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Post by woodtoner on Nov 26, 2021 13:03:20 GMT
Thought I'd share one of my many musical pet-hates which is the fairly recent trend of "rat guitars" which is basically taking a TPOS and doing this sort of thing to it and then charging silly money for what is basically firewood . Does anyone actually buy these horrors??
Would be amused to see what others can add to this thread..
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Nov 26, 2021 13:53:27 GMT
What's a TPOS? Yeah, that thing looks foul.
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Post by woodtoner on Nov 26, 2021 14:02:52 GMT
TPOS = toneless piece of shit
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Nov 26, 2021 14:38:50 GMT
I didn't realise rodders had taken to modding guitars
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Post by grayn on Nov 26, 2021 18:56:07 GMT
A fool and his money...............................!
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tangledfool
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Post by tangledfool on Nov 26, 2021 20:49:09 GMT
Nice headgear.
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Post by shufflebeat on Nov 26, 2021 22:48:38 GMT
I was wondering why he was wearing the hat, then I heard him play the guitar, then I understood why he was wearing the hat.
Is it cruel of me to wish the top would implode every time he tugged on the tiller?
TPOS is a new one on me as well, but I really, really get it.
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Post by otis1960 on Nov 26, 2021 23:05:58 GMT
Actually, it's an amazing innovation,as it replicates the experience of hearing a dreadful busker in a tube station passageway without the faff of getting dressed and taking the tube. Perhaps it should be called a Cockfosters Custom??
Impressive hardware though - I counted five knobs, including the one holding the 'guitar'
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Post by PistolPete on Nov 27, 2021 9:50:19 GMT
Something about the tone of this thread makes me a little uncomfortable - it feels like a bunch of white guys being very dismissive of someone who plays music in the West African tradition.
Rat guitars may not be your thing (although, I might argue its a better use for tired 1970s acoustics than sending them to landfill or "upcycling" them into novelty bookshelves), and the noodling in that particular video may not be showing off his best work, but if you click on the guy's channel, he's clearly decent at what he does and understands the sound he is aiming for - even if it's not quite what your ears are attuned to.
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Post by Onechordtrick on Nov 27, 2021 10:01:21 GMT
I’m with PistolPete on this; he’s a good player and and has done something interesting with a run of the mill guitar. If the original were really toneless then he’s only improved it. I think Kawai was a 70s/80s mass market brand so is not like he’s ruining a vintage Gibson. And if he were? Well it’s his guitar… P.S. the link Pete posted is really worth a listen
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Post by otis1960 on Nov 27, 2021 10:15:57 GMT
Thanks PP, you are indeed correct regarding this guy’s musicality, and I do now appreciate the purpose of the modifications to an old box.
I think I was a little hasty, although he did himself no favours with the earlier clip, glad you had the patience to dig a little deeper.
I am enlightened, and slightly chastened; I would say, however, that I understood woodtoner’s comments to relate to a novelty trend rather than dissing someone’s musical tradition.
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Post by woodtoner on Nov 27, 2021 16:59:33 GMT
I wasn’t passing comment on any musical style or anyone’s culture ( I myself am not of entirely white stock 1/4 Chinese 1/4 Tasmanian Aboriginal) my gripe was poorly modded cheap guitars being sold for far far more than they a worth. I love lo-fi as much as the next guy but these are just appalling. Fair enough if you want to do that to your old junk guitar but as a business model It’s not so great. How many naive beginners have wasted money on these I wonder? And yes that clip is great - I believe the style is referred to as African "dry" guitar. I could be wrong and am happy to be corrected..
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juliant
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Post by juliant on Nov 28, 2021 22:51:52 GMT
TPOS = toneless piece of shit I quite like GSO (guitar-shaped object) as well. I started* some evening classes in guitar building years ago, and there were quite a few blokes (it's always blokes) turning out beautifully crafted wooden constructions with all the tonal qualities of an Ikea bedside cabinet. I think they'd done the woodwork classes and then decided to have a go at a guitar. They definitely weren't POS but they were definitely toneless.
* Didn't get very far, because it all went at the pace of a glacier, and when the instructor said it usually took 2 years to finish (a couple of hours one evening a week) I rather lost interest. I ought to have another go, when (ha! if) I retire...
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Post by woodtoner on Nov 28, 2021 23:05:04 GMT
TPOS = toneless piece of shit I quite like GSO (guitar-shaped object) as well. I started* some evening classes in guitar building years ago, and there were quite a few blokes (it's always blokes) turning out beautifully crafted wooden constructions with all the tonal qualities of an Ikea bedside cabinet. I think they'd done the woodwork classes and then decided to have a go at a guitar. They definitely weren't POS but they were definitely toneless.
* Didn't get very far, because it all went at the pace of a glacier, and when the instructor said it usually took 2 years to finish (a couple of hours one evening a week) I rather lost interest. I ought to have another go, when (ha! if) I retire...
I think I tried the same course at the same place years ago - sutton?
I lasted a night... My woodworking skills make homer simpsons spice rack look like a Bozo bell western. and yes I've always liked GSO.
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juliant
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Post by juliant on Nov 29, 2021 8:41:46 GMT
I quite like GSO (guitar-shaped object) as well. I started* some evening classes in guitar building years ago, and there were quite a few blokes (it's always blokes) turning out beautifully crafted wooden constructions with all the tonal qualities of an Ikea bedside cabinet. I think they'd done the woodwork classes and then decided to have a go at a guitar. They definitely weren't POS but they were definitely toneless.
* Didn't get very far, because it all went at the pace of a glacier, and when the instructor said it usually took 2 years to finish (a couple of hours one evening a week) I rather lost interest. I ought to have another go, when (ha! if) I retire...
I think I tried the same course at the same place years ago - sutton?
I lasted a night... My woodworking skills make homer simpsons spice rack look like a Bozo bell western. and yes I've always liked GSO.
Near Sutton, yes - Merton College, on the way to Morden. The guy who ran it was great, but boy, was it slow going.
I think the progression was Basic Woodwork -> Advanced Woodwork -> Cabinet Making -> Guitar Building, and it did show. And I recall coming to the conclusion that building a guitar is 90% sharpening tools and only 10% doing anything with them.
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