As promised, here’s a sneak peek at our prototype of “the Rod” (patent applied for) by Rodmacher Musical Instrument Company of Visalia, California. After 85 years of being bolted, glued, stapled, and nailed to the face of a guitar, the Rod has set the pickup free! What you’re seeing on this Gibson SG guitar is the add-on version of the Rod. Adding the Rod to a stop tailpiece guitar is as easy as changing the tailpiece. The Rod is a discrete instrument with its own volume, tone, and phase controls, as well as an output jack to send the Rod’s signal to its own amplifier. (Note: The volume control arm and pot have been removed for a recording session with local pro, Dana Long, who prefers to use a volume pedal.) To play the Rod, the player rests the palm of his hand on the control knob and moves the arm and pickup attached to its end. When the Rod is played in conjunction with the electric guitar, true stereo, chorus, wah-wah, backbeat and a host of other effects can be created. The sound is big and the potential unlimited. It makes one person sound like two. It’s easy and fun to use. To play it is to love it. FYI, by unscrewing the thumbwheel bolt at the arm joint, the arm comes off for storage and the guitar will fit in its case. The pic is of version 2.0 of the Rod. We have 12 new demonstration models of version 3.0 in progress. Version 3.0 will change in a number of ways, most particularly the counterweight that balances the pickup arm will be changed from lead to tungsten. Tungsten is significantly heavier than lead so the counterweight will be smaller, and most importantly, non-toxic. Although the concept is simple—move a pickup over the strings—building a device to do it with the precision required by serious musicians is not so simple. The Rod is designed to be professional grade. The arm has a roller-bearing action and is fully rotatable, you can even spin it. All electronics are passive and on board. There are over fifty parts and many must be custom made. There is much yet to do; nevertheless, being eternal optimists, we hope to begin full-time production within the next few months.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:41:13 +0000
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