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Re: Creative Alternative Tools for Guitar Looping



I like to use a green alligator shaped cocktail stirrer for bowing. Egg whisks, chopsticks, legos, and toothbrushes can also be used imaginatively on guitars. Toilet paper rolls can be used for bowing or as slides. Bob the Builder would definitely approve!

PJ



-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>
To: LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting) <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Fri, Apr 1, 2011 10:10 am
Subject: Creative Alternative Tools for Guitar Looping


Speaking of cool guitar tools, like the 'Harmonics Capo'
here's a few that that I really like and have used a lot.
(what are some others?)


_The 'Third Hand Capo'_
allows one to capo individual strings for interesting and quick 'altered 
tunings'

_http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=third+hand+capo&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=3425282320810705673&sa=X&ei=5QmWTdyzMazOiALF_OmcCQ&ved=0CE0Q8wIwAw#ps-sellers_

Only $13........this is a device that you could use multiples of for 
interesting tunings,  although, in the long run, I think
I prefer just rapidly retuning the guitar, manually.


_The 'Piranha Bow'_
allows a person's strumming hand to have the texture of a bow.    
Fantastic for rapid rhythmic work.

_http://www.piranhaguitarbow.com/_

At $40, there not cheap, but he used to have a deal where he'd give you 
three if you bought two......don't know if he still honors
that deal (I bought them for $25 at the time) but it's cool to get three 
people to go in on a buy and two of them
played at once on an open tuned or lap steel guitar produces some very 
hip results

_'Suzuki Method 16th scale Violin Bows'_

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=1/16th+violin+bows&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10589079992227454761&sa=X&ei=DRCWTfCpEKXkiALdrJTgCA&ved=0CEcQ8wIwBA#ps-sellers

At $19, these miniature bows are fantastic for playing electric guitar.
I've had a lot of interesting results by using an open tuning on a 
guitar and then using
two of them, one in each hand.   You can bow rhythmically close to the 
bridge with your right hand
and bow slowly over Barre Harmonics with the left hand to create really 
beautiful textures.

Because the electric guitar neck is flat , one has three different 
options for playing
1) bass lines  on the lowest string    2)  melodies on the highest 
string     3) full chords by playing across the whole fretboard

_'Vegetable Brushes'_
These come in various colors and various degrees of stiffness to provide 
alternate strumming textures
(not unlike lightly brushing over the strings with the tips of one's 
fingers)
My wife hipped me to this approach by using a ball point pen or a drum 
stick to rake over the strings to provide
new 'rubato' textures for strumming.................it makes 'smears' of 
sound instead of really articulate rhythms.

_'This Rad Pick that my brother gave me years ago'_ that has four 
gradiated plastic picks on one side and three on the other so
that every time you pick the guitar,  it has the effect of a 'flam' of 
four individual picked sounds together......
.......like an ersatz 48 string guitar effect.    Not sure what it's 
called, though.

_'The Jellyfish Pick'_

http://www.jellifish.com/techniques/videos/bow-4-qt.html

At $12 a cool pick with multiple steel rods that allows for picking or 
mild bowing techniques
_
'Little Easter Island Tiki Head Blue Plastic Martini Stirrers'_
fantastically balanced to be able to play a prepared or open tuned 
lapsteel guitar like a hammer dulcimer.
Awesome because they can be used as a tiny slide as well as a tiny hammers.

_'Clitoral Vibrators or Egg Vibrators'_
especially if you can find the kind that have a short chord with a 
remote speed control.
You just turn it on,  let it dangle on a lap steel or prepared guitar 
and then fuck with the speed............very nice random stuff occurs.

_"An Multiple Allen Wrench Plectrum"_
This was made famous by Thom Morello of Rage Against the 
Machine.......you space the Allen wrenches out and use them as
a 'flamming' plectrum.