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One interesting Double Neck Acoustic Guitar

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I recently came across this great picture of a very unique guitar on a guitar forum. I have NO IDEA of the origins of this elderly instrument but I will continue on my search for it’s maker(s) or owner. If you have any info. about this guitar, please tell me.

When you look at the head of this guitar you see what looks like bell horns on it (think of a end of the trumpet if you would). If you are a follower of the hit HBO TV series called Boardwalk Empire, there is this violin player in the band, that has a similar bell at the head of his violin. This instrument is called a Stroh Violin. Click here for more neat pictures of a Stroh Violine for a better detailed look.

double neck acoustic guitar, stroh guitar

A Stroh Guitar looks like it would be uncomfortable to play but hey I’d be up to it.

Keep on Jammin’





An interesting iPhone app named Amplitube

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With all the iPhone apps out there today Amplitube seems to have hit the right note with many. I for one do not have a iPhone. I must be one of the only people that doesn’t have an iPhone, but I don’t need one right now. Of course, there are all these new apps that can do some amazing things and this makes me wonder what I am really missing maybe I should look into getting an iPhone?

The company that brings us Amplitube, this amazing piece of technology, is called IK Multimedia. I don’t know how long they’ve been around, but they surely seem to know how to make someone without any of these things take notice. There appears to be so many Amplitube apps out there that it makes one’s head spin.

Amplitube App for the iPhone

Amplitube App for the iPhone

The Amplitube app for the iPhone is absolutely wild. It is a fully functional multitrack, mini-studio portable all-in-one App. The creators are making me wonder if using the real things are becoming so un-cool now? Having the ability to select from the pedals, the amps or speakers right at your finger tips is fascinating. I just don’t know how they will sound, but I’m sure I’d be impressed.

Then there is the recording capability with this app. You can record in no time, having 4 track to record on, do some subtle re-mixing of your tracks with great effects that they provide and then export the file anywhere. Holy crap, how much easier can recording get! I only had a cassette recorder to capture my musical ideas when I was a teen. Now the one thing that I am intrigued with it the Amplitube’s SpeedTrainer.

This part of the app is ideal for figuring out those crazy guitar riffs that you can’t quite get your head around. The software boys and girls gives you the tools to slow down or speed up tune without affecting the pitch! They allow you to upload 50 songs to use when ever you have time to figure them out. Now to put in perspective with the much older technology, I have this old Ibanez Rockmen. It’s a cassette player that you can plug your guitar into and play along with your favorite tune. The Rockman permitted you to slow the song down but the trade off was that the pitch(tuning) of the guitar was altered.

So do you have an iPhone with this or a similar App on it? Tell us what you think about it, and would you recommend it to others and why.

Keep on Jammin’ (even the technically challenged)

Mohan Veena is where East meets West, musically that is!

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Through the eyes of the average North American, the Mohan Veena appears to look like a modified acoustic guitar with a generous sprinkling of the Sitar added in for good measure. At first glance most guitarists wouldn’t know whether to look for the strap on this thing or just lay it across their laps.

The name, Mohan Veena, is drawn from it’s creator Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

The basic form of the Mohan Veena is taken from a modified Archtop acoustic guitar. It consists of 20 strings, three strummed and used for melody, five drone strings strung to the peghead, and twelve sympathetic strings strung to the tuners mounted on the side of the neck. The next part of the instrument is directly taken from the sitar.

Pandit took a tumba (made up of your basic gourd) then attached it along the back of the neck with screws. The neck itself is hollow. This allows the sound travel up from the body towards the head of it. By having a greater hollowed out, wooden area, which gives the sound more area to vibrate, it helps create a much warmer, distinctive and improved sound quality to it.

You hold the Mohan veena just the same as you would any slide guitar, on your lap. The strings on the Mohan Veena has excess of around 500 pounds of stress between the tuning pegs and the lower body of it, when it is properly tuned that is. Also, the player uses metal finger picks and a metal slide to create a very interesting musical sound.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have an old sitar upstairs, but it has definitely seen better days. The bottom of the sitar is beginning to split so I have to keep the strings loose on it, the screws that hold the tumba or the gourd on the neck needs attention, but it still looks awesome!

I just became aware of how beautiful this multi-stringed wonder is today and I felt that I had to share it with someone! So enjoy. If you’re curious about what this instrument looks like, please take a peek at this video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50gpwxARSrA

Keep on Mohan Veenan’!

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