It seemed like a cool idea at the time...

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Nikki7

New member
The other day a friend and I were discussing forgotten products that never really took off, like the Gibson tuning machines with little string winder cranks that folded out. Or Kahler tremolo bridges for basses. The triple-coil DiMarzio "Motherbucker".

Some were pretty cool, like the Legend amps that had an SM-57 module permanently mounted behind the speaker grille with an XLR jack on the back panel.

On the other hand was the Scholz Rockman Full Stack which was a head containing a Scholz Rockman and a power amp, and two cabs that looked like 4x12's but behind the grille cloth were actually loaded like PA speakers with (I think) a lo, a mid and a hi-freq horn and a passive crossover.

My friend reminded that there was a brand of guitars that had spring loaded, interchangeable modules that you would mount the pickups in and you could change them in seconds. Apparently the only problem was that they kept popping out the back while you were playing.

Surely there are some great one's we've missed. Entertain us!
 
I don't know of many things that did not take of, so from my side, what about the silly things that did take of; like the twin neck guitars (This is probably just my opinion, but I think that is quite silly). And what about the inventions that are really great like the Floyd Rose system.

Sorry, I guess I have intelligent to say here.
 
Remember those double necks that had one guitar and one bass? I've seen pictures of Geddy Lee with one. I always wondered about those. I figured you could only use one if the other guy in your band also had one.
 
I'm not a big fan of double necks but Juinor Brown has THE COOLEST EVER. He plays custom double necks that are Tele on the bottom and a steel guitar on top. And he calls it a guitsteel. If you have not heard this guy play, you are missing out on one the greats. The best CD to check is Semi Crazy. Try to download a sample of the track "Hung Up" and be amazed, be very amazed. I've seen him play live two times and I've been floored each time. He can play it all. Hank Williams to Hendrix, Juinor Brown is right at home.

Some of the dumbest products I've seen are these very cheesy plastic graphics that you cut to the shape of your guitar and attach to the front via static cling. I'm sure you guys have seen the adds for these in Guitar World durring the hair band days. Another stupid idea was the guitar protector pads found on the backs of 70's Gretcsh guitars. They were stuck to the guitar with big silver snap rivvets and looked worse that any belt buckle scratch I could imagine.

The Cool Award for inovative products goes to........... once I saw a Fender steel guitar with some owner insalled options: an old metal ashtray and an automotive cigarette lighter recessed into the top of the body.
 
Oh, and let's not forget the 3 humbucker Les Paul (talk about overkill). Thankfully, Peter Frampton's been busy trying to buy them all so the rest of us don't have to look at those eye-sores.

I don't remember who made it but somebody used to market a do-it-yourself guitar-chord-making kit. You used to yank a few feet of the chord out from a hole in a box at the music store. Then they provided you with 2 1/4 inch jacks that actually screwed onto the ends of the chords with a single phillips screw securing them! No soldering--no electrical tape. You just shoved the chord into the jack until you felt it push up against the end and this was your contact!

BTW Nikki; I remember that 6 string bowing device you were talking about in another thread. 10cc used it on a couple of songs. I've never seen one outside of a magazine myself. It sounded like a pretty neat idea really.
 
...mmm maybe it's just me but I don't think twin-neck guitars are stupid at all... how else are you gonna play that sweet, rich 12-string rhythm part and then kick into a ripping solo...
 
Way back when I had an Electro Harmonics Screaming Bird Treble Booster. It pluged right into the guitar and it sounded just like the name. The only problem was it didn't work with a Strat. Oh those were the days.

RussP
 
I personally love those acoustic guitar stands that hold the guitar in a playing position so you can have your electric on a strap and the acoustic within reach for playing those "Stairway to Heaven/Dust in the Wind" type songs.

I once saw Larry Graham and he had an all white (fingerboard and all) Jazz Bass with a mic gooseneck monted on the body so that wherever he went on stage he could sing and play. Quite an imaginative solution in the days before headset mics.

Also the guitar player in Rob Zombie's band has a custom hollow plexiglass Fernandes guitar that's filled with blood. It has an opening on the top so he can pour blood all over Rob during the show. And who can forget the Rickenbacker "Juke Box/Light Show" guitar that Howard Leese from Heart uses a lot?
 
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