I built a replica of an instrument rumored to have washed up on the shores of Bermuda (shipwreck capitol of the world) on October 23rd, 1926. The original disappeared just a few days after it was discovered and photographs, although reportedly taken, have never been found. Some suspect it was a coverup perpetrated by members of the Smithsonian Institution.I was able to recreate this odd chordophone based on the stories of the local inhabitants, descendants of the villagers who found it while combing the beaches for salvage after the devastating hurricane of the day prior. None of those I interviewed had seen the instrument firsthand but all descriptions were quite similar.Local legend has it that this tenor guitar was built from the detritus and debris of the shipwrecks of the Bermuda Triangle and was owned by Annabeth Jones, an aspiring singer/songwriter of sea shanties, brother of Davy Jones, whom himself gained fame by opening a chain of gyms for the denizens of the deep. No doubt you'll have heard of Davy Jones' Locker-room.But few know of the joint venture between he and his sister, a pub located just a few miles off the east coast of Bermuda, called the Jones' Family Taproom and Tapas. Annabeth would play her shanties there, much to the displeasure of it's patrons, all accounts saying that she was a dreadful guitarist and an even worse singer. Rumor has it that the hurricane that swept away her instrument was called forth by Poseidon himself after he'd dropped into the taproom for a pint and was heard to mumble "... can't hear myself think over the wailing of this banshee..."#58, Annabeth, 24" scale tenor guitar, steampunk-shipwreck theme. Lacewood fretboard and ghosted Lucky 13 humbucker from MGB. Maple neck by Hummingbird Guitars. Resonator plate and single coil from Blues Plate. 4-way rotary switch for neck, both parallel, both series, bridge.
Read more…
Comments