unusual instruments

I was wondering how many of us have really wierd instruments lying around that we love but hardly share with anyone. I have a Ukelin ( they say its a cross between a ukelele and violin but it looks more like a koto to me.) Its played with a bow. Its just damn wierd! But I really want a waterphone! Those are cool!

https://youtu.be/foSJstDFDfg

I recently sold my accordion.

A Kazoo I got in a Christmas cracker. All ways fun

Not too obscure, but I used to have a banjolele. I found it in an antique shop for £25, while visitng Bristol, a good few years ago. I tried getting it fixed up, but it was just to old, and dead, so I flogged it on ebay, for £120. I spent £15 doing it up, so that was a good £80 profit.

Have you seen those new accordions by Roland? They look pretty snazzy. It would be fun to run it through some effects... maybe overdrive and delay or some flange. HAHA

Hey not a bad profit at all! I have a mandolin that's just over 100 years old and needs a new fret board and such. Iv'e almost put it up for sale a few times. I keep hanging onto it with the intention of repairing it one day. Hell, it looks really cool just hanging on my wall too!

Kazoos are great! I've actually heard some great recordings with them. They can sound like a muddied up harmonica or weird fuzz guitar. It's amazing what you can do with effects processors and a little time. I think the tin Kazoos sound better than the plastic of course. Have you ever tried the cellophane and comb kazoo? That"s fun!

accordions have been electrified forever (though mine was a vintage one without a ic or pickup or whatever the ehck accordions use)... most 50s amps other than Fenders had accordion inputs, especially Ampegs! Everett Hull who founded Ampeg was a bassist (obviously) who was mainly into jazz and polka.... Leo Fender on the other hand was strictly a country and western fan. You can look at thir amps and see what kinda music they liked to listen to.

Who made your vintage mandolin?

The guy I got it from believed it to be made by Stella. The label had practically deteriorated. He's been a local Luther here for about 36 years. Hes a cool guy hand makes guitars, harps, mandolins, violins , and freakin cellos! I use to visit to buy cello strings from him and he had the mandolin hanging in there for at least a year. It always caught my eye. SO when i asked him about it he said from the best he could tell it was probably made by Stella. I've never heard of them. Anyway, we'd become pretty good friends since i visited him so much and he GAVE it to me. This guy had so many projects he just couldn't get to them all.

So i guess that may be why I've hung on to it for so long. I'd love to have it repaired. Possibly do some of it myself. I just don't wont to have to cut the fret slots on the finger board. Makes me nervous! haha Oh yeah... and your suggestion about the nut on my Bixby guitar turned out to be 100% correct! thanks for the tip by the way!

I'm sure Bob Gruehn's staff could ID her for you if you ever go to Nashville, they are mandolin experts and would know a Stella a mile away.

Glad all my bigsby experience was useful to you. If yu ever have a setup question be sure to ask. I have made some pretty questionable guit-fiddles play like a million bucks with a few days work and some clever ideas of how to work around the engineering and production flaws that are causing the guitar to underperform. Most anything can be made to play well and hold tune. Sadly for folks with shallow pockets, making things sound great is trickier even if you are willing to invest a little at a time in decent components. Although depending on the player sometimes theres no amount of money that can get them sounding good. Crap in? Well you know the other half...

I can't think about kazoos, without thinking of that kazoo kid clip. It's just a bit to creepy to be comfortable.

Haha, they're so fun though

Skin Flute

HAHA! Skin flutes and snake charming!

You playing your own or using someone else's?

First rule about musicians. You never touch their stuff without asking.