Misha Mansoor | Reptile Spearfish

Misha Mansoor
IMAGE: Periphery Reptile text message that started it all…
VIDEO: Chris Buono takes Reptile Spearfish™ for a test flight.
VIDEO: Misha Mansoor shows a different side of his guitar playing with Reptile Spearfish™ 6-string guitar. (video by Ekaterina Gorbacheva)
PHOTO: Patent pending Element™ single billet machined aircraft aluminum neck. Misha Mansoor Bare Knuckle Juggernaut™ signature pickups.
PHOTO: Reptile Spearfish™ 22-fret guitar built for Misha Mansoor of Periphery.

Chris Buono | Ambient Tone Poem

VIDEO: Chris Buono plays a two minute tone poem musical improvisation. Spearfish 24-fret guitar built in 2017 and refurbished in July 2020. Chris is using a few pedals direct into his ’64 Fender Deluxe amp. Subtle details emerge throughout his expressive playing…watch his right hand hybrid picking and left hand pedal point techniques.

Killick Hinds & Henry Kaiser

VIDEO: Killick Hinds & Henry Kaiser live video improvisation duet. Killick is playing his multiscale fretless 8-string guitar.

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.

Shou Sugi Ban 8-String

PHOTOS: Pure, raw, organic. Carbon fiber, stainless steel, aircraft aluminum. Currently available for purchase.

“Rick, I’m just going to come out and say it: this guitar is incredible. It’s the most impressive electric guitar I’ve played to this point in my career. This guitar has a beautiful tenor saxophone sound to it, low and mid registers have some magic that is unique to this instrument, an uncommon clarity in that range. And it’s crazy…but it also feels like my left hand is more relaxed, efficient, and stronger feeling after playing this guitar for a week.” (Ede Wright)

PHOTO: Bare Knuckle Nailbomb™ pickups.
PHOTO: Swamp Ash treated in traditional Japanese method.