# Unusual guitar/bass equipment from well known guitarists/bassists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2020, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971 "2020-05-01T12:39:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/21 "2020-05-02T09:08:18Z")
Among other things, Michael Hedges played a: “1920s Dyer harp guitar configured with a FRAP/autoharp pickup combo / reconfigured with Sunrise S-1 and two Barcus Berry magnetic pickups for the sub-basses (glued straight to the body) Steve Klein electric harp guitar with a Steinberger TransTrem bridge circa 1913 black Knutsen harp guitar (often incorrectly referred to as a Dyer) with a FRAP/autoharp pickup combo—and rattlesnake tail wedged under the sub-basses at headstock” > **[Michael Hedges | Guitars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hedges#Guitars)** > > Hedges regularly used the following instruments: > 1.1971 Martin D-28 guitar (nicknamed "Barbara") with a combination of a Sunrise S-1 magnetic pickup and FRAP contact pickup under the treble strings | > 2.A 1978 Ken DuBourg custom made steel string guitar (stolen and returned many years later) | > 3.A custom 1980s Takamine guitar with his name on the headstock | > 4.Lowden L-25 guitars | > 5.Martin J-65M guitars | > 6.1920s Dyer harp guitar configured with a FRAP/autoharp pickup combo / reconfigured w... If you haven’t heard Michael Hedges play before, do yourself a favor and do so. [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=Michael+Hedges](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Michael+Hedges) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/22 "2020-05-02T12:41:17Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Neat seeing Tony Levin whipping out the ole [Chapman stick,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick) like, back in '84. Tony invented [Funk Fingers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_fingers), shortened rubber-tipped drumsticks worn on the fingers. You can see him using them on Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live video. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/23 "2020-05-02T13:28:30Z")
On the inner sleeve of the first B-52’s album, there is a picture of a Stratocaster with the middle two strings missing. Did Ricky Wilson actually play that way? And speaking of missing strings, I recall seeing a documentary about the band Morphine where Mark Sandman talks about playing a bass with only two strings, and says he could actually get by with just one. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/24 "2020-05-02T13:30:27Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Gibbons gets weirder than that: he plays all his guitars strung with .007s; guitar strings as fine as hair. On the opposite end, SRV played a set of non-standard .013s; “heavy” at both Es, but lighter in the middle, with an unwound G. And personally I’ve always found coins to be really shitty picks, but I know it’s totally a matter of personal preference. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/25 "2020-05-02T13:36:37Z")
I thought I had read that Jimi Hendrix wound more copper around the coils in his pickups. In the intro to It Might Get Loud, you watch Jack White build and play a diddley bow. I have no idea if he actually uses it for recording or shows or if he just made it for fun. And, I know diddley bows aren’t exactly unique, but they I think they still count as unusual. And then there’s whatever the hell Seasick Steve is making out of hubcaps and broomsticks. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/26 "2020-05-02T15:16:13Z")
Hendrix played left handed but his guitar was a righty that he flipped upside down. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/27 "2020-05-02T15:23:53Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Hendrix played left handed but his guitar was a righty that he flipped upside down. I believe Paul Mccartney’s guitars are right handed guitars, played left handed, with the strings reversed. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/28 "2020-05-02T15:46:43Z")
Godley and Creme invented a cool doohickey called [The Gizmotron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gizmo), a device that sat over the strings and bowed them mechanically. They showcased it on their concept triple album [Consequences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequences_(Godley_%26_Creme_album)), which was a flop. Jimmy page used it recording _In Through Out Door_. The original manufacturer went bankrupt but the a new and improved version was released in 2016. Demo video of the Gizmotron 2.0 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/29 "2020-05-02T15:56:37Z")
You can’t get more unusual than the impossible instruments from [Animusic.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animusic) [Pipe Dream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyCIpKAIFyo) [Starship Groove](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBOQcQO0IFI) and my favorite, [Acoustic Curves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF26jtMA9U0) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/30 "2020-05-02T16:04:39Z")
> [@by-tor](#): > > Among other things, Michael Hedges played a: > “1920s Dyer harp guitar configured with a FRAP/autoharp pickup combo / reconfigured with Sunrise S-1 and two Barcus Berry magnetic pickups for the sub-basses (glued straight to the body) > Steve Klein electric harp guitar with a Steinberger TransTrem bridge > circa 1913 black Knutsen harp guitar (often incorrectly referred to as a Dyer) with a FRAP/autoharp pickup combo—and rattlesnake tail wedged under the sub-basses at headstock” > [Michael Hedges - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hedges#Guitars) > > If you haven’t heard Michael Hedges play before, do yourself a favor and do so. > > [https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=Michael+Hedges](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Michael+Hedges) I saw him live just once. This was before he started playing around with the harps. The range of sounds and effects he could get just from an acoustic guitar were amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/31 "2020-05-02T17:32:00Z")
Peter Frampton used a voice box hooked to his guitar , you can hear it on Frampton Comes alive. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/32 "2020-05-02T18:23:11Z")
[Here](https://www.dropbox.com/s/xa3l3088jn494of/Sonic%20Youth%20Bass.png?dl=0) is one of Kim Gordon’s basses. Love it… looks like something you’d pull out of a trash bin. 🆒 Also check out the guitar starting at 0:12 used by Devo in [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o) video. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/33 "2020-05-04T12:08:58Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > On the inner sleeve of the first B-52’s album, there is a picture of a Stratocaster with the middle two strings missing. Did Ricky Wilson actually play that way? It’s a [Mosrite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosrite) Ventures guitar, and yes, I believe he really did play it with four strings and a simple open tuning. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/34 "2020-05-04T12:13:32Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Hendrix played left handed but his guitar was a righty that he flipped upside down. He often played right-handed guitars, but converted to left-handed stringing. There are some players that play upside down, ie with the thicker strings on the floor side - Dick Dale being one. Blues players Albert King and Otis Rush are other examples. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/35 "2020-05-04T12:15:05Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I believe Paul Mccartney’s guitars are right handed guitars, played left handed, with the strings reversed. Paul plays converted righties on occasion, but mostly uses left handed instruments. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/36 "2020-05-04T13:53:12Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > On the inner sleeve of the first B-52’s album, there is a picture of a Stratocaster with the middle two strings missing. Did Ricky Wilson actually play that way? > > And speaking of missing strings, I recall seeing a documentary about the band Morphine where Mark Sandman talks about playing a bass with only two strings, and says he could actually get by with just one. Similarly, the band The Presidents of the United States of America played with a two string bass and a three-string guitar, and apparently got the idea from working with Morphine. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971/37 "2020-05-06T06:09:45Z")
McCartney has been mentioned a couple of times. I think his Hofner counts as “unusual bass equipment.” I can’t recall any other famous bassist using one. I coud be wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-guitar-bass-equipment-from-well-known-guitarists-bassists/852971.md?page=1)