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This guy seriously shreds it on the guitar, and his heavy metal version of the Dragonborn Theme from the video game Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim serves as great background music while you’re bashing Blood Dragons about the head with a magic mace.
–via Kotaku
Tired of playing Skyrim on your console and want to instead play mandolin while living out your dreams as the Dragonborn? Then you’d better head over to TT Guitars on Etsy to get your own Skyrim electric mandolin. Of course, if you prefer bass or guitar, you can always try those as well, but somehow mandolin seems more appropriate for Skyrim.
Link Via Geekosystem
A look at a transitory medical concept
by Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Improbable Research staff
The years 1974–2009 saw the inspiration, birth, and death of a medical ailment that puzzled some physicians, inspired others, and perhaps made no impact upon most. Its history played out in the pages of several medical journals. Here are glimpses at the most pertinent chapters.
“Guitar Nipple,” P. Curtis, British Medical Journal, April 27, 1974, p. 226. The author, in Winchester, UK explains:
I have recently seen three patients with traumatic mastitis of one breast. These were all girls aged between 8 and 10 and the mastitis consisted of a slightly inflamed cystic swelling about the base of the nipple. Questioning revealed that all three were learning to play the classical guitar, which requires close attention to the position of the instrument in relation to the body. In each case a full-sized guitar was used and the edge of the soundbox pressed against the nipple. Two of the patients were right-handed and consequently had a right-sided mastitis while the third was left-handed with a left-sided mastitis. When the guitar playing was stopped the mastitis subsided spontaneously.
“Cello Scrotum,” J.M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, May 11, 1974, p. 335. The author, in Chalford, Gloucester, U.K., explains:
Though I have not come across ‘guitar nipple’ as reported by Dr. P. Curtis (27 April, p. 226), I did once come across a case of ‘cello scrotum’ caused by irritation from the body of the cello. The patient in question was a professional musician and played in rehearsal, practice, or concert for several hours each day.
Cello Scrotum Questioned“’Cello Scrotum’ Questioned,” Philip E. Shapiro, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 24, no. 4, April 1991, p. 665. The author, at Yale University, explains:
I question the accuracy of the information under the designation of “cello scrotum.” The authors cite just one case, which is not their own. That case consists of a brief (9-line) letter to the editor in which the author states that a professional cellist had “cello scrotum” caused by “irritation from the body of the cello.” I find this a bit puzzling. When the cello is held in typical playing position, the body of the instrument is not near the scrotum. Contact of the body of the cello with the scrotum would require an extremely awkward playing position, which I have never seen a playing cellist assume.
“Cello Scrotum Confession,” Elaine Murphy and John M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, January 27, 2009, p. 288. (Thanks to Caroline Richmond and Kenneth Mackenzie for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, the former at the House of Lords in London, the latter at St Peter’s Brewery in Bungay, Suffolk, U.K., explain:
Perhaps after 34 years it’s time for us to confess that we invented cello scrotum. Reading Curtis’s 1974 letter to the BMJ on guitar nipple, we thought it highly likely to be a spoof and decided to go one further by submitting a letter pretending to have noted a similar phenomenon in cellists, signed by the non-doctor one of us (JMM). Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realise the physical impossibility of our claim.
Somewhat to our astonishment, the letter was published. The following Christmas we sent a card to Dr Curtis of guitar nipple fame, only to discover that he knew nothing about it—another joke we suspect. We have been dining out on this story ever since. We were thrilled once more to be quoted in [your recent article] “A symphony of maladies.”
__________________________
This article is republished with permission from the March-April 2009 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!
Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
Imagine the sweet melody you can strum on this cupcake guitar by Paul Celentano of Celentano Woodworks.
Yes folks, you can have your cupcake and play it too: Link via Cherrybombed
See also: Neatorama's own Cupcake Shop over at the NeatoShop, which is filled with tons of neat cupcake items.
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Even the most die-hard air band enthusiast knows just how silly they look when they’re jamming out on a drum set or guitar that simply isn’t there. And audiences don’t appreciate the hard work and talent that went in to mimicking musicianship when they can’t see the source of the sweet sounds. Enter Air Band for Kinect on Xbox 360, a game that brings your invisible instruments to life via snazzy neon graphics that will make you feel right at home when you’re playing an epic rendition of “More Than A Feeling”. Now your audience will no longer be disappointed, and you can show them why you’ve been practicing so hard all these years! Kinect Fun Labs-Air Band debuts on August 22nd.
If you liked the heavy metal version of the Batman theme that Zeon posted earlier, you’ll probably dig this great Harry Potter theme converted to the same rocking genre.
Via Geeks Are Sexy
Eric Calderone a.k.a. 331 EROCK, a guitarist from Sarasota, Florida, is performing a heavy metal medley containing some famous themes from the Star Wars saga.
via Scar
Comments Off Kyle Jones set an iPhone inside his guitar to record video while he played. The distorted appearance of the strings is due to the rolling shutter effect, and is not exactly representative of how plucked strings look. -Thanks, Larry Colwell!
Argentine illustrator Maxim Dalton created this poster with 35 well-known guitarists. How many do you recognize? Larger images are at his website, as well the names. Link -via Popped Culture
The Martin Guitar Company marked the milestone of its 1.5 millionth guitar produced by making it a one-of-a-kind Leonardo Da Vinci special edition -with a mosaic inlays of The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa and other reproductions of Da Vinci art. The company unveiled the guitar at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim. -Thanks, Stratoblogster!
The
Shredder Cheese Grater - $9.95
Got a rocker in your Christmas list this year? Then this Gift Guide for Rockers over at the NeatoShop will be music to your ears:
 |
 |
 |
Hot
Hits Pot Holder - $7.95 |
Guitar
of the Gods Magnet Set - $10.95 |
Binary Solo
- $9.95. By Chris Murphy, for all
you FOTC fans
Link: Gift Guide for Rockers
Travis Stevens built this guitar using a Millennium Falcon toy. He filled it with wood to make it sturdy enough to support guitar strings. The perfect instrument to use when you perform in a wretched hive of scum and villainy! Link
Yuto Miyawaza started playing guitar since he was three and loves Ozzy Ozbourne, so naturally he’s a rock star at the tender age of 10.
Here’s his rendition of Ozzy’s Crazy Train at Ellen Show (taken when he was 9). Watch his face at the end, when he got a nice surprise. Link [embedded YouTube Clip]
What do you get when you mash together rock ‘n roll, lightning-proof MIDI guitar, Faraday cage suit and Tesla coil?
Here’s ArcAttack, a truly electrifying band:
Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack uses their high tech wizardry to generate a truly ‘electrifying’ performance. Two custom engineered hand built Tesla Coils throw out electrical arcs up to twelve feet long, each one acting as an instrument with a sound reminiscent of the early days of the synthesizer. [...]
During the show, the MC engages both the crowd and the Tesla Coils by walking through ½ Million Volt sparks wearing the relatively thin layer of his chain mail Faraday suit. This high power performance is unique in it’s elements and energy, being at the same time mesmerizing and energetically thrilling.
Tesla would be proud! Link [embedded YouTube clip]
What kind of guitar would Han Solo play a solo with? This Millennium Falcon Guitar, of course! Its maker, Travis S., told our pal Urlesque blog:
Tell us about the guitar’s construction.
I used a vintage Millennium Falcon toy / playset for the body. As it’s an electric guitar, the body material is relatively unimportant (in comparison to acoustic instruments) so i just had to concern myself with building the necessary structural elements of the instrument into the toy.
Since the aging plastic wouldn’t be able to withstand the tension of the strings, I pieced together a maple block running from end to end inside the ship. The bridge, neck, and strap pins connect to this piece; while attached firmly with some powerful glues the toy itself is almost entirely cosmetic.
The top of the toy has been routed out for the electronics, including some switch activated LEDs. Those required separate battery packs, which I made accessible using the structure of the toy; one pack is hidden in the original battery compartment while the other is attached to the ramp door that was designed to open.
Link – Thanks Annemarie!
Previously on Neatorama: Dancing to the Beat of a Different Bass
Flipper Guitar Spatula – $9.95
50% Rock, 50% Roll, 100% Silicone Spatula. Behold, the Flipper Guitar Spatula from our friends Gama-Go, available from the NeatoShop: Link
And please remember, don’t flip the bird like old cranky rockers. Flip your omelet with the Flipper Guitar Spatula instead.
Guitarist Cedric Paul Mamuri wanted to remember which notes to play on his guitar. So, naturally, he had them tattooed on his arm.
Link | Ink by J&J Elite Tattoos
Grey Van Kuilenburg is a custom guitar builder. Pictured above is a body for a seven-string guitar that he carved and assembled from ash, bubinga, and rock maple. In an interview about his work, Kuilenburg described how involved is carving a guitar body that is not only beautiful, but functional:
The process is a long one, but the readers digest version is you select the tone wood, find the centerline, route out the cavities for the pickups, electronics, and the neck pocket (lot’s of slow caution there. it needs to be as perfect, as straight, and as tight as possible. This is where a great deal of tone is either lost or gained.) Do whatever drilling is necessary for the bridge you’re using, I do a lot of mock ups with the parts to make sure everything fits and has room. You cannot measure enough times, or be careful enough!!! Then shape it, and break out the chisels. After its finished, I do a great deal of sanding, then finish it or send it to the paint shop depending on the piece. In this case I went with a three part oil finish that I like to use. It’s very protective, but it feels like raw wood so it plays fast and feels more natural.
Hi! We’re Neatorama, and we’re in the adorable cat video business. Currently at bat is Guitar Kitteh, who used a guitar as a scratching post while one of his servants (YouTube user FlashDams) was playing it.
via Geekologie
Watch Cecilia Siqueira and Fernando Lima of Duo Siquera Lima perform Tico Tico no Fuba (zequinha de Abreu) with a single guitar at the 2009 Brazilian Music Institute in Gainesville, Florida. Sorry for the title, I couldn’t stop myself
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Arbroath
The Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt isn’t just a t-shirt. You can actually play music on it. Use a magnetic pick over the string markings and press down on the frets with your other hand. There’s also a volume nob and an amplifier that fits on your belt.
The Gibson electric guitar was patented in the United States seventy-two years ago today. The first electric guitars were developed by the mid-30s in response to the needs of guitarists in jazz orchestras to produce more volume. These were played flat on the lap and became popular with Hawaiian bands. Guy Hart, general manager of the Gibson guitar company, worked on a better design in order to exploit this market:
In late 1935, Gibson rolled out the E-150, its first electric, Hawaiian-style lap steel guitar. It came with an amplifier (just like all electric guitars of the era), and the whole package sold for $150 (more than $2,300 in today’s leaf).
Unlike Rickenbacker’s “frying pan,” Gibson’s guitar actually looked like a guitar, complete with round feminine curves, shoulders and scooped waist. Early models were made of aluminum, but in early 1936, Gibson started building them out of the same wood as its acoustic instruments, making the E-150 look more like a traditional guitar.
Soon thereafter, Gibson duplicated the success of the Hawaiian model by adapting one of its more common “Spanish style” guitars into an electric.
Image by flickr user crandlehall2008 used under creative commons license
Other people have made guitar sculptures out of glass before, but glasscutter by day, rock drummer by night Brian Chivers of BC Glass Studio went one step further: he actually created a glass guitar (yes, all glass, except for the strings) that can actually be played.
It took Brian 15 years to figure out how to make it (and about 725 hours to actually make one) … and get this: he doesn’t even know how to play a guitar!
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by whitespace.
Attach this neat little gadget to your guitar, and load in your favorite MP3s on a Flash memory card, and let the laser guides your fingers across the frets.
The device called the "Maestro" is a laser and MP3 guitar learning aid. When you select a song, it computes the MP3 into guitar tabs, and then guides your fingers to the correct frets to play music.
This is definitely the next stage up for those who’ve already completed Guitar Hero on the hardest setting and are looking for their next axe fix.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Jake.
Seeing the steampunk electric guitar reminded me of the Gatortar. It is a telecaster guitar, made with alligator skin by Louisiana artist John Preble. Check out the head stock – it’s a claw!
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by badbaby69.
Built for the 2008 Jersey City Artists Studio Tour by Mark Dalzell, the Steampunk guitar, Organum Insolitus features a television with Fresnel lens magnifier, onboard phaser, an amplifier and uses clockwork gears, hand hammered brass, cloth wire and wood for its making. The freakin’ guitar can also be attached to an external amp via a standard ¼-inch cable, setting up the beastly guitar as game to steam some endless music.
Link -Thanks, Samiksha!
This ain’t just any tractor … It plays in a quartet alongside three guitarists to perform Sweet Georgia Brown.
- via audioporncentral
From the Upcoming Queue, submitted by 
(L) Salvador Dali (R) The Yellow Door by William Laskin
Pardon me while I pick my jaw off the floor after gawking at William Laskin‘s gallery of engraved inlays for guitars. William uses as many as 9 different types of species of shell, 15 stones, 4 kinds of ivory and bone, and metals for his inlays. Completing a complex inlay can take him more than 175 hours, but the results are worth the effort.
They are gorgeous! Link – via SparkBox
