some combination of all of the above.
It’s not the same…
The holes in the pickguard aren’t going to lineup with the screws, either. I’m going to have to maybe 2-sided tape it in place to mark all the holes once I get it cut right. I have no experience taking apart guitars, but it’s odd that the neck doesn’t fit “perfectly” into the body. There’s a weird gap there. It’s also easy to tell (now) that the old pickguard has been cut. There are some other spots where it doesn’t quite line up. I hope I don’t have to route anything out where the pickups go. I got them all from the same place, so I hope not.
Also, I thought I was taking the neck plate off… but it wasn’t having it:
That’s supposed to come off when you take the screws out…
Help?
It’s stuck. I feel like it’s glued on or was put on before the stain dried? I bought all black hardware, including a neck plate. Should I try to get this one off, or just let it go? I even tried to pop it off using a screwdriver through the 5th larger hole… all to no avail.
Any advice on that one?
If you’re interested in checking out my progress, take a look at the Photobucket album that’s my attempt to chronicle the whole thing. (Or, sit through this slideshow…)
This is my new Tetris. (Thankfully I’ve never had a phone cool enough to play Angry Birds.) Online guitar builders are popping up like mad, and now there’s a contest for making the ugliest one over at Joe Gore’s Tone Fiend blog:
Go try your luck at making the worst! There is some serious competition over there. Sadly, I like some of the “bad” color schemes. I guess I do like goofy guitars after all. (You may remember the mutant beauty pageant.)
I still haven’t seen a virtual guitar builder that can do this though. I did a Google image search for ‘Tetris Guitar’ and came up short. This was the next best thing. It would be cool if it still worked to play video games. Really though, $190 is a very reasonable price. If I had $200 to spare, I’d get one of these.
A while back, a friend of ours who is a teacher invited my wife & I to a Learning Festival that’s happening at her school this Saturday (May 12th). I can’t wait to go check it out! All of my favorite stuff is going to be in one place. Garrison Carida of the 501st Legion will be walking around in Star Wars attire, there will be a dude showing his guitar collection (there’s 50 of them!), they’ll be raffling a Fender Stratocaster from Moonlight Music, there will be free appraisals of collectables, and much much more! Looking at the flyer, it’s like I put the thing together with all of my favorite stuff.
Our friend is taking her 7 year old nephew, my wife is taking me. Ha! At any rate, I know other geeks read this that may be interested. Here’s the official flyer:
Apollo-Ridge Education Foundation Learning Festival – Sat. May 12th, 2012 (Click the image to go to their website.)
I used to think I wasn’t picky when it came to my guitar sound or tone. I thought I wanted a Les Paul through any old amp as long as it was cranked as loud as possible. I liked a switch to turn the dirt off or on. Maybe I thought it was cool or “punk rock” to not care about my sound.
Lately, I care about my tone. It doesn’t have to sound exactly the same all the time… but I have learned to roll the dials in the directions that make me happy.
Dunlop Cry Baby. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I actually just sold a Jim Dunlop Cry-Baby on ebay because I didn’t like how it messed with the signal even when it was off. I may pick up some kind of wah that has a true bypass… but even at that I doubt I’ll use it much.
Any more, I don’t even use a foot-switch for going clean. I play dirty all the time. If I need to clean it up, I roll back one of those volume knobs, or use a switch on the guitar. I generally always play bridge pickup & that’s it.
I like tube amps. I have a Crate Power Block that sounds pretty good live, but like razorblades were taken to the speaker cones when recorded or miked in any way. I wince when I hear bands playing through solid state amps… especially when there are 2 guitars through the same kind of amp.
So, I generally go through this tiny Egnater Tweaker from my friend Dave that sounds huge, or Erin’s Blues Junior which gets incredibly dirty at reasonable volumes.
The biggest thing I’ve learned is to just listen. If I like the sound, others will too. What I think I want might not be exactly what I want. I’ve learned to trust my ears.
I like movies, and I like rock ‘n’ roll. You probably already knew (or assumed) that. These are some of my favorite music-related films. What are yours?
Airheads – Such a great goofy film. I feel that this one is underrated… maybe it has a “cult” sort of following. The plot is ridiculous and it’s filled with all kinds of great actors. It’s got some of the best quotes ever, and is why I will someday demand a football helmet filled with cottage cheese and naked pictures of Bea Arthur if ever given the chance to make crazy demands. I could probably watch this movie over & over as much as I could watch the Star Wars films over & over.
This is Spinal Tap – This is a no-brainer. It goes to 11. It’s the standard to which all other rock ‘n’ roll films are measured. It has sustain. Just let the DVD or Blu-ray or VHS tape or Laser Disc sit on the shelf and listen to it.
Josie and the Pussycats– Laugh all you want, but this movie is super fun. If you can’t enjoy this one, you have no soul. I had no attachment to the cartoon in case there are purists out there that didn’t like it because fans of original things rarely like those things rehashed. Orange is the new pink. “3 Small Words” is a great pop song.
Empire Records – It’s not really about band or musicians… but the chaos all over the store is all about rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s filled with great tracks from GWAR, AC/DC, Sponge, not quite Body Count’s “Hey Joe“, Coyote Shivers, and Rex Manning. Ha ha.
Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch – If you haven’t seen this & you’re even a casual fan of metal, punk, rock docs in general, or even just heard “Ace of Spades” once, you need to see this. That was a really long grammatically terrible sentence. Lemmy would kick my ass for pointing that out. Maybe not. He seems like a really likeable dude to hang out with if you can get past the stink of cigarettes.
It Might Get Loud – Not a huge fan of any of these dudes… except Jimmy Page is… well, Jimmy Page.Led Zeppelin is amazing, I’m just not one of those dudes that has all the albums or knows all the riffs. U2 actually kind or irks me, but the Edge seems like a cool dude & an effect wiz. Jack White surprised me, but he’s kind of creepy. Beyond all that, I still enjoyed this movie. Guys talking about their love of music, the guitar, & playing… it’s incredible.
Walk the Line – Probably one of the best biopics ever, if not the best. Johnny Cash was a great man, and an asshole. It’s all out there. It’s a compelling story spanning many decades, and really a love story with Jone & Johnny. The man in black went through a lot in life.
Ray – Ray & Johnny Cash had eerie similar back stories. Jamie Foxx is a genius in this film. It’s one hell of a great story. Ray did it all, from R&B to pop to country.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story – This is hilarious. Watch Walk the Line & Ray first though. Then laugh hard. (♫ Haaaaard! ♫)
Wayne’s World – You’re hearing Queen in your head right now, aren’t you? Well, either that or the theme song. Excellent!
Detroit Rock City – I’m not the biggest KISS fan, but this road-trip gone awry is all kinds of fun. I have had many less interesting adventures on the way to gigs… just attending or playing. And, KISS does have some catchy songs… and a great stage show.
Role Models – OK, not a rock movie… but the KISS theme throughout is just hilarious.
Crossroads – The Karate Kid does a guitar duel with Steve Vai. It’s sort of like “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” as a movie from the 80s. Instead of Arnold from Happy Days, you have a Blues player, and instead of Karate you have the blues.
8 Mile – The concept is weird… a biopic that isn’t quite. It’s a great move though. The struggle to make it as a musician/rapper is very compelling, and Eminem’s a pretty damn good actor… playing himself… sort of.
Anvil: The Story of Anvil – This movie makes me want to laugh & cry. I feel the pain that these cats are going through. It makes you want to punch Metallica for Some Kind of Monster. After it all it’s all about friendship & the love of music. Who can’t get behind that?
Once – Not really a rock movie, but a cool story intertwined with music, performing, songwriting, and even a love/friendship thing.
The Pick of Destiny – You can maybe skip this one. Get the Complete Masterworks instead. It’s slightly funnier. These dudes are awesome rock ‘n’ rollers who capture the essence of the spirit of rock! And they battle demons…
Purple Rain – Musicians, watch this and learn how to own the stage from Morris Day. Oh yeah, Prince is pretty badass too. This is a weird 80s film, but it’s one you need to see.
Honeysuckle Rose – Willie Nelson is awesome. This movie is about a traveling band that looks a lot like Willie’s… with the lead singer who looks a lot like Willie Nelson robbing his ex guitar player’s cradle to the chagrin of his wife. This soundtrack is excellent if you’re a Willie Nelson fan… highlight being a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You”.
I still haven’t done anything with my box of goodies from Guitar Fetish to beat up that New York Pro Strat clone. It’s not that I’m nervous, I just haven’t had time to sit down & get it done yet. I’m also still open to any tips/tricks/advice.
Think it will help? Everyone seems to say it will. I might need a sponge too?
I’ve gotten some decent tips from Facebook, SMG, and Misfits Central. What else do I need to consider as far as pots & capacitors?
How would you connect the dots here? What pots & capacitors would you use?
How would you wire this?
Should I do the 7-sound thing? What if I want the neck & the bridge both on at once?
Should I replace the pots while I’m in there? How do I tell if they’re 250k or 500k?
I’m guessing a wiring diagram with my proposed setup doesn’t already exist out there, not even at Stew-Mac. Looks like these cats will make one for $30, but I think I can do that myself. (Although a very rough one.)
I need a crash course in guitar wiring, I guess. Ha ha.
I also might try to setup a work bench/space in the basement so I don’t ruin the dining room table.
I might pull some of these from an older ever-evolving list at a website that’s a virtual ghost town any more. I haven’t checked to see if any of these are actual band names. Youneed to do that.
As always, I’m begging for input. Please, add to the list. It can be serious, scary, intelligent, funny, but make them catchy. Include a reference/inspiration if you like.
ABOSL or BSL or even aBoSL. (A Bunch of Stupid Letters)
Unintentional Snot Rocket
Frank n’ Beans
Dianoga
I didn’t come up with all of those, but they’re all from that goofy list. Let’s add some more. Make them better than band names that have already been used. Make them memorable and creative. Make them something that you can register on Facebook, Band Camp, Twitter, MySpace, Google+, Reverb Nation, Pure Volume, or buy the .com (or at least .org).
Put your potential band names in the comments below. Go!
(If you use one, and we need to cross it off of the list, let us know that too!)
This is Spinal Tap
Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch
Ray
Wayne’s World
Role Models
Crossroads
8 Mile
Once
The Pick of Destiny
Purple Rain
Honeysuckle Rose
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
