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”
If you haven’t heard Michael Hedges play before, do yourself a favor and do so.
Tony invented Funk Fingers, shortened rubber-tipped drumsticks worn on the fingers. You can see him using them on Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live video.
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.
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.
Godley and Creme invented a cool doohickey called The Gizmotron, a device that sat over the strings and bowed them mechanically. They showcased it on their concept triple album Consequences, 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
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.
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.
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.
