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Recently I got a hunk of guitar from one of my fave builders... Daisy Rocks!!!

No big deal in itself of course but I have long considered Daisy Rocks Girls Guitars as an extremely clever marketing concept. The founders decided it was the girls turn to have guitars tailored to their needs and physique and they were spot on! Since inception they have been going from strength to strength which is not easy in a highly competitive market primarily targeting wanna be males. Brilliant!

But, Daisy Rocks Guitars have a secret! They are built by the famous Schecter Guitar Research company in the USA! If you know your guitars you'll be aware they are a highly respected brand. I urge you to explore them and you'll see "Daisies" are superb quality and beautifully made with a bargain pricepoint. Another well kept secret.

Anyway, I got my Debutante body for $US20 from Riceage Music in the States which is about the price of one and a bit packs of ciggies these days. Not that I smoke but... unfortunately shipping to Oz cost an arm and a leg which took a lot of the shine off the deal! Them's the breaks but the body was almost flawless so I'm happy.

There wasn't a matching neck available in repairable condition so I'll have to make one. I just found a set of original pickups so there's some authenticity being retained. But if they aren't punchy enough I might slap in some DiMarzios or ToneRiders... hmmm. Then the build will be a hybrid Deadly Daisy Guitar or DDG which is short for Destroyer in my old Navy parlance. Kewl!

I really like the body shape of the Debutante, contemporary with a 20th century traditional look. It's like a cross between a Tele and a Les Paul style and very comfortable. Love the deep sparkle finish on this - Atomic Pink! A bit of a buff up and this babe will go off like a bomb!!!

Oh yeah! ...for the guys... Daisy Rocks is a great place to browse for solids, semis and acoustics for your special someone but there are also some "manly" builds there with plenty of meat. At their prices it's a great start for newbies and the modder builder. Like I said, these are well built and superbly finished guitars plus they are played by many famous musos around the globe (if you need any coaxing keep reading). And would you believe they have a lifetime warranty? Unreal!

Let me quote from the Daisy Rocks site:

Girls, however, aren’t the only ones having fun with Daisy Rock guitars. The Cure’s Robert Smith, The Psychedelic Furs’ Tim Butler, Chris Stein from Blondie, and Sylvain Sylvain from The New York Dolls play them, too, as do Adam Levy (Norah Jones) and Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers).

The brainchild of Founder and President of Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, Tish Ciravolo, has done a done massive amount to foster female empowerment in the music industry. I'm very impressed.

Sorry if this has turned into an advert of sorts but I think a bit of praise is in order. 10/10

No we aren't affiliates... yet!

Ferrofluid makes old school psychedelic art look insipid!

Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner does some wonderful experimental imaging using unique subjects and very high speed macro camera setups. His work is exhibited regularly in Europe but is also published as art prints so everyone around the world gets a chance to own and enjoy his works!!!

His latest excursions into the macro world "Millefiori", utilise ferro liquids in a most glorious way. Unlike Ferro Kings he didn't put them into pickups but added them to coloured water paints. Their inter-reaction is stunningly beautiful and intriguing.

The shapes you see in these images are about the size of a thumbnail. When put under a magnetic field, the iron particles in the ferro solution start to rearrange, forming black channels and separating the water colors from the ferrofluid. The result are these spectacular structures.

I immedialetly saw them on guitar bodies as usual but how to actually achieve that as a finish is something of a major challenge for me. But hey! This is not about me! Check out Fabians site if you wish to see skilled imagination at work and wild colour in action!

Many thanks to Fabian for his generosity in allowing me to yet again use his photos here.

millefiori photography is © fabian oefner 2012

Graph Tech Launches Ratio - Tuned Machine Heads

The Graph Tech Ratio Tuning head in all it's glory

Are these the greatest innovation in guitar tuning machine heads since the invention of the tuning peg?

Well here I go again doing free endorsements for Graph Tech. But as they supply my "Deadly Standard" Tusq fittings, I'm happy to give them an airing. If these machines are even close to the mark of their claims, I'll certainly be giving them space on my headstocks. They aren't pretty like my preferred Gotoh 510's but looks aren't everything right?

The official statement is:
"Ratio® is the first and only machine head on the market to incorporate the string gauge into the tuning equation. Balancing the gear ratios for each string standardises the tuning process making tuning faster and easier".

The gen is that as each guitar string has a different core size it's response to tuning varies string to string. eg A "g" string will be more sensitive to tuning than a "d" which has a thicker core. Core diameter, not overall string diameter determines the strings sensitivity to tension. So the idea behind Graph Tech "Ratios" is to compensate for this at the tuning head which is why it's such a cool discovery.

Dave Dunwoodie, chief honcho at Graph Tech, has been wrestling with this problem for many years and now has it nutted out. His brainchild allows all strings to equally respond to any winding adjustment. In turn this means perfect tuning for each string.

How is it done? The gear ratios inside the machine heads vary from 12:1 to 39:1 to ensure that all strings are balanced. That's right! Each string has it's own "custom" geared tuner. The type of string set doesn't matter, as the relative difference between individual strings is the same between sets of different guages.

Having struggled with this issue myself I can see the benefits. For players this has gotta be a big deal. Now all I need is a price!

Graph Tech Guitar Labs: graphtech.com