# Unearthly carbon tube guitar with 22 glowing optic-fibre frets per octave



## ixlramp (Oct 29, 2010)

More info and photos here


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## Asrial (Oct 29, 2010)

Looks beast, but I think it would be a pain to shred on, sadly. :/

Think the glowing frets would be appliable to a regular guitar...


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## Wingchunwarrior (Oct 29, 2010)

hmmmm.. I'm sceptical, I don't think it would be great for djent and sounds like it wouldn't cut through the mix, maybe pop some painkillers in there


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## Demiurge (Oct 29, 2010)

Of course, the first thing I would do playing a guitar that looks like a light sabre: fumble through some crusty blues riffs.


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## Alberto7 (Oct 29, 2010)

That... That is just... Wow... Wtf?... I have no words to point out how strange that thing is! I'd still love to own one though  although I'd probably end up using it as the coolest night lamp anyone will ever see  haha on a serious note though, that is an interesting concept, and a hell of a sight to behold!


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## ShadyDavey (Oct 29, 2010)

It's certainly something up there with the Laser Harp that Jean-Michel Jarre used in Destinationocklands....and whilst visually stunning to perform certain parts with I imagine it would sit there unused for the remainder of the set.

It _Is_ fantastically cool however


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## vampiregenocide (Oct 29, 2010)

Build an epic carbon fibre guitar with glowing fibre optic frets, then get some random guy to play boring blues licks on it. Nice.  

In all seriousness, that video didn't sound good, even taking into account audio quality. The idea is sweet though, I think they either need to apply that to a regular guitar or make the worlds most metal looking sitar. A carbon-fibre sitar with glowing frets would be the most psychadelic thing ever.


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## SD83 (Oct 29, 2010)

vampiregenocide said:


> The idea is sweet though, I think they either need to apply that to a regular guitar or make the worlds most metal looking sitar. A carbon-fibre sitar with glowing frets would be the most psychadelic thing ever.


Or build one where only the frets in use glow... or add a MIDI pickup that lets you control the color and maybe intensity of the glow by choice of note...


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## ixlramp (Oct 29, 2010)

Yeah the design is a modification of a cheap DIY plastic tube guitar and is obviously not meant to be ergonomic or sound good. The fret(s) is actually a single optic fibre laced around-and-through under high tension


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## Cheesebuiscut (Oct 29, 2010)

Whole new meaning to baseball bat neck profile.


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## MetalGravy (Oct 29, 2010)

He's using that bug-zapper wrong.


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## btfsam (Oct 30, 2010)

fiber optic inlays connected to a 9v in the body of a sweet axe would be, well, sweet, and maybe more realistic


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## bostjan (Oct 30, 2010)

I'll take one in a nine string multiscale 60-72 cm with green light-up frets, please. Also with a real pickup.


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## Holy Katana (Oct 30, 2010)

Wingchunwarrior said:


> hmmmm.. I'm sceptical, I don't think it would be great for djent and sounds like it wouldn't cut through the mix, maybe pop some painkillers in there


Because the worth of a guitar is obviously determined by how well it does djent.


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## King Ian (Oct 30, 2010)

Is that a Schecter neck?


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## Customisbetter (Oct 30, 2010)

Ill take one with 24 or 48 Frets Per octave thank you.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 30, 2010)

I'd prefer glowing fretmarkers, but this is pretty sweet, too.
Also, it's 22EDO so it automatically get some points for that.

But yeah, using it for the blues is not exactly the best way to show it off.
I'd like to see what Holdsworth, Thordendal, or Jarzombek would do with it.


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## MusicMetalHead (Oct 30, 2010)

um.... its a bass. Am I the only one who noticed this?


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## Waelstrum (Oct 30, 2010)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure no-one else thinks it's a bass.
I would really love to see what Marty Friedman could do on this, mostly because I wanna hear him play something microtonal.

Also, I'd like to so a fretless guitar with an lcd monitor for the fretboard, and you can type in what style of fret lines you want it to show (such as pythagorean just tuning in A, or 19 EDO, or whatever) and then it displays those lines.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 30, 2010)

Waelstrum said:


> Yeah, I'm pretty sure no-one else thinks it's a bass.


 I had no idea. (COMPLETELY SERIOUS HERE)



Waelstrum said:


> I would really love to see what Marty Friedman could do on this, mostly because I wanna hear him play something microtonal.







Waelstrum said:


> Also, I'd like to so a fretless guitar with an lcd monitor for the fretboard, and you can type in what style of fret lines you want it to show (such as pythagorean just tuning in A, or 19 EDO, or whatever) and then it displays those lines.


^That sounds like a badass idea.


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## Hemi-Powered Drone (Oct 31, 2010)

Waelstrum said:


> Also, I'd like to so a fretless guitar with an lcd monitor for the fretboard, and you can type in what style of fret lines you want it to show (such as pythagorean just tuning in A, or 19 EDO, or whatever) and then it displays those lines.



You could also have some kick ass animations playing while shredding.


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## TemjinStrife (Oct 31, 2010)

Wingchunwarrior said:


> hmmmm.. I'm sceptical, I don't think it would be great for djent and sounds like it wouldn't cut through the mix, maybe pop some painkillers in there



This is literally the most stereotypical SS.org post ever


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## Hemi-Powered Drone (Oct 31, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> This is literally the most stereotypical SS.org post ever



Wait, so are you saying that this forum has earned its own stereotype?


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## Skanky (Oct 31, 2010)

Doesn't the Firebird X do all that stuff already?


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## drmosh (Oct 31, 2010)

Holy Katana said:


> Because the worth of a guitar is obviously determined by how well it does djent.



because that joke flew right over your head


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## Stealthdjentstic (Oct 31, 2010)

Now I have insane glowly fret GAS; once again, fuck you ss.org


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## Koshchei (Oct 31, 2010)

This video is pretty useless in accessing the possibilities of this instrument. The only thing I got out of it was that it has a vintage Fender fretboard radius (har har), and that the guy demonstrating it hasn't progressed past skiffle musically.


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## ixlramp (Oct 31, 2010)

Waelstrum said:


> Also, I'd like to so a fretless guitar with an lcd monitor for the fretboard, and you can type in what style of fret lines you want it to show (such as pythagorean just tuning in A, or 19 EDO, or whatever) and then it displays those lines.



I was thinking exactly this too


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## ixlramp (Oct 31, 2010)

8 string







Meantone fretlets. A single nylon line laced through holes in the tube.


All these built by the totally cool microtonalist Dave Keenan

These tubular instruments always suggest to me that there should be strings completely encircling the tube.

This thread has been moved. Apologies for placing it in the general discussion forum, the instrument just seemed too far out to be placed in '6 string, standard guitar'.


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## Sofos (Nov 1, 2010)

"Hello everyone, we&#8217;ve been working on several new prototypes: Hoverdrums, Laser-String Guitars, Electronic STD Radar Navigational Dildo Helmets.."

Totally awesome idea tho!


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## Deadnightshade (Nov 1, 2010)

SoldiersOfFilth said:


> "Hello everyone, weve been working on several new prototypes: Hoverdrums, Laser-String Guitars, Electronic STD Radar Navigational Dildo Helmets.."
> 
> Totally awesome idea tho!



I'd like one thermal discouragement beam guitar please 


Yes it's kinda cool i'd like one as a cheap way to try pythagorean tuning (not for the saber frets though i hate any kind of light coming FROM the guitar,except for it sounding moderately bright in the mix)


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## JamesM (Nov 1, 2010)

1. Make space guitars out of expensive materials.

2. Poorly play music that is commonly played on _extremely_ cheap instruments made of well... anything.

3. ?????

4. PROFIT.


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## bostjan (Nov 1, 2010)

Dave Keenan is pretty well-known in microtonal circles on the internet.

I totally have cylinder GAS now.


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## ixlramp (Nov 1, 2010)

Quote from Dave Keenan:

"My friend and fellow Aussie guitar maker Ian Hutchinson is playing her in the video. This was a pretty amazing feat on his part since part of the alienness of Whitney you will realise if you count the number of frets to the octave"

It has 22 frets per octave and Ian had probably played it for only 5 minutes.

The 'Choob' is a design for an ultra cheap DIY guitar using parts from a hardware store. I love the glowing frets but I do think a carbon-fibre tube is overkill for such a cheap design.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 2, 2010)

ixlramp said:


> The 'Choob' is a design for an ultra cheap DIY guitar using parts from a hardware store. I love the glowing frets but I do think a carbon-fibre tube is overkill for such a cheap design.


I wanna build one now!!

I think we're gonna need "Hardware Store Guitar Build, Part II: Microtonal Tube Guitars" 

The one good thing about the carbon fiber is it will be quite strong and resist the pull of the strings very well, but I will agree that it is a bit pricey and "high-class" for such a "cheap" project.


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## bostjan (Nov 2, 2010)

I read more about the Choob. Dave says the body is filled with concrete! I know it is used to balance the tube in a playing position, but concrete?!

I wonder how this would feel to play. An ellipse might be more confortable, but defeats the purpose of designing it out of common materials- but I guess that's how evolution works.


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## ixlramp (Nov 2, 2010)

Random thought ... how about 2 or 3 smaller tubes attached side-by-side? and movable nylon frets tied on ...


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## bostjan (Nov 2, 2010)

ixlramp said:


> Random thought ... how about 2 or 3 smaller tubes attached side-by-side? and movable nylon frets tied on ...



That would feel bizzare. Depending on the fret tension, could be very weird action or a reverse radius effect. My old Hondo acoustic had a reverse radius, where the fretboard actually curved up around the edges.


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## Disco Volante (Nov 2, 2010)

Can we please hand the guitar over to someone from another planet who clearly has experience with one? Allan Holdsworth.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 3, 2010)

bostjan said:


> That would feel bizzare. Depending on the fret tension, could be very weird action or a reverse radius effect. My old Hondo acoustic had a reverse radius, where the fretboard actually curved up around the edges.


Moveable frets would be very cool, like old viols.


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## Necris (Nov 3, 2010)

This is an extremely cool instrument. I wonder if the layout of the strings strings would be slightly more condusive to playing with a bow than a regular guitar.



bostjan said:


> I read more about the Choob. Dave says the body is filled with concrete! I know it is used to balance the tube in a playing position, but concrete?!


 
Maybe it is filled with just enough to keep the guitar at the correct angle for playing. Completely filled sounds overkill and seems as though you would probably end up with the same balance as not filling it at all.


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## bostjan (Nov 3, 2010)

Necris said:


> This is an extremely cool instrument. I wonder if the layout of the strings strings would be slightly more condusive to playing with a bow than a regular guitar.



I bet it would. I honestly think that fretboard radiusing is mainly a carryover from bowed instrument design.



Necris said:


> Maybe it is filled with just enough to keep the guitar at the correct angle for playing. Completely filled sounds overkill and seems as though you would probably end up with the same balance as not filling it at all.



Yes, I know it is only partially filled to balance the instrument better. I'm just surprised at the choice of material- but after some thought, it's cheap and heavy, and I think that's all you need for something like this.



All_¥our_Bass;2200817 said:


> Moveable frets would be very cool, like old viols.



Sitars also have moveable frets.



The fact that the original Choobs were made out of a few dollars worth of parts is pretty exciting.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 4, 2010)

It's probably only filled with concrete at the "bridge/body" end.



bostjan said:


> Sitars also have moveable frets.


Cool, I didn't know that.



bostjan said:


> The fact that the original Choobs were made out of a few dollars worth of parts is pretty exciting.



I foresee a few builds in the future.


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## gui94 (Nov 4, 2010)

One thing is innovation. Another thing is ridiculousness. I think the ones who made this guitar might have confused both


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## bostjan (Nov 4, 2010)

gui94 said:


> One thing is innovation. Another thing is ridiculousness. I think the ones who made this guitar might have confused both



Hey, they also laughed at Murray Gell-Mann when he tried to find new particles using aluminium foil, a cheap fog machine, and a balloon...when experimenting, there's no need for high cost.

On the other hand, these can't be super comfortable to play, but I still would love to try one. I might have a hardware store trip in my future anyways.


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

Yeah this Choob is one-quarter filled with concrete at the bridge end. He mounted the 2 piezo pickups directly onto the concrete.

Dave has described the fret-lacing process (and it's unwanted effect on tube shape) here.

The 55mm, 2mm wall, 1m carbon tube costs 118 EURO, available here.

I've been thinking how well the tube might work as a resonance chamber and what the acoustic sound would be like.
This design would be good for using a bow, and a carbon tube would be a nice surface for a fretless instrument.
Personally I would have each fret as a separate tie-on movable fret around the outside of the tube, eliminating the stress caused by the fret-lacing process.


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## bostjan (Nov 4, 2010)

Hmm, so the frets aren't fibre-optic at all, they are lit by an internal lamp? It looks like this whole thing can be done with PVC for about $100 US. I wonder if anyone on this forum will try.

One issue that would be nice to straighten out would be fitting a magnetic pickup in the thing somehow. I'd imagine you could get those little Radio Shack NdFeB magnets and crazy glue them in place inside of the pipe, then coil wires inside in a kind of shoe-horn outline shape.


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

All_Your_Bass, here's an inexpensive microtonal instrument. 
Tambor Cumbus, 3 double courses, guitar tuners, 51" long and 53? movable frets.
Found here at Mid-East


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

bostjan said:


> Hmm, so the frets aren't fibre-optic at all, they are lit by an internal lamp?



Dave said it is 'leaky' optic fibre, lit by LEDS inside the tube. I guess that means a cheap fibre with some optical properties.


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## bostjan (Nov 4, 2010)

Huge banjo?!


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## bostjan (Nov 4, 2010)

ixlramp said:


> Dave said it is 'leaky' optic fibre, lit by LEDS inside the tube. I guess that means a cheap fibre with some optical properties.



The link you posted said that there was a lamp inside. Maybe the lamp is LED or maybe there are two different ways to do it.


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

bostjan said:


> Huge banjo?!


Long-handled pan


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

Pic of homemade ABS Bass, in Wired magazine, May 2010 - Handmade Music Clubhouse

Scroll down for Choob.


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## Ikram (Nov 4, 2010)

light-saber guitar


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

Some in-depth detail about the Choob here.


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## matty2fatty (Nov 4, 2010)

bostjan said:


> Huge banjo?!



oh, thats cute.....

Gentlemen, behold! My hometown has this big instrument thing in the bag. This is literately known as 'The Big Fiddle"



Google Image Result for http://www.whistlesmith.com/big%20fiddle%202.jpg


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## ZXIIIT (Nov 4, 2010)

bostjan said:


> Huge banjo?!



Huge banjo is huge.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 4, 2010)

bostjan said:


> Hmm, so the frets aren't fibre-optic at all, they are lit by an internal lamp? It looks like this whole thing can be done with PVC for about $100 US. I wonder if anyone on this forum will try.


If I can get enough money together I might just grab some PVC pipe and make a 36.5" scale bass with it in 22 or 19 EDO, tuned in fifths of course.


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## ixlramp (Nov 4, 2010)

Coloured nylon cable ties for frets?


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## ixlramp (Nov 5, 2010)




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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 5, 2010)

Sounds decent though.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 5, 2010)

DELETED DOUBLEPOST


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## CFB (Nov 5, 2010)

So the radius is infinite?


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## ixlramp (Nov 6, 2010)

27.5mm


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 15, 2010)

I'm gonna be heading down to my local Lowes within these next few days and see what the pricing on PVC pipe is like.


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## CrushingAnvil (Nov 16, 2010)

Whoever installed the frets did a craptastic job...now the thing wont intonate. Ever.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Nov 20, 2010)

Turns out PVC is pretty darn cheap.
For about five bucks I can get ten feet of pipe.

Enough for thee shorter guitars or two longer basses.


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