Guitar Noize - guitar news, crazy guitar designs and cool guitar videos

Rock House Method blog has just published a press release from Ibanez announcing a new range of arch back acoustics called Ambiance. These reasonably priced acoustic guitars feature quilted Maple top, back and sides, gold Grover tuners, Fishman Sonicore bridge pickup, and the Fishman Aero Blend pre-amp with built-in microphone, notch filter and onboard tuner. The flagship model the AE300 has a list price is $857 which in my opinion is pretty cheap, the AE100 is a mere $570!

Ibanez say: “The new Ambiance models feature bodies with arched backs for both luthier-level looks and large, resonant sound.”

Last friday I featured Emerald Guitars’ new creation. Well aside from Emerald Guitars’ Custom Shop creations they also make a travel guitar that was “...born out of a need for a guitar that was small enough to take anywhere, Strong enough to endure anything and with a sound that would make you want to play it all the time rather than just when you are travelling.” The result of this desire is the X5, an acoustic guitar made from a one piece carbon composite body and neck and carbon fibre fretboard. The neck is apparently so stiff and strong that it doesn’t even need a truss rod. The nut and saddle are by Graphtech as are the bridge pins.

To see just how robust this guitar is check out what the Emerald crew put the poor X5 Life through! It survived being submersed in the Atlantic, climbing a mountain and being used as a canoe paddle!

“...a neat wah wah effect could be created by swishing the water around the inside of the guitar.”

YIKES! Don’t worry apparently it was still in tune after its ordeal. Check out the guitar specs page to hear some samples of the guitar in action. And if you fancy owning one of these robust guitars, you can buy one through their online shop for £545 with a pickup or knock off 80 quid without.

Last August I discovered something that impressed me a lot, the Novax Fan Fret Neck probably the biggest innovation in fretboard design since the invention of the guitar. The idea is that you get the advantage of:

Accurate tuning and sparkling clarity
The scale length is optimized for each string. The fret spacing is adjusted accordingly for each string providing superior intonation and clarity.

Balanced string tension
The combination of scale lengths yields a greater tension on the low strings and a correspondingly decreased tension on the high strings for a more even feel across the neck.

Even tonal response along the entire neck
Dead spots are minimized and each string speaks with a unique harmonic voice.

Pretty cool huh? Well then I came across Greenfield Guitars and noticed that Michael Greenfield use the Novax Fan Fret Fretboard on a number of their acoustics, they are currently building one for YouTube sensation Andy McKee. The guitar to the left is actually the Don Alder G4 model, just look at that bridge!! If you haven’t heard Don’s incredible fingerstyle acoustic compositions check out his MySpace page.

Michael Greenfield has been playing guitar for over 40 years so he knows a thing or two about how a guitar should sound, feel and play. Michael constructs each guitar in his Montreal workshop and uses the finest woods available to him. In his own words: “Braces are shaped and plates voiced using knives, gouges and chisels. Fingerboards are levelled with hand planes. Necks are individually carved using spoke shaves, rasps, files, scrapers and lots of hand sanding. Archtop plates are carved and graduated using palm and then finger planes, etc. While these methods take longer, I chose to limit my yearly production and concentrate on making each instrument the best one I am capable of.”. Now that is attention to detail that no doubt produce only the finest possible guitars, in fact Michael limits his guitar construction to just 15 a year so if you see one I suggest you snap it up quickly!

Greenfield Guitars online

If you were/are a fan of Motely Crue you will know who Nikki Sixx is, for those who don’t he is the bass player and composer of most of Motely Crue’s music. You will also probably be aware of the fact that Nikki along with most L.A. bands of the time has suffered from Heroin addiction for most of his colourful career so it is pretty disturbing to see the artwork on this Special edition Ovation which i presume depicts the time Nikki overdosed and was revived after being technically dead for a few minutes to find the walls covered in blood. Now there’s a nice fireside story he can tell his grandchildren! If you want to read about Motley Crue’s crazy years I recommend you check out The Dirt too, full of stories from each band member, Tommy’s chapters are particularly entertaining I think his first word in the book is “Dude!”

“The stunning graphic on the top, designed by world-renowned artist PR Brown, is applied on spruce and married to a super shallow body to provide exceptional acoustic balance and projection. The NS28-HD also features many other distinctive Ovation characteristics including a thin profile neck, vibration sensitive Slimline pickup and the OP4BT preamp with a built-in tuner. Twenty-five percent of Sixx’s royalties from the guitar will go to Running Wild In The Night, a charity he established in conjunction with Covenant House to rescue homeless and runaway youth from the streets.”

So some good came out of his Heroin addiction! No, not the guitar the charity! honestly…

via Guitar Player Gear Guide

Back in December I featured a guitar called the ‘The Electric Gypsy’ by Teye Guitars and GL Wilson left a comment saying how it was inspired by Tony Zemaitis, well I admit I hadn’t heard of Tony so I looked him up, and did I find some crazy and cool guitars! Tony passed away in 2002 but it seems he left behind quite a legacy as he built guitars for the likes of Ronnie Wood, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton to name but a few. Check out Wikipedia for more details.

Anyway the guitar above probably should have been featured on Valentine’s day but I didn’t see it until a few days ago, I have to say I’m not a fan of the heart shaped soundhole but it certainly is different! The top is Sitka Spruce and the sides and back are Indian Rosewood, a combination often favoured for acoustics. The neck is 3 piece Honduran Mahogany with an Ebony bridge and fretboard. I think the Rosette is a combination of Mahogany/Rosewood/Sycamour at least that is a combination used on other models.

I have no idea how much this particular model costs but I did find a similar model here which is retailing for $3079.99.

Doolin Guitars make very interesting acoustic guitars. Firstly the guitars all feature a double cutaway, I’ll let Mike explain:

“ My double-cutaway design maintains the structural integrity of the upper bout while allowing full access to the last fret. The area below the waist (the “lower bout”) is unaffected, and is constructed according to traditional design. Simply put, my guitars are acoustically the equal of the finest non-cutaway instruments ”

For more technical info about this double cutaway click here.

Doolin Guitars also feature an Adjustable Neck Angle System. This system allows the guitar’s action to be adjusted without changing the height of the saddle or removing the neck. The saddle stays at the optimum height for tone, while the neck angle sets the height of the strings over the frets. The available range of adjustment is wide enough to accommodate changes in string gauge, top deformation due to string tension over time, and seasonal humidity changes, for the life of the instrument.

And if all that wasn’t enough the guitar picture above uses Novax’s Fanned-Fret Technology (see my other post on the Fan Fret Phenomenon) where each string has its own scale length, offering subtle tonal advantages, and the slant of the frets follows the arc of the player’s hand as it moves up and down the neck, providing an ergonomic advantage.

For information on ordering one of Doolin’s guitars check out their Ordering page.

Claudio Pagelli is a Swiss Luthier who has been building and repairing guitars and double basses since 1977. Claudio has worked as a guitar reparier and guitar technician for years and in the last few years has concentrated on building guitars and working as a freelance designer for companies such as Schertler guitars. There is something to be said about having an attractive office and surroundings, just check out the view from Claudio’s workshop! That reminded me of Jol Dantzig’s Hamer workshop which is also set in amazing surroundings!

Anyway I digress…

This instrument was created for and in cooperation with Louis Christ. The instrument is in the form of a stylised women’s body. Through the sound hole cover the guitar can be converted from an open sounding to a compressed sounding f-hole jazz guitar. Worth mentioning is the special Schertler pick-up system an especially the floating neck body transition. Therefore the possible extension of the neck block will not result in pressure on, which could lead to an elevation of the fingerboard.

The body top is made of spruce, back and sides made of flamed maple, inlay made of walnut, neck quiltet pear, fingerboard ebony. Tail piece and bridge ebony and walnut and all bindings are made from ebony.

As mentioned yesterday I stumbled upon Jeffrey Yong’s guitars the other day and had to feature his new JJ model 2008 edition. Inspired by luthiers such as Charles Fox Jeffrey maintains excellence in design and hand-building of high quality guitars. The guitar features a scalloped cutaway which allows for the player to reach the higher positions of the fretboard while maintaining the original full size JJ body to keep the full sound. There is also a second soundhole on the top of the guitar, something that I have noticed on a few guitars recently featured on Guitar Noize, which brings the true sound of the guitar to the player. There are many options for the wood choices for the top, back & side tonewood available to suit each individual’s preference. Check out his Exotic wood section on his site for more ideas. There is also a bevel just about where your right arm hangs over the guitar body which has been added not just for elegance but more importantly for the playing cofort of the player, I’d like to try this and see how much more comfort it provides compared to the hard edges of a standard design, electrics have been taking this into account for years!

Sorry for the late heads up on this one but there are 2 days left if you want are interested in getting your hands on one of these amazing custom painted Ibanez acoustics.
The top guitar is by Craig Moores:
“Fiberglass Fingers & Mixed Media on an Ibanez Acoustic Guitar. This one-of-a-kind guitar sculpted by Albany, NY based fine artist, Craig Moores, is 100% playable. Strap this Hand Turkey over your shoulder and serenade your Thanksgiving guests with some after dinner music. The fingers are super light weight and durable because they are constructed from fiberglass. Weighs around 9 pounds.”

The second down is by Matt Siren:
“Acrylic, oil based markers, wood and paper on an Ibanez Acoustic Guitar. This one-of-a-kind guitar painted by street artist, Matt Siren, is 100% playable. The pink “Ghost Girl” wood cut-out is attached with velcro so it can be removed to play the guitar. The Guitar comes fully strung and will include a heavy-duty nylon Ibanez Gig Bag.”

The third photo down is the Jeremyville guitar:
“Ink and Gloss Lacquer on an Ibanez Acoustic Guitar. This one-of-a-kind guitar painted by Australian illustrator, Jeremyville, is 100% playable. The Guitar comes fully strung and will include a heavy-duty nylon Ibanez Gig Bag.”

So head over to eBay and check out the Sounds Like A Custom Show Auction.

Erik Hokanson does not make your average acoustic guitar, nor does he make your average furniture come to mention it. He takes a little bit of a skewed approach to guitar design, and judging by his site it seems to be more of a hobby than anything. Here are the limited details for the Triple Bout Guitar pictured left:

Yellow cedar top, walnut back, mahogany sides and back. Price:$1200.00

Wow, thats not cheap! Not sure many people would pay that much for something that appears to be more of a novelty guitar, especially as Erik himself says that the guitar has a small sound with strange reverberation! Mind you stick it on eBay and I’m sure someone will buy it!