I tried to pick the most odd & attention grabbing of my herd. Do you think I missed the boat by not including some of my other notable oddballs? He didn’t even mention the amps or pedals. Ha ha.
Shout-out to my peeps at Actual Ugly Guitars! It’s a Facebook group focused on looking for guitars ranging from the weirdest of the weird to just pure abominations with strings and sometimes even frets. If you’re gonna join, answer the questions or you won’t get in.
Here’s a rundown of what’s pictured if you’re interested:
Click the links on the guitar names to go to my Instagram posts where I posted all my axes at the beginning of the Covid shutdowns. You can check out most of them (& more) at Posting #AllMyAxes. πΈ (Part 1) & Posting #AllMyAxes. πΈ (Part 2) too. I posted all of them individually and some fun group shots & extras under the #AllMyAxes hashtag on Instagram.
If not rocking the Spark for practice or jamming along to YouTube or the built-in drummers, I like to rock a guitar through the tuner then into the A/B/Y into both the Blues Jr. and the Micro Terror through the Laney. Sometimes I put the wah up front, or sometimes on just one amp. I had a Dunlop CryBaby for years, then once I heard the “tone-suck” even when it was off, I couldn’t un-hear it. Same with the Dirt & Ernie… sometimes I just use it as a boost. It will come in handy if I ever get back to live stuff. My “sound” is pretty much gain on 10 master volume on 2 through both amps because I love the sound of the overdriven amps, so I don’t really need to add much dirt. If I set up the Trio, I run the “band” out to the PA so drums & bass come out of that nice & clean instead of one of (or both of) my amps. I am terrible with the POCK LOOP looper. The Lil’ Smokey is also a ton of fun, and I have used to to drive a 4×12. I think I need simpler one or more patience. Maybe both.
So, that’s my setup. Yes, I do play these guitars. Yes, they’re all playable. (I have a go-to guitar guy that is like a guitar-whisperer.) Yes, I have gigged & even recorded with some of them and would gig with all of them.
Which ones do you dig or hate the most? Got any oddballs you want to share? Hit me up with some comments!
I’m in a lot of guitar-related Facebook groups. I’m probably in a lot more guitar -related (and general music-related) Facebook groups that ought to be allowed. I see a lot of talk about guitars, and a lot of opinions about guitars. People are very strong and vocal about their opinions. (Did you see the guitar bingo cards?)
One post I see quite often is someone who is buying a guitar for their kid, or even one for themselves. It usually contains no details or insight and boils down to “I am buying my kid a guitar, what should I get?” or “I want to try playing guitar, what is the best one to buy?”
The responses come in swiftly and are predictably all over the place. Guitarists who frequent guitar-related Facebook groups are a wild bunch. It’s hard to get a good feel when advice is all over the place.
I am certainly no guitar expert. Hell, I’m not even that great of a player. Ha ha. I have, however, played a very large variety of guitars over the years. I happen to own a wide variety of guitars and am a bottom-feeder of sorts… All of which I feel plays well into qualifying me to dole out advice on the matter of a starter guitar.
First, you need to ask yourself some questions. We need more to go one than “Which guitar should I buy?”
What’s your budget?
What kind of music do you listen to?
What guitarists (or musicians, bands, artists) do you enjoy?
What would you like to sound like?
If this is a GIFT guitar, this becomes tricky if you want it to remain a surprise. You’ve got to do some homework. If a kid is dreaming he wants and Explorer or a Jaguar and you get him a Stratocaster or an SG, there may be some disappointment or it sitting in the corner for a bit.
What do you see yourself or what does the recipient see themselves playing? What kind of noise is yearning to be made? Get an idea of a shape in mind, maybe even a color… or whatever is there sparking that interest.
Look at Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, ShopGoodwill.com, ebay, Music Go Round, Reverb, Craigslist, etc. See what floats your boat or calls out. Something will catch your attention. Something will call you. Something will pull you. It might not be the exact guitar you want, but it gives you a place to start looking, at styles or brands.
Check local Facebook sale groups too. I help moderate one for my area and it is a FANTASTIC place to get great deals on gear, ask, & answer questions, etc. It’s also all invite-only so it’s relatively drama free.
I’m largely ignoring acoustics, but that may be what you want. They are so versatile and a great place to start learning.
Go to a music store and pour over the stuff. (I know things are different right now with a global Covid-19 pandemic, but I hope they will eventually return to a much more normal state of existence. Please follow the guidelines in a store or if meeting someone to purchase via an online ad.) Play it all. See what feels good.
Soon you’ll have a Pinterest board for beautiful, weird, ugly, and random guitars you find on the internet.
All the references I can think of for name-dropping for guitar players are ancient. But if you want to play like Slash and you get a John Mayer guitar, it’s not going to be as exciting, right?
Get your budget set. I personally stick to cheap guitars and I love them. You can get some really nice guitars for $300. One group I frequent calls anything $500 & under cheap. I can dig that. You can also get some great guitars for $100 if you’re looking in all the right places.
Used gear is a great place to start. Stuff depreciates rapidly. Stores pay pennies on the dollar for value so they’re able to make a profit, so the best bang-for-your-buck may be some sort of local online sale. Although, Music Go Round seems to have reasonable used prices in person.
Avoid any listings online that say “great for beginners” or “great for a first guitar” or “great for kids.” Loosely translated this means “this guitar is a steaming pile of poop.” Usually it has terrible action, won’t hold a tune or even intonate properly, or has some other hidden issues.
If anyone lists something online for free and says “Make an offer” they are the worst kind of person, so just keep scrolling.
Don’t pay over $50 for a used First Act unless it was one that came with a Volkswagen. They were $50 new at Walmart. Some brands with great budget axes can include Squier, Lotus, Hondo, Dean, Hamer, Schecter, Ibanez, New York Pro, Galveston, G&L, Peavy, Epiphone, Kramer, and so many more outside of the ones everyone seems to know like Fender and Gibson. Don’t pay too much attention to the headstock logo though.
I would also probably be wary of new “starter packs” that come with a tiny amp. Do your research & read reviews on that kind of stuff.
Stick to your budget & play everything that you can that resembles what you’re looking at online. You might like a heavy guitar or a light guitar. You might like a wide neck or a skinny neck. You might like a thin neck or a heavy one.
If you want a cheap new guitar and are not concerned with the logo on the headstock, I cannot recommend Agile or SX and Xaviere enough. I hear nothing but good things and they’re just great axes. I have heard mixed reviews on Hard Luck Kings.
Whatever you buy, I suggest, and a I cannot stress this enough, get a pro setup. Find local music shop… preferably from work of mouth or asking locals online. Find someone that recommends a tech or luthier that does great work. This person will ask you questions. Give honest answers. I suggest getting a lighter gauge pack of strings at first. Tell them you want 9’s. I would say $75 for a pro setup and a few bucks for a new pack of strings will make even the rattiest of guitars into beautiful machines. Figure it into your budget if you need to.
If you’re close to Pittsburgh’s southern suburbs, I may even recommend the guy that has polished some of my proverbial turds and made them into rock n’ roll machines.
Amps? Well, amps are whole different animal. There are headphone amps, practice amps, and combo amps. It’s all in the budget/preference mix. Maybe that will need to be another blog post?
You (or the gift recipient) will fall in love with the guitar if you get the right one. Soon you’ll have GAS.
Don’t hesitate to ask me any specific advice here in the comments or with the contact form.
Feel free to add to my advice, or contradict it in the comments!
For me, posting on YouTube is sort of like blogging. It’s more of a creative outlet than anything. I like to play the guitar, and I like weird guitars (Exhibit A & Exhibit B), so why not show off my weird guitars?
Back in the day, I used to go to websites, message boards, chat rooms, or forums, & blogs. Now it’s mostly Facebook groups.
I’m a simple man. When not enjoying real-life things like family time, noodling poorly on the guitar, drawing mazes, or watching some funny or sci-fi-ish stuff on the TV, I enjoy reading things on the internet. This would include subjects like guitars, gear, guitars, music, Star Wars, guitars, guitars, and surprisingly enough …Guitars.
Picking up a theme? I’m in some guitar groups of varying purpose, from celebrating the instrument in general, to celebrating ugly ones, celebrating cheap ones, celebrating unique ones, alternating between building camaraderie or trolling between fellow guitarists, and making fun off bass players & drummers. I may have G.A.S. – It’s gotta be a real thing.
After a while, you start to notice a repetitive pattern of seemingly-canned responses.
At first, I thought of a drinking game. But, I’m too old for that, and I’m currently on antibiotics. Ha ha.
It may seem light a slight, but it’s not. I’m in there. I have said the thigs. I have typed the things. I have read the things. I have heard the things. We all have a common interest. This is a celebration of you, & us. π»
How quickly could you get a line, or even fill up the card?
What responses have I missed?
Please, elaborate in the comments.
GUITAR BINGO!
What would go on your Bingo card or cause you to take a drink?
What do I need to add to my pin boards?
I would love to hear what you have to add.
What are your favorite places to discuss and ogle guitars on Facebook or online in general? You can even share some of your favorite guitar photos or memes in the comments.
You may want to take a look at the Guitars & My Guitars categories here at the blog.
I finally got a permanent place set up to rock. All my guitars, ukes, amps, pedals, and even an electric kazoo are easy to quickly access and just start rocking when inspiration hits.
Axetopia? CBGB’s (Carroll’s Big Guitar Bunker)? The Guitarmory?
It still needs a name. I haven’t officially decided. I have been calling it “the music room” or “the guitar room.” Both of those seem boring. Maybe this? I find it amusing but clunky.
I may make some videos of guitar shenanigans as a creative outlet. Not sure what direction they’ll take. I’m not a particularly good or technical player, but I can demo some gear or do some fun silly stuff. I do already have a YouTube playlist started for my guitar-related videos.
The Postitive Grid Spark amp & app have really made jamming quick and fun… they have a cool in-app video feature, but it’s not much different than recording straight-up with the phone’s camera.
More setup inspires more setup. I need a way to store my physical media (mostly CD’s) so it’s easily accessible. I have a lot. Too many probably. I need to build some shelves and the stuff I’m finding online seems painfully expensive and not quite a fit. And I’d like to dump that all on a personal media server. I have a lot of stuff not available on Amazon or Spotify.
The next itch I can already feel will need scratching is some kind of recording setup. I’d like to layer stuff I can hear in my head, without the aid of a looper. I miss the days of a Tascam 4-track with a cassette tape. Maybe I’ll delve into a nice simple digital version of that.
The kids have guitars, ukes, and a keyboard too… and now we almost need drums and a bass or too, right?
At any rate… it’s important to have a creative outlet. Live isn’t conducive to me jamming regularly with a band right now. I only seem to do mazes when the inspiration hits, and I blog pretty randomly. Music is one more option for expression, creativity, and constant learning/exploring. I hope to foster the kids’ musical expression and drive home how important it is to remain creative themselves and appreciative of art in general.
Keep watching the blog, social media, and YouTube if you’re interested in the musical stuff.
If you’re a regular reader, you know I recently posted all my guitars.Β You would then also know that I like weird guitars.Β You may have even seen me in a guitar-related Facebook group defending this beauty of an axe.Β What is not to love?Β The thing is fantastic.Β It is a sight to behold.Β It probably shouldn’t even exist, but it does an I needed to have it.
Mine is serial number 059.Β I have even connected with a few other owners out there via a Facebook Fan Page.Β I had expected to swap out pickups and drop in some rails… but, man this thing sounds beautiful.Β The neck feels great.Β It hangs well when standing.Β It is just a great damn guitar.
I would say it is probably in my trifecta of ire along with the Dewey Decibel FlipOut and the Galveston B.B. Stone.Β I have had people at shows come up just to tell me that they hate them!Β Ha ha.Β It amazes me that a music genre predicated on the idea of just pissing off the previous generation has so many purists who must adhere to some sort of imaginary rules of guitar design. and tired traditions.Β It would be a fascinating sociological study to see exactly how that can be.Β It’s OK to enjoy the classics and get a little wild sometimes.
Of course, many people get the joke and love them too.
In with posting All My Axes(did you see parts 1 & 2?), I really got to wanting to dive deep into the story behind each of these if I could.Β The creator of the FLyCaster, Jimmie Bruhn was easy to find online, and seems like a great guy.Β I would even say he found me in an “ugly guitars” group or two.Β Check out my questions for him and his fantastic answers below my embedded Instagram Post of the FlyCaster.Β The interview was conducted via the highly professional Facebook Messenger.
Jimmie Bruhn:There was no Indiana Custom Guitars. Indy Custom was that particular brand. Its actually a much bigger thing⦠SHS International was the parent company. It was an international music wholesale company that distributed products to music stores. Its where music stores nationwide (and globally) got a lot of their stuff. We designed, imported and sold products. Here are some of the following brands of SHS International (this is not the full list but the highlights)
Morgan Monroe Bluegrass Instruments
Eddy Finn Ukulele Company
Indiana Guitar Company
Indy Custom Guitars
ModTone Guitar Effects
Bean Blossom Instruments
Tune Tech Tuners
SHS Audio
Devlin Guitars
College Guitar Company
Sundown Amplifiers
I worked as a media producer for the company for close to 30 years and my fingerprints were on most everything from every brand. I wore many many different hats and guitar design was a tiny part of it. Fun but it wasnβt the bulk of what I did. That’s a whole other story. Suffice to say, anything you saw from any of those brands, I had a major role in bringing to life.
In addition Iβve played professionally for a long long time. Iβm a writer, singer and I play a lot of different instruments. Guitar is one part of it but probably the biggest part as I am a lifelong collector and nerd. The collection is out of hand but I simply canβt help myself. I still have my first guitar. I never get rid of anything! You can hear and see my work on YouTube. Ohβ¦one other thingβ¦if you ever see Indy Custom Relic guitars, that was me. A one man side business I started where I produced over 400 hand relic’ed guitars. In that time I still played all the time, traveled and played all over.
βΆβ¬: Do they have a website?
JB:Not any more.
βΆβ¬: Do you have a website you’d like me to link to?
βΆβ¬: How did you come to be a guitar designer? Have you designed any other guitars?
JB:Iβve been collecting guitars for over 40 years. It was natural that my need to build and tinker with stuff would spill over into my professional day gig.
Yes, I designed many guitars and would then send my renderings to the factory for prototypes and then on to a bigger run of them. When I say βdesignedβ I in no way want to make it seem that I am some schooled luthier or anything of the sort. I just came up with designs and through trial and error, we would arrive at something unique but I wasnβt in a workshop running a saw!
βΆβ¬: How was the Indy Custom label to be different?
JB:By trying to get the best things we all liked about particular models into an affordable recreation that was a Big Bang for the buck. There were some really cool models that came out. I canβt say exactly how many but there were lots of designs over the life of that line.
βΆβ¬: I know you were in part inspired by the Zakk Wylde guitars with an SG top & a V bottomβ¦ did anything else go into it?
JB:Yes, comedy. It just made me laugh. Another thing that REALLY inspired it were people around the company who were genuinely disgusted by it. That made me want to get them produced even more. Yes, it was stupid, yes it was hideous but I knew it could get a lot of attention for the rest of the line. The powers that be couldnβt see the value in that but here we are all these years later still talking about it. ZERO advertising dollars spent. I wasnβt wrong!
βΆβ¬: Was it a hard sell getting in into production? (Convincing everyone else at the company/factory to go with it?)
JB:Some understood. Some did not. The ones that didnβt inspired me to push that much harder. The point was, good or badβ¦it was getting a major reaction. The only bad press is no press.
βΆβ¬: Where was it manufactured?
JB:These were all manufactured in China once final prototypes were approved.
βΆβ¬: Were there any issues with manufacturing? (Seems like a big body to be on a manufacturing line.)
JB:There are always issues in manufacturing especially trying to do it from thousands of miles away. Visiting the factories can keep quality control in check but ultimately once production starts things can go wrong. Not always, but that potential is there. Overall, there were no problems in the Flycaster. Even my Chinese contact remarked that the guys on the factory floor thought it was βa weird guitarβ which meant even a cultural and language barrier cannot deny that The Flycaster is globally offensive!
βΆβ¬: Why “FlyCaster?” Everyone who sees it calls it a TV or a Tele-V. Ha ha. Was that by design?
JB:Because it needed a name, an identity. Plus it had some weird fishing connection soβ¦
βΆβ¬: Why 100? Why not 200 or 50? Were they all sold?
JB:The idea was that we would only do limited runs of guitars for the Indy Custom line which we did on other models besides The Flycaster. I think they may have even commissioned a second small batch to fill an order. The dealers that understood the value liked them and they helped bring attention to the other models. Limiting them to 100 kept it fresh and helped if a particular model completely tanked. That way you arenβt stuck with so many. If itβs a hit? Make more! Yes, they were all sold.
βΆβ¬: I love mine. I love that it just seems to enrage purists, and it just “outs” so many people as not having any sense of humor or whimsy. Was any if this in your original intent?
JB:This was absolutely the intent from the beginning. I love music, I love comedy and this thing was both. It was just so incredibly stupid that one has to laugh or at least, I did! The ones that were truly offended because they had such a death grip on tradition well, as previously stated, that just fueled my fire!
βΆβ¬: Why are so many guitarists stuck in traditional designs and setups, when rock n’ roll at its core is about rebellion?
JB:Because they are either afraid or donβt have the slightest concept of being original. They are too worried what other people think.
Image Provided by Jimmie Bruhn, from his digital book.
βΆβ¬: I know one burst prototype exists. Do you ever play it?
JB:I play it occasionally but I see it every day as its hanging on the wall of my studio.
βΆβ¬: Did you ever have any other color schemes in mind? I would love one with an antigua finish!
JB: I wanted it to get to that point but those in control saw otherwise.
βΆβ¬: Do you have a guitar collection? What are your non-FlyCaster favorites?
JB:Yes. I have a pretty big collection. Itβs fairly insane. I have everything from top shelf vintage stuff to weird a wacky. Lots of stuff I built in the shop, some wonderful mutts and some serious collector stuff too. As I said, I never get rid of anything. I come from a musical family.
βΆβ¬: Have you seen any other weird guitars out there & thought “I wish I came up with that!”?
JB:All the time! That’s the great thing for me about the world of guitars, its constantly evolving. There are some absolutely great things being produced and it seems people arenβt so brand conscious as they used to be.
βΆβ¬: Anything else you would like to add?
JB: Just a thank you for taking the time to even ask me this stuff. It was an honor!
Did you see part one?Β I felt like posting all my guitars online simply for something else to look at, and I thought others might enjoy.
I still plan to blog about some of the more interesting ones.Β Hopefully you guys enjoy the content.Β Thanks for the likes on social media.Β I don’t think anyone else started to use the #AllMyAxes hashtag.Β Oh well.Β Ha ha.
Show me some of yours in the comments, tag me on social media, or use your own hashtag!
Since the world is a bit strange right now, I decided I wanted to see more guitars on social media.Β Maybe it’ll start a trend, maybe not.Β
I like classic guitars, I like modern guitars, I like classy guitars, I like ugly guitars.Β I like guitars.Β I like playing them.Β I like looking at them online.Β I like looking at them on my wall.Β I like looking at them in the store.Β I like hearing them.Β I like arguing about them on the internet.Β I also like other assorted stringed instruments.
Maybe this will make the world a little brighter.Β Maybe people will like these guitars.Β Maybe people will argue about these guitars.Β Maybe absolutely no one will notice.Β Who knows?
Below the collage, here are the ones I have posted so far via Instagram with the #AllMyAxes hashtag, minus today’s.Β The rest will be in the next post.Β This is the bulk of my guitar collection.Β The rest of the stuff in the house are my ukuleles and mandolin, the wife’s ukuleles, and the kids’ guitars and ukuleles.
There is a little bit written about each guitar if you click through to Instagram or follow me on Facebook.Β I hope to blog more in-depth about each of them, or more than I have in the past anyway… reaching out to some manufacturers and designers, especially for the most interesting ones.
OK.Β Now post yours on your social media!Β Tag me (@AiXeLsD13 on most everything).Β Post them in the comments here.Β Use #AllMyAxes or your own hashtag!
I have posted lists before.Β Some, I have acquired.Β Some I still yearn for.Β These three keep popping up lately, and I have no viable reason to purchase another guitar and it saddens me.
All fit my criteria of sub-$500 axes, all well under.Β Usually I don’t go over $300.Β I like them weird, and I like the cheap.Β If I could monetize some weird guitar videos on YouTube, I could maybe buy more.Β Watch my videos!Β Share the link!
Sadly, that collage is not even up to date with all of the stringed instruments in the house. I should do another group photo.Β I even need to grab back a project axe off of a friend!
So, every once in a while, these gadgets pop up on Facebook guitar discussion groups.Β You get a lot of people poking fun, you get some support.Β I had to break it all down.Β It’s easy to hate, but some of these may ignite a spark and only be training wheels.Β Some of these may enable people with physical or mental disabilities to play some music.Β Who should be denied artistic creativity?
Guitar Chord Assistance / Learning Systems
Check out all the stats I could find & compile on the Chord Buddy, E-Z Chord, Ez-Fret, & WESOLO Guitar Learning System.
Check out all the details, embedded below:
Or, check out the full sheet here.Β I have websites, prices, lists of chords, and even videos where I could find them.
There is a wide variety of options.Β If you can fill in any of the blanks, that would be killer.Β If you know of any other similar systems, I could certainly add them.
I know I have been bad at blogging.Β Life got crazy busy as it does.Β I do hope to blog more, not sure if many people read it… but it is fun.Β Hopefully if you feel the need, you can keep up with me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
