[Jeff_Brown]

This needs to be multiscale. The treble sounds strained and whiny, because it's at too much tension, because it's too long. The bass sounds farty and unfocused, because it's at too little tension, because it's too short. There's a good reason bass guitars are bigger than guitars.

Multi-scale guitars have been out of patent for years now. And if the harpejji was invented in 2007, then I believe it should go out of patents next year? I hope the resulting competition makes them up their game.

[rollcat]

+1 for multi-scale. While on the topic: I have thrown some hard-earned cash at a multi-scale guitar a couple years ago (a Strandberg), and it both sounds great (well also thanks to craftsmanship), and is much more comfortable to play in the higher positions: the way the frets are fanned, the left hand's wrist remains in a more natural position. It'd be difficult to switch back.

I've worked on my own instruments many many years ago (with a little help from a professional luthier). I'd say if you're designing a new instrument, multi-scale should be a consideration; even if it's just a plain old boring guitar, your biggest constraint is the choice of a bridge.

[chris_st]

I love my multi-scale bass (the poetically named Ibanez EHB1265MS :-). Possibly the weirdest thing about playing a multi scale instrument is that my eyes just... adjust the frets to look like they're normal, vertical frets when I'm playing. And, it really took less than half an hour of playing to get used to it.

Glad to hear Strandbergs are nice... I'm sorely tempted by one.

[gtani]

Agreed, I have a few, a couple 8 strings with 2" fan are my sweet spot, tho I've never tried the Charlie Hunter designs w/wider fans (from Novax, Traugott, hybrid-guitars.com). Ideally i would get another custom with wider string spacing for 3 bass strings tuned in 4ths, but that's probably a pipe dream.

This tapping instrument seems very nice but certainly not bizarre, if you want bizarre, look under a d10 pedal steel. If i were to buy a tapping guitar, I would also look at Markus Reuters, touchguitars.com.

[stronglikedan]

Since sound is completely subjective anyway, perhaps the reason this is gaining popularity is because it fills the void for people who aren't completely happy with the sound of the traditional guitar or bass guitar, and prefer their music to sound this way.

[pgeorgi]

> And if the harpejji was invented in 2007, then I believe it should go out of patents next year?

Patent lifetimes are at least 20 years after the filing date as per TRIPS treaty. There's the priority mechanism for international filing, providing up to another year, and there are usually various means for additional protection time if regulations delayed the process. Those are mostly relevant for medical patents to compensate for trial-based delays, but "the PTO was too slow" seems to be reasonable ground for an extension, too.

As such, we're looking at 2028.

I was wondering what you could mean: in the US, before ~1997 patents used to be valid 17 years from the date of patent grant, which would fit the timeframe you mention. Grant date was usually a few years down the road and with submarine patents (keeping them in limbo by continually sending minor changes to the USPTO until it's worth having them active), that span could be extended practically infinitely. That time is, thankfully, over.

[routerl]

Thanks for that, you nailed everything that was bugging me about that timbre. Someone else mentioned the Chapman stick, and this instrument is equally disappointing.

[TylerE]

I'm not sure it's even patentable in the first place. It's just a Chapman Stick with more strings.

[Jeff_Brown]

The clever part, at least the only one I know about, is that each string is muted until it gets fretted, which completes an electrical circuit to unmute it.