Grem Posted August 5, 2023 Author Share Posted August 5, 2023 (edited) On 8/3/2023 at 9:10 AM, Bruno de Souza Lino said: it will still cost less than a single Sky Guitar. I couldn't believe those prices!!! I mean really?!! Edited August 5, 2023 by Grem Spelling, punctuation, general mistakes I always make!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 23 minutes ago, Grem said: I could believe those prices!!! I mean really?!! Sky high, ya? ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 On 8/3/2023 at 9:10 AM, Bruno de Souza Lino said: And the most hilarious part is...Even if you buy all of that, it will still cost less than a single Sky Guitar. https://www.sky-guitars.com/ Sweet Mother of Jesus!!!! ? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 I saw Uli Jon Roth play one of those sky guitars for about 90% of his show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragi Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 Sky guitars is a new company founded by Uli Jon Roth. He is his own endorser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted August 5, 2023 Author Share Posted August 5, 2023 3 hours ago, Bapu said: I saw Uli Jon Roth play one of those sky guitars for about 90% of his show. I believe he does play them. But I have to wonder... looking at the neck it appears to me from the pics, that the neck is scalloped? And I say this because the last few frets don't have any fingerboard underneath them. 2 hours ago, Pragi said: He is his own endorser. That just don't sound right!! LOL!! That's wide open right there!! : ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno de Souza Lino Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, Grem said: I believe he does play them. But I have to wonder... looking at the neck it appears to me from the pics, that the neck is scalloped? And I say this because the last few frets don't have any fingerboard underneath them. Yes. All frets on his Sky Guitar are scalloped. The fret number varies from one guitar to the other (which is a clear display of quality control when you're selling a guitar which costs the price of a car), but they usually have 30-34 frets: 27 normal frets and the last 3-5 are divided as whole tone instead of semi tones. Because of the amount of fretboard the guitar has, the neck pickup is under the last bit of the fretboard. Here's a video of Uli himself explaining it: While I do think the electronics and extended range are cool, this has to be one of the ugliest guitars I've ever seen. And considering how expensive it is, it has that look and feel of something being made by a shady gypsy which is trying to pull your leg and your wallet. Edited August 5, 2023 by Bruno de Souza Lino 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted August 5, 2023 Share Posted August 5, 2023 8 minutes ago, Bruno de Souza Lino said: Yes. All frets on his Sky Guitar are scalloped. The fret number varies from one guitar to the other (which is a clear display of quality control when you're selling a guitar which costs the price of a car), but they usually have 30-34 frets: 27 normal frets and the last 3-5 are divided as whole tone instead of semi tones. Because of the amount of fretboard the guitar has, the neck pickup is under the last bit of the fretboard. Here's a video of Uli himself explaining it: While I do think the electronics and extended range are cool, this has to be one of the ugliest guitars I've ever seen. And considering how expensive it is, it has that look and feel of something being made by a shady gypsy which is trying to pull your leg and your wallet. I hear Elon's going to start making them, except they will play themselves... ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted August 6, 2023 Author Share Posted August 6, 2023 3 hours ago, Bruno de Souza Lino said: has that look and feel of something being made by a shady gypsy which is trying to pull your leg and your wallet. Yep. While I don't think they are fugly, they do leave a lot to be desired. Looking good ain't on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grem Posted August 6, 2023 Author Share Posted August 6, 2023 @Bruno de Souza Lino thanks for that video. Makes a whole lot of sense now that he's explained it. And to be able to really get a real LP and a real Strat sound for the same guitar is quite a feat. That is some serious MOJO going on there. I am beginning to wonder if the big metal piece is more of a structural choice than cosmetic. I can see other guitar makers adapting some of his ideas in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mettelus Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 I had to look on a PC to view that website because the request to add cookies masked out the site on mobile, so the "shady gypsy" comment stood out right away for me! Those prices are a bit over the top. I actually like "scalloped" boards as well, but I achieve this via the tallest bass frets rather than touching the board. They do require a bit more finesse to play because finger pressure alone will cause slight bends and this is more dramatic the lighter the string gauge is. The range makes more sense for the design now, but when I sit back and think, "Would I ever actually use that though?" the answer is no. The extended fretboard is the only feature unique to that guitar (other than price) that cannot be easily replicated with custom work. As far as the LP/Strat combo, I posted the Super Seven Switching setup I put into my main on the old forum around 2012 (I cannot actually find THAT post, but the one where I added the phase switch is searchable for some reason, and I modified what was in that "inspiration" link quite a bit). I am not a fan of active electronics at all, so went with the hottest/cleanest PUPs on the market at the time (DiMarzio D Activator Bridge (DP220)/Neck (DP219)), and the switching allows for split coils as well as parallel/series/phase between the neck and bridge. The tones then come from lowering volumes for different combinations, and it has almost an E-Bow effect for certain settings and FX (I got it to sound like bagpipes once and thought that was funny as hell, so saved that preset on an old pedal board). I was vindicated for my choices when I sent it to be PLEK'd, since the luthier came back and asked "Are those active pickups? I plugged that in and it damn near blew my head off with settings I used for LPs." The only caveat to that switch arrangement is that you must have humbuckers that expose all 4 wires (both coils) with enough leads to get the coil splits... some are pre-potted in series with only the 2 wires from that series chain exposed and won't work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 This is more like the one I saw Uli play live. He fiddled with those knob on the top alot. God some pretty wicked sounds I tells ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragi Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 16 hours ago, Grem said: I believe he does play them. But I have to wonder... looking at the neck it appears to me from the pics, that the neck is scalloped? And I say this because the last few frets don't have any fingerboard underneath them. That just don't sound right!! LOL!! That's wide open right there!! : ) Yep, into the great wide open, she says. On the other hand, to play a self designed guitar is the dream of every guitar player. But I´ve never noticed another guitarist playing the low budget models ? of Uli Jon Roth . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno de Souza Lino Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 7 hours ago, Bapu said: This is more like the one I saw Uli play live. He fiddled with those knob on the top alot. God some pretty wicked sounds I tells ya. On these new Sky Guitar models, the top knobs control some DSP effects like wah, delay, a looper and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno de Souza Lino Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 9 hours ago, mettelus said: I actually like "scalloped" boards as well, but I achieve this via the tallest bass frets rather than touching the board. They do require a bit more finesse to play because finger pressure alone will cause slight bends and this is more dramatic the lighter the string gauge is. The range makes more sense for the design now, but when I sit back and think, "Would I ever actually use that though?" the answer is no. The extended fretboard is the only feature unique to that guitar (other than price) that cannot be easily replicated with custom work. I think a better range which doesn't require this crazy fingerboard with awkward fret divisions could be accomplished by using a 9 string guitar, tuning it one step down then replacing the bottom C# with a high G. If possible adding 27-29 frets. That should cover the vast majority of tuning range across guitars in theory. I don't have the funds to buy a 9 string and try that, but that's the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragi Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 5 hours ago, Bruno de Souza Lino said: I think a better range which doesn't require this crazy fingerboard with awkward fret divisions could be accomplished by using a 9 string guitar, tuning it one step down then replacing the bottom C# with a high G. If possible adding 27-29 frets. That should cover the vast majority of tuning range across guitars in theory. I don't have the funds to buy a 9 string and try that, but that's the idea. That´s a better idea. Imho the sound of the "sky guitar"above the 25th the fret is .......( I dont want to be banned ) .? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno de Souza Lino Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 9 minutes ago, Pragi said: That´s a better idea. Imho the sound of the "sky guitar"above the 25th the fret is .......( I dont want to be banned ) .? Thankfully, Uli himself doesn't use much of that high register himself. Even in songs where he needs those violin high notes, he often uses a Whammy pedal instead of going there. You have to use tons of distortion in that upper register because the strings are so short and under tension they don't vibrate much at all. I think Sky Overture is one of the few examples where he goes up there for those high notes in the violin register. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheens Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 next version maybe he can add robot tuners....thing is pretty out of tune 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno de Souza Lino Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 3 minutes ago, Sheens said: next version maybe he can add robot tuners....thing is pretty out of tune The video I posted is not one of the recent Sky Guitars, but one of the older ones. They had robot tuners since his signature Dean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheens Posted August 6, 2023 Share Posted August 6, 2023 (edited) He's so out of tune....maybe he just doesn't hear pitch ? (my dog couldn't listen anymore & left the room) Finally with my guitar chops I can start a band now (Uli Roth Tribute). Maybe I could get Paul Stanley on vocals and Lars on drums.. Edited August 6, 2023 by Sheens 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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