KILLICK HINDS: I ran the fretless eight string to the Schroeder DB7 with a volume pedal (that I seldom used). I also subtly added sustain with a Gamechanger Plus pedal and Collision Devices’ Black Hole Symmetry in its effects loop. The main signal was split before these pedals, with one half going to a volume pedal and then activating Plogue’s Chipsounds via Jam Origin’s MIDI Guitar 2 in the computer. The Schertler piezo on Demi’s headstock ran into an Elite Acoustics StompMix mixer (which contributed occasional delay) into a Henriksen The Bud amp.
It was good working with Henry on this…our sensibilities match extraordinarily well. Playing with the video felt the closest to playing a concert since March.
I’ll add it was recorded with my cellphone against a makeshift green screen made of a picnic tarp and an old clothing rack. The assembly is not quite big enough for the task, so framing was a little tricky, but it worked out very well.
I’m really pleased to share this (as I know Henry is) and am very grateful he suggested the project. I thank Cuneiform Records for their continued support of new and exciting music. And most importantly, thanks to everyone for watching and listening.
RICK TOONE: Cool! He has software that works with green screen?
KILLICK HINDS: Yes, I think Final Cut Pro. I have iMovie and that works with it as well. This was my very first green screen experience.
RICK TOONE: Quite awesome. So you were in Athens and he was…?
KILLICK HINDS: Yes, I was in Athens and he was in California.
RICK TOONE: Could you hear each other during recording?
KILLICK HINDS: I played to the movie first. Then Henry played to my audio and the movie.
Killick Hinds
A Portrait of the Artist
This was a new experience for me. I’ve never done a portrait of another human being using guitar as mixed media. Why not, though?
Killick Hinds and I have been friends for almost a decade. One of the first things he sent when we met was his autobiography of sorts, perhaps a proto-biography. As I read, I thought: “Here is an honest soul.”
Many thoughts and visits exchanged since then, and my love for him as a person only continues to grow. For those of you who are new…within fifteen minutes of meeting Killick in person I stopped noticing his skin is a mosaic of artwork. Again, over time, I appreciate his commitment to his singular path as an artist.
In building this guitar for Killick, I wanted to generate a glimpse of him in tangible, material form. We discussed the technical attributes extensively, however the aesthetics were left entirely to me and delivered to him as a total surprise.
I do believe it works.
It’s not even a guitar…it’s something totally new. The resonances/overtones are unfamiliar to my sensibilities. Bowing with the Pickaso yields entirely new textures & audible rhythms in addition to the fundamental/overtones. It’s instantly rewarding and challenging. This instrument is a perfect ergonomic fit and is truly the electric guitar’s metamorphosis. It’s a surreal time to welcome beauty and homework into the world. Thank you completely! (Killick Hinds)
Killick | Alfred University
Killick Hinds performs live with Walrus 6-string guitar at Alfred University on February 24, 2020. Many of his unusual and innovative techniques are on display: playing behind fretting hand, neck contact mic, external friction devices, string damping, combined with foot-controlled software and organic tube amplification via his custom Schroeder.
This was part of a Sound Design seminar on February 24th, 2020 at Alfred University in Alfred, upstate NY. I also have video of my performance with the Ergo bowed instrument and all the class discussion as well. For some reason the video soundtrack features a non-stop hip-hop drum loop instead of what transpired. (This is inexplicable, although I’m going to sample the loop for a new piece.) I had my field recorder running and that’s what you hear on the Walrus section. The Ergo speaker was too close to the field recorder so that sound isn’t usable, and the class discussion is nearly inaudible at times. The good ones always get away!
It was a delight presenting my craft and artist practice experiences with the students and instructors…I learn a ton through such interactions. With the Walrus I was running the humbucker output and a contact mic each through volume pedals and then directly into the computer to occasionally add some 8-bit sounds via MIDI Guitar 2. The guitar sounds and chipsounds were summed to mono and broadcast through amp and speaker. At the beginning I’m using my fretted and fretless wedges—based on Hans Reichel’s dax—and then at the end I’m indeed using a full sized stripper pole. (Killick Hinds)
www.chrisbuono.com
Chris Buono is a good personal friend as well as one of my best test pilots. For the last decade he has fearlessly played anything I’ve built — often sight unseen…and before a live audience. The only exception I can think of is the Harp Guitar (but we are also in the midst of a pandemic).
With the possible exception of Steve Sjuggerud, Chris has certainly played the greatest range of instruments I’ve built, which makes him uniquely qualified to make comparisons and discuss preferences. If you ever want an objective opinion about my work from a working professional…contact Chris.
I’ve never (ever) asked any of my artists to be exclusive to the guitars I’ve gifted or sold them. I believe in free markets and free association. If an instrument is a good match, it will naturally become an honest favorite. Chris owns a Goshawk™ which seems to appear on a high percentage of his work since it arrived to him.
A good sign.
Chris is a master teacher. Hit him up to take your playing to next level.
Guitar Moderne | Magnets & Wire
Michael Ross of Guitar Moderne published a piece on Magnets & Wire album. He does a nice write-up plus excellent compilation of videos featuring some of my builds in the hands of these exceptional artists.
Guitar Modern is:
Guitar Moderne offers extensive coverage of the world-wide explosion of avant, experimental, and unusual players, as they discuss their approach to this classic combination of metal and wood. Here too, you will find articles and reviews covering combining computer with guitar and the world of plugins that this opens up, as well as news about the more extreme pedals available. Guitar Moderne is not genre specific; it covers forward-thinking players of any musical style: jazz, experimental, classical, blues, rock, metal, etc. Guitarists and fans from every continent can converge here to learn about the many directions this versatile instrument is taking and the gear being used for the journey.
