In the beginning there was the guitar

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The Modulus Genesis G3 

This an interesting example of a great solution to a problem that doesn't really exist for many other makers. Maybe it's to give you something to talk about. A way of breaking the ice at parties. "Hey man, crazy tuners you got on that geetar!" Is it really such a huge benefit to have the strings aligned perfectly straight? And, does that outweigh the disadvantages of having machine heads that are practically impossible to replace should it be necessary?

However, it is a very nice looking guitar and the seller says it's one of the best guitars he's ever played. And, as Modulus have stopped making guitars and now only produce basses and they made very few guitars during a short period, it is deserving of the tag "rare".

It may seem, from the slightly cynical tone of my intro, that I'm a bit of a luddite. That's not true. Well it might be but, in this case, it seems like being different for the sake of it rather than true innovation. I'm all for innovation and for the evolution of guitars. In fact, when you look at, say, Fender's bewildering catalogue of micro-variations on the Tele/Strat themes and those hideous limited-edition-figured-burly-swirly-deluxe-looks-like-a-sideboard-costs-an-arm-and-a-leg-made-in-the-USA Premiumcasters, it's clear that it's only the small boutiques that are truly pushing the evolution of guitars forward. And don't get me started on those ****ing "relics"! Sorry, sorry, hyperventilating. Don't worry, I'm OK now.

David in Barcelona

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Halua Hi-Tech Hawaiian Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Did you ever see a guitar as sleek-looking as this Halua acoustic lapsteel? It's like a spaceship out of a SciFi movie where the whole craft is perfectly seemless and smooth. The bridge is integral to the body as is the fingerboard (it's not a "fretboard" in this instance, because being a lapsteel it has no frets, just markers).

Although it is based loosely on the Weissenborn acoustic slide guitars of the 1920s and 30s, this 21st Century reinterpretation is constructed of carbon fibre (or "carbon fiber" if you will) and comes in its own carbon fibre case that doubles as a stand.

This particular guitar - currently for sale on eBay - formerly belonged to Ben Harper, and was apparently surplus to requirements because he had somehow ended up with two.

Halua guitars are handmade by Hans Jorgen Jahr, a Norwegian now relocated to Australia.

For more please see: www.halua.no

G L Wilson

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London International Music Show 2009

It's June which means it's time for the London International Music Show (LIMS09), which once again is being held at the ExCel Centre in London's East End and is on for four days until Sunday 14 June.

When you enter the hall you can always tell it's a music fair even if you've been blindfolded, because amid the sheer cacophony of sound you can always hear someone thinking he's the next Mark King slapping away on a bass guitar as if the 1980s never went away. It always happens at these events. I think it's a tradition or an old charter or something.

Of course, in recent years it was the London Guitar Show, last year it was the London International Music Show incorporating the London Guitar Show, now they've dropped the Guitar Show moniker altogether. I think some other instruments wanted a look-in too, and that's not really a bad thing, and there's still plenty of guitars to look at, play, and generally lust after. Or even laugh at.

Speaking of which, you'll notice I started this post with a photo of a display of Spongebob gear. Well, that's got the ridiculous out of the way. Let's look at some more serious stuff!

Some of the first guitars to catch my eye were these beautiful examples from Sparrow Guitars, many of which feature custom hand-painted finishes. These are some serious rock'n'roll machines and they have the looks to make sure you look great on stage.




These rather attractive Mayones Guitars (below) were on display at the Blackhawk Music stand.


I particularly liked this finish (below) which I assume was created by sanding through the black finish to the red beneath. It's a lovely textured finish and is definitely quite eye-catching.



The Patrick Eggle stand. Fine guitars made in the UK.

...and you know how I love perspex-bodied guitars. This Patrick Eggle example (below) isn't highly polished like acrylic guitars from most other manufacturers. The edges have been sanded to a rough matt surface that helps define the outline of the instrument. I also love the straight-through-the-body f-hole.


A whole heap of Airline guitars. It must be the...


...Eastwood Guitars stand.


Ah, you know about Eastwood by now, surely? Retro-looking guitars but with modern playability, reliable hardware, good pickups, etc. They certainly look the part.

Pictured below is the one I really wanted to try. Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of the Ovation Breadwinner, and I wanted to check out Eastwood's re-issue. So, I tried it out and you know what? It gets the thumbs up - it feels exactly like my 1976 Breadwinner - only newer and without the dents! Eastwood president Mike Robinson, who was on hand to talk about the guitars (what a thoroughly decent chap), tells me that the pickups are hotter than the originals, which I can well believe as that's one area where the Ovation originals are lacking.

Fret King guitars are the baby of a guy you may have heard of by the name of Trev Wilkinson. These I do like. The influences are there to see on these vintage styles with a twist. They also have two ranges - the UK hand-built Green Label series, and more budget conscious Blue Label series featuring the same designs produced in Korea.




I'm not normally a fan of guitars with a "relic" or road-worn finish, but I did like this S and T-type pair from Fret King (below). I like the way the pickups and control knobs are deliberately mismatched, especially on the S-type guitar with has a nice mix of Strat and Tele features.

Now here's a sight to behold, these beautiful hand-built aluminium guitars from Goulding Guitars. Anthony Goulding, who builds these fine instruments, also makes all the hardware, the bridges, pickup surrounds and knobs. There are also many finish options: the purple example on the left in the below picture has been anodized, whilst the one on the right has a chrome finish.

Each guitar is custom-built to a customer's requirements, but all share the same basic shape. And what a great shape it is too! Anthony, who, it turns out,is a Guitarz reader (we had a good old chin wag) mentioned that I had once likened it to the shape of the Acoustic-branded Black Widow.

The guitar in the next picture takes design inspiration from the cut-out details on the cone covers of resonator guitars, although obviously this isn't a resonator. The finish is ... (what did you call it again? I should have made better notes...) splash anodized (?).

I had a great time talking to all the guys and girls on the booths. I also met Tom of Inky Hollow who creates custom artwork for guitars and basses, and seemingly any other instruments you care to throw his way such as drums, and also other items, e.g. motorbike helmets and surfboards. Check out the website because my photo here really does not do this particular example justice.


What else was there? Some of the big names were absent: Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker... Did we miss them? No, not really.

Music Man were present, as ever, on the Ernie Ball stand and this doubleneck caught my eye for a couple of reasons. For one, I was intrigued at the layout of tuners on the 12-string headstock, and also I thought that the body was quite nice and compact for a doubleneck which are often such cumbersome beasts.

Peavey guitars (below):

And then there was, a whole display of Paul McCartney-esque Hofner Violin Basses...


...and a whole rack of Hofner Verithin guitars. You can see where the name comes from. Very elegant looking, these.

Now, I know nothing about these Faith acoustics (they were on the Shadow pickups stand) but I really liked the little 12-fret parlour guitar in the middle. I think this is what I want from an acoustic guitar, just for playing around the house.

These Atlas guitars were quite beautifully made instruments...

... I especially liked their take on the classic Strat design with its bound-edge flamed top. Very tasty!


The only thing that caught my eye on the Yamaha stand was this retro-styled semi. Saying which is doing them a dis-service, as they do produce some quality gear.

There were no Gretsch guitars to be seen (as part of the Fender empire, I guess they were absent for the same reasons as their parent company), but lovers of big-bodied archtop guitars would have been kept happy not only by Sparrow guitars as we have already seen, but also by these immaculate-looking Peerless guitars. These guys have been in the industry since 1970 and have built guitars for the likes of Gretsch, Fender and Gibson, so they ought to be well worth checking out in their own right.


I liked this line of ukuleles from Ashbury, especially the 8-string tenor. It had a sound that was reminiscent of a mandolin.

...and while we're talking of ukes, there was a fantastic selection over at the Sutherland Trading Co Ltd stand, including something I'd never seen before, a bass ukulele (the Kala uBass - pictured below). At first I thought it was a uke fitted with the silicon strings from a Ashbory bass, but I'm told these are actually polyurethane. What's more, it sounded great. It had a double bass quality to it. Very easy and fun to play - it's tuned just like a bass guitar - I really liked it.

Now before I finish, I want to put in writing here a couple of reminders for myself for next year.

1. Check the dates carefully to avoid turning up a week early. (Yes, I did go last Saturday, to find no music show. Did I feel stupid or what?)
2. Charge the batteries in your camera the night before.

Things I didn't manage to photograph included:

The XOX Audio Tools "The Handle" guitar on the PROEL (International) Ltd stand. What an absolutely beautiful guitar in terms of looks, sound and playabilty. Being made of hollow-sectioned carbon fibre it's as light as a feather. If only I had two and a half grand to spare...

Vintage Guitars - the brand "Vintage" from John Hornby Skewes, that is. Someone once commented on this blog that I had judged them too harshly and that they were pretty decent instruments, and that I should do my homework. Now, I'm always one to put my hand up when I'm wrong, so I thought I'd try out a couple. I tried a relic Strat-a-like from the Icon series. It was a little unsubstantial feeling for my tastes (for a Strat, that is), but it was certainly a very nice player, certainly better than many Squiers I have tried. I then tried an LP type guitar. I've never been a Les Paul player but I was almost sold. It played beautifully and it sounded great. Dare I say it even sounded authentic?

Dudley Ross, a very talented fretless guitar player was demonstrating the Vigier Excaliber guitar with delta-metal fingerboard, and which I featured in last year's report. He was very kindly letting people try out the guitar for themselves, including Yours Truly. What a beautiful player. I've experimented with fretless guitar in the past, but never imagined it could sound as good as this - even on the unwound strings (which was where my own customised fretless used to fall down).

I also noodled for a while on a Roland-equipped Fender Strat over at the Roland / Boss booth. It was plugged into a device called the Roland GR20 Guitar Synth. Most the sounds were pretty farty and perhaps someone had screwed up the settings as I could only really get it to track on the D and A strings. However, I discovered that I absolutely loved the Hammond organ patch, and spent ages playing Hammond solos (complete with Leslie rotating speaker effect) on two strings! It sounded very Steve Winwood.

And there - for now - I shall leave it. It's been a long day and I've been up all night typing this lot out and need bed! Until next year, then. (And we'll look at lots of curious guitars from eBay in the meantime!)

PLEASE NOTE: The photos in this article are all my own so if you do want to use one on a forum or a blog or whatever, that's fine, but please credit me and link back here. Thanks.

Blackbird Rider Nylon Carbon Fibre Guitar

Those who read my report of the London Guitar Show 2008 may remember my enthusiasm for an all-graphite acoustic guitar from the Rainsong brand.

Another company building carbon fibre guitars are Blackbird Guitars who launched the Rider Steel String guitar last year. Sporting a radical design, its small size, resistance to humidty and almost indestructability make it a perfect although not inexpensive choice as a travel guitar. It should be pretty lightweight too.

Now blackbird have announced its nylon-strung counterpart, the Blackbird Rider Nylon. It's a similar design although the body appears somewhat fatter and squatter that the Rider Steel. Just like the steel string, the Rider Nylon has a hollow neck and an additional soundhole in the headstock. I've not heard this in action but in theory it sounds like a brilliant idea. Having played that other carbon fibre guitar I can imagine that the Blackbird would be extremely resonant.

It's a lovely piece of design, but I think it's out of my price range.

Bond Electraglide

I remember when these carbon graphite Bond Electraglide guitars came out circa 1986. I thought the "fretless" stepped neck design was pure genius (in theory anyway) and always wanted to try one. However, it's quite a rare beast. When did you ever see one of these? The seller of this one claims that they were financed and endorsed by The Edge. I can't ever remember seeing him with one, but perhaps a dedicated U2 fan could point me in the right direction there. The only person I ever remember playing one of these was Mick Jones of Big Audio Dynamite (and formerly The Clash). I'm surprised that no-one else ever took up the stepped neck design. Perhaps it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Has anyone out there ever played one of these? Let us know.

London Guitar Show 2008

[Warning: Longest Guitarz post EVER! (Don't worry, it's mostly photos). You might want to get yourself a drink or something before continuing.]

This weekend has seen London's ExCel Centre host the London Guitar Show 2008, now part of a bigger event, the London International Music Show. I nipped along to see what, if anything, was new and to take some pictures for you guys.

The first thing to grab my attention was this incandescent Vigier Excaliber fretless guitar with Delta metal fingerboard. (Delta metal is, I believe, an alloy of Vigier's own recipe!) These sound fantastic, the metal fingerboard creates excellent sustain - even on the unwound strings. But, yeah, I know this guitar is nothing new - they've been around for a fair while now. So, moving on...

The next guitar to capture my attention was this Rainsong acoustic (above left) made completely out of graphite. Picking it up, it was as light as a feather, and it played pretty nicely too with a very bright sound which would be perfect for fingerpicking. The weave in the graphite gives the guitar a gorgeous finish too. A lovely guitar, for sure, but I was quite alarmed when I saw the price. The new Vox Virage guitars (above right) also looked very sexy and had an equally scary price tag.

Vox also had this scooter on display, which was nice. I resisted the urge to take her for a spin and instead tried out some of the cheaper end of their product line: the amPlug range. I was impressed! These little headphone amps actually sound great - my favourite was the Classic Rock model. I'm definitely buying one or more of these.

Indie Guitars had a handsome pair of Ricky-a-likes on display (above left... Did someone say "lawsuit"?), and also some oddly coloured guitars such as this Rasta acoustic (above right).

I preferred the finish on these Ibanez acoustics. Check out the bookmatched tops on this pair.

Also on the Ibanez stand was this "web" guitar (above left), with the web design cut into the face of the guitar itself. The body material for this guitar was most unusual. It felt like some kind of solidified expanded polystytrene, and was very light and plasticky. Too plasticky for my tastes. The Surfing With The Alien guitar (above right) reminded us that Joe Satriani was somewhere in the building. Not that I was bothered, if I am honest.

We didn't see Mr Santriani, but we did see this guy, Billy Sheehan, putting a Yamaha Attitude bass through its paces.

Over on the Fender stand were loads of relics and custom shop jobbies including this Andy Summers Telecaster and Stevie Ray Vaughan "Lenny" Stratocaster. I have to say I felt quite underwhelmed seeing them in the flesh.

Also on the Fender stand were...
...this sparkly purple J Mascis Jazzmaster and this difficult to photograph black and chrome beauty, the J5 Triple Tele Deluxe.

Not to mention... ...lots of pointy pointy Jacksons, the odd Charvel...

...and a whole gathering of Gretsches!

There were plenty of basses and amps on the Warwick stand. Those that caught my attention were this familiar looking Steinberger-esque headless bass (above left) and this quite eyecatching fretless semi-acoustic Star Bass (above right).

Of the many retro guitars on display, these Mosrite-inspired Wilson Brothers Ventures guitars certainly grabbed my attention.

Speaking of retro guitars, Italy's Eko guitars are back with several funky re-issues including the 700 series (above left). Personally, I'd have liked to have seen these complete with the banks of push buttons that adorned the originals, but I suppose they felt they ought to feature more contemporary hardware so as not to totally freak out the modern guitarist. On the Eko stand, I also met up with an old friend, the Eko Ranger XII bolt-on neck 12-string acoustic. I had one of these for many many years and it was one of the best sounding 12 strings I ever played. (It kept its value too! I bought it new circa 1984 for £120 and sold it just a couple of years ago for £160). This new Eko Ranger XII - actually a prototype, but expect them to hit the market in the Autumn - played just as nicely as I remembered. Expected retail price is around the £200 mark.

My friend Paul was quite taken by this fretless acoustic bass from Ashbury guitars on the Gremlin Music stand. The bass had a solid spruce top, a low action and very nice tone, no doubt helped by its larger sized body. (Some acoustic basses feature bodies that are basically too small to project enough bass, and hence are usually very quiet). This bass also had a very attractive price at £279. On the same stand were some Blue Moon brand guitars, of which I tried out a parlour guitar, retailing at just £79, and very nice and very playable it was too! I was quite impressed. It would make a great instrument for having around the house to grab and play a few licks as the fancy takes you. I hate to say it, but it was a nicer player than my Ovation.

We were also quite interested in these solid body electric ukuleles, each of which had a built-in headphone amp. The two at the bottom of the picture (which unfortunately is a little out of focus) were made from solid rosewood. Alas, I do not remember the brand name of these little Tele-shaped ukes. [Edit: I've been told they are Eleukes, which seems to ring a bell.]

On the stand for the Vintage guitar brand we spied this quite accurate replica of Eric Clapton's psychedelic "Fool" SG, amongst other budget-priced but nice quality "relic" guitars. Much better than buying one painted by some dodgy artist on eBay.

Now isn't this the biggest Orange stack you ever did see?

Speaking of big, I'm sure Boss effects pedals used to be a lot smaller than this. It was like being on the set of Irwin Allen's "Land of the Giants".

Brian May Guitars had Red Specials in a whole bunch of colours, plus a mini Red Special, acoustic Red Specials, and this rather bizarre example bearing a likeness of the man himself. Given his interest in astronomy, it's appropriate that Mr May seems to be suspended in space in the portrait.

Of course, there were some hideous guitars to be seen. I mean, check out this OTT Telecaster with glitter and silver skulls and flashing lights everywhere. Behind that is a Strat-styled doubleneck with a Vigier-like fretless metal fingerboard on the lower neck, and which also has a Fernandes sustainer fitted, which makes some sense on a fretless. It doesn't stop the instrument looking hugely cumbersome.

And what guitar show would be complete without the odd Music Man Spinal Tap guitar or two over at the Ernie Ball stand? (I think it's a tradition or an old charter or something.)

Strangely missing in action were the likes of Gibson, Rickenbacker, and C.F. Martin & Co. I was also sorry to see there weren't many UK-based luthiers present. Black Machine and Feline Guitars, both of whom have appeared at the show in prevous years were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it's simply not profitable for them? Also where were all the parts manufacturers and the pickup companies? It was a bit disappointing in that respect. I really wanted to try out the Lace Alumitone pickups.

And where was the Moog guitar?

It was entertaining, sure, but it was mostly same old same old.