VIDEO: Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown with Javier Reyes & Tosin Abasi. Tosin discusses Blur 8-string extended range guitar beginning at the 8:40 mark.
Rebecca Dirks is my favorite music tech interviewer. She always floats to the surface, no matter the strength of the personality she is matched against. Bemused, and just so slightly detached, she is often more informed about signal chain than the actual artist. I love how she catches musicians off guard.
Zing!
It's simply great on-camera journalism.
So I was delighted when Brett Eversole sent me a link to Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown with Animals As Leaders onstage in Chicago. Would she pin them against the (metaphorical) wall — or would Javier & Tosin hold their own?
Tosin gave a gracious interview, clearly articulating his rig and also the unique features of 'Blur'. It was thrilling to see the instrument in professional context, part of our ongoing efforts to evaluate the technology as he travels with the guitar on tour.
Tour discussions with Tosin Abasi and Evan Brewer have provided incredibly invaluable insight, allowing me to adapt, adjust, and extend my thinking as a luthier.
I only wish Javier's Viceroy 8-string guitar had not been stolen. We shared a moment at AAL Camp, lamenting the loss of that guitar and the unique sound it would have brought to Animals As Leaders.
Perhaps one day it will reappear.
Tosin uses 'Blur' to play a song called New Eden which features notes in the extended range section of the fretboard, beyond the integrated capo. Note how he has adapted to reaching the controls via both hands. My proprietary 3-D control surface allows him flexibility to prioritize which hand remains in contact with the guitar during play. VIDEO: Animals As Leaders performing New Eden live.
VIDEO: Tosin Abasi plays 'New Eden' live for the first time: Roseland Ballroom, New York City (2/15/2013).
One of the things I noticed right away about Blur 8-String Extended Range Guitar is all of the technologies integrate, synthesizing into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Neck, bridges, tuner, electronics, body resonance.
When I tested Blur in the shop, my ears were excited...a reaction Tosin had as well, when the instrument arrived. The playing experience is very different from a conventional guitar. 'Hyper-real' is how he described the sound, and I love that description.
Notes blossom with immediacy and intimacy, spreading sound ripples throughout the playing space. Highs are sweet, distinct, chiming, beautiful. Lows are powerful, quick, deep, clear. Lows and highs are balanced. When he emailed me early this morning, sharing the first live performance clip with the guitar, I was awestruck by the tonality. Gorgeous.
Hey Rick,
Hope that you are well!
This is a video of me playing 'blur' on stage for the first time. I am happy to own such a unique and inspiring instrument. It really has such personality. Evocative.
Hope you like the clip.
Cheers,
Tosin
Listening to the video I realized, with this instrument, it is possible to finally hear the full extent of Tosin's astonishing playing technique. He has such mastery over dynamics. In this live performance of New Eden I feel the emotion in his playing. He and the guitar are truly working together as one — the highest objective to strive for as a luthier. So honored.
