Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The $100 Guitar Wall, fourth in a series


This is the bird guitar.

Smart Wife bought the bird guitar at a weird little music store in Hazleton after we'd evacuated to Jim Thorpe, PA. She bought it for $89, and it was the first of the $100 Guitar Wall guitars.

It's a peculiar off-brand rendition of a Gibson Dove, one of those situations where someone saw a Dove once and then tried to replicate it and only partially succeeded at. It has the dueling doves on twin pickguards, like an Everly Brothers Gibson. Only the doves aren't exactly identical, just real close. The bridge is a giant block of carved wood, and the headstock is also enormous, with a skunk stripe down the middle of it. It's just slightly off-kilter which is probably why we love it so much.

I've been unsuccessful trying to track down the maker of said bird guitar, unfortunately. We see them periodically in the Craigslist Musical Instrument listings, so there are more of them floating around. Ours needs professional help as the monster bridge is coming unglued from the top.

The bird guitar doesn't get played as much as it should, but once the bridge is back on solidly, that will change.

I know it's beloved by my wife, and it was a partial replacement for her lovely new Gibson Hummingbird which she lost in Hurricane Katrina.

2 comments:

Don Dixon said...

hey PETER

the picture of her HUMMINGBIRD in the rubble is heart-breaking! i'm so sorry you went through that...all of you...unimaginable for me...truly...i know it's only stuff..."wire & wood don't do any good when your heart is racing like a wildfire"...the words of a bright young man...

my love to you & yours
DIXON

Anonymous said...

Peter,

I've got one of those bird guitars too. Did you ever find out the make and model of the guitar or the year? Any information would be helpful as I am also curious. Thanks.
-Richard