timoth‽

Millimetric MGS3

We came across an infographic of “Iconic Guitars” with 25 different body shapes. The vast majority of which we have literally already posted about, or have at least mentioned as an obvious influence on other guitars which we have posted. There were a few that we were certainly aware of, but have never mentioned, either because we haven’t gotten around to them, haven’t found one in purple yet, and/or just aren’t that interested. Then there was one: “What the heck is THAT‽”

This really had us questioning the meaning of “iconic.” Not to say that something can not be iconic just because we have never heard of it. We do not have that level of self-assuredness, and even if we did, everyone has to have a very first encounter with something no matter how iconic.

So, what is the difference between a “cool” guitar and an “iconic” one? Famously played by notable artist or artists? Used on numerous hit records? Inspired a generation of players and imitators? We checked a website that catalogs the gear of famous musicians, and they don’t even have a page for this brand.

We are not entirely comfortable with tying iconic status to commercial success, but there must be some level of cultural significance, right? Does seeing this guitar evoke memories or emotions? Does it inspire a whole new genre? Give us a hint here.

Let us move on to the guitar itself, because it can not be blamed for claims that someone else is making on its behalf.

The neck is walnut with thin lines for inlay. To call it a bolt-on neck seems inaccurate, because the neck extends all the way under the pickups and bridge, making it more of a bolt-on body. The body itself may invite comparisons to other angular guitar shapes, but ultimately looks more like it was designed by someone who only had descriptions of guitars from other people, and never seen one themselves.

It has a fancy Millimetric original bridge. The pickups are likewise Millimetric’s own version of lipstick pickups. These are controlled by a “free-way” switch, which resembles a conventional 3-way toggle, but actually has six positions like the gear stick on a car. Such switches have been around as an aftermarket modification for decades, but we do not recall ever seeing one on a factory new guitar. The volume and tone knobs have a pointy bit, but no numbers at which to point.

It has a metallic lilac finish with an acrylic pickguard.

The whole guitar has an overall sleek look that seems like it would be at home in a bright white room with sparse decorations and furniture all made of glass and metal. Chic. Trendy. Iconic?

#PurpleGuitarPhursday #Millimetric

It recently occurred to me that I actually do not have the faintest idea regarding the plot of "Atlas Shrugged."

I know that the book is idolized by the absolute worst of the worst capitalist libertarians.

I know that in Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan condemned to hold up the world as punishment for... something. (Rebelling against the other gods, maybe?)

So, I would surmise that the book is about what would happen if the put-upon wealthy elite decided that they no longer wanted to carry the "dead weight" of the working class? Uh... good luck with that.

But that can not possibly be right, can it? Nobody's head is that far up their own ass?

I probably could have looked it up faster than typing this post, but at this point, I am kind of afraid to know.

When you exhume, you place a hex on u and me.

Can you even walk 500 miles, and THEN walk 500 more, and still be in Scotland? Would you even still be in the UK, or would you fall into the sea‽

Toodles to oodles of doodles of poodles with noodles.

Crews Maniac Sound - Six Nylon

#AcousticApril is over and we are done with acoustics. …Or ARE we‽

Once upon a time, Les Paul realized that if you are going to put magnetic pickups on a guitar anyway, then it really does not need to have a big, hollow, “acoustic” body. This idea ultimately lead to an electric solid body guitar known as [checks notes] the Gibson Les Paul. Decades later, after acoustic guitars began to feature piezo pickups, Les Paul’s contemporary and occasional collaborator, Chet Atkins, worked with that same company to create an electric nylon string guitar, the Gibson Chet Atkins CEC. Other companies such as Godin and Ibanez have had similar offerings, which never really caught on, yet are starting to gain popularity recently because of Tim Hensen from the band Polyphia.

That is a lot of names that are not terribly important right now, other than to point out that Crews Maniac Sound did not invent the electric nylon concept. What they did do was make it PURPLE.

The Six Nylon has a tele-ish shape with a different upper horn thing happening. It has a bolt-on neck, which rather curiously features steel-string tuning machines. Nylon string necks are wider at the nut, because strings themselves are thicker. They also typically do not have a radiused fretboard, although some more recent models will if they are aiming for crossover appeal to players more accustomed to steel string guitars. We can not quite tell which is the case here, and the description does not say. The body itself has a flame maple top with a purple stain and faux binding. It has a classical tie-the-strings-on bridge and a single volume control.

Crews Maniac Sound are a small Japanese company. We can not help but wonder if the name has significance, or whether it is sort of the inverse of an American who gets a tattoo of random Japanese characters, and perhaps in this case they just picked some English words that sound cool. The important thing is that it does sound cool, and the guitar looks cool, and we want it.

#PurpleGuitarPhursday #CrewsManiacSound

Ibanez Lari Basilio LB1

This guitar combines tele and strat features, which many have done in one form or another. In this case, it combines a tele shape with strat contours and body binding even around the arm carve, which seems non-trivial construction-wise, but this is a premium guitar.

Featuring custom Lari Basilio pickups from Seymour Duncan in HSS configuration, including a tele neck and an unusual looking middle pickup which is actually just another tele style pickup with an open-top cover. Much has been said on the internet about covered vs. uncovered humbuckers, which we are not going to rehash, other to say that the cover affects the magnetic field which therefore affects the tone *in some way*. How does an uncovered tele pickup sound in comparison to a covered one, or for that matter, a strat? We could not say, but probably different.

Five-way pickup switch, volume, tone, and an extra “Alter” switch that allows for five additional series and/or split combinations. Mostly gold hardware, including a fancy looking Gotoh two-point trem (vibrato) bridge, though the switches are not gold for whatever reason.

Violet finish with the aforementioned binding in white.

#PurpleGuitarPhursday #Ibanez