PHOTOS: Fretless Spearfish™ 6-string guitar. Patent-pending Element™ single billet machined aircraft aluminum neck with engraved position markers. Patented Intonation Cantilever™ bridges. Proprietary all passive DiMarzio™ pickups with 10-way switching. Swamp ash solid body in modern poly sunburst.
With the multi-scale Element™ aluminum neck I’m playing fretless now in ways I didn’t think I could…ways I didn’t even know were an option. With the multi-scale I am able to play more harmony. I can play fingerings that are simply impossible on parallel frets. (Chris Buono)
VIDEO: Chris Buono tears through 50 seconds of finger-twisting fretless improvisation. Signal chain is Noble DI > Strymon Iridium > Logic so you can hear exactly how good this guitar sounds.
VIDEO: Roopam Garg on Wingspan™ 8-string and Chris Buono on Fretless Spearfish™ 6-string. Live one-take improvisation in the guitar shop where both instruments were built.
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.
VIDEO: Killick Hinds and Rick Toone on Blood Mountain after recording “Magnets & Wires” album/documentary in November, 2019. Friends!
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)