Is this a modern Strat? TEUFFEL Birdfish Video Documentary

[guitargourmet]

Hi folks,

Here's some great entertainment for the weekend. I sincerely would love to get your opinion: Is the Birdfish a true guitar or is it rather a design gimmick. My friend Ulrich says, that it is as close to a Fender Stratocaster as it gets...

Ulrich Teuffel never advertised the Birdfish and it's limited to 500 guitars only. Still you can find it in every serious book about guitars. Billy Gibbons of ZZTop used it extensively on their album Mescalero. Enjoy the first part of the TEUFFEL story and watch out for the next 4 parts! Of course, it's for free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx-sf8oGkto

I prepared the original DVD content for your viewing pleasure with the ENGLISH soundtrack. No need to buy, Teuffel DVD's are basically sold out!

Have a great weekend!
Holger

[rpguitar]

Well, I think you can't be serious to ask if it's a "gimmick." Of course it's not. That denigrates what is clearly a carefully and passionately fomulated philosphy of instrument building. And of course it's a guitar.

Whether one likes it, or whether it truly WORKS as a functional instrument that breaks new ground, I am unsure. While the shape and design have a very new aesthetic, and it offers interesting flexibility in terms of components and their configuration, I am not convinced that it SOUNDS like something special. I am sure it FEELS like something special, and that matters. But one can't feel a guitar in video or audio recordings.

I do think that reducing an electric guitar to its basic physical elements may, repeat MAY, result in a thinner, brighter toned instrument. And when I hear that the Birdfish sounds kinda sorta like a Strat, but costs uber-money, its ground-breaking design becomes less appealing to me.

Personally I am more interested in designs that produce unique SONIC qualities, like natural reverb, amplified harmonic overtones, sympathetic strings, sound ports, stuff like that.

[KRosser]

Gimmick? I think not.

The Tesla model is more my personal speed but he makes a truly exceptional instrument, in sound, form & function - no question about it.

[Melj]

Thanks for posting that ...I look forward to the remaining parts :)

[Quinny]

Not a gimmick. I had the pleasure of one for a while, absolutely amazing what natural Strat type tones that weird and wonderful guitar makes!

[splatt]

holger, you're a troll!
albeit, with positive motivations.

ulli sent me some of the GG-dvd's..... great fun to watch;
i really enjoyed them.

certainly, the birdfish carries some intensely strat-like qualities,
imo:
most especially, ime, in the high-speed of note-transients/"attack",
the string-feel, scale-length, neck-material, pickup analogies etc.....
but, also:
in ulli's actualised re-thinking of form-to-function similarly present & running an updated modelled parallel, i think,
to the output of fender in their early years.

but..... birdfish is also way more than that "fender" analogy, no matter what UT's intentions were, imo.
within 10-20 minutes of mutzing around w/the tone-bars & pickups/heights/positions/angles on the first birdfish i had
--- the instrument that page hamilton bought, a bit later ---
i had a *deadly* semi-hollow body type tone happening..... really.
and etc.

the unique character of that instrument lies much in its feel,
since it is so remarkably & nicely sonically flexible, taking into account the neck/nut/bridge paradigm;
quickly & easily swap the bars, mix 'em up, swap the pickups around,
change their positions in all planes, etc:
totally badass.

it remains my favorite fixed-bridge electric instrument, to date.

dt / spltrcl

[fetishfrog]

Thx for posting htat. The Birdfish is the only guitar I've seen in a long time that I've really really wanted to play.

[guitargourmet]

Good evening folks,

I know, I know - the question was kind of provocative. But I want to be very honest with you guys, I have met a whole bunch of guitar players who have NO appreciation for this kind of guitar / philosophical approach! And I am naturally curious: it's interesting to find that there is a greater appreciation for the Birdfish in the US than in Germany.

I have to admit, that I own two Teuffels (a Tesla 7 string in glow-in-the-dark neon green and a Birdfish) myself. Of course I had a "factory connection". Ulrich and Reinhold Bogner grew up door-to-door and I lived door-to-door with Reinhold in Yucca Street when I attended GIT. He basically designed his Fish-Preamp with my blue Tom Anderson Strat, climbed up palm trees when he had lost his keys to get on my balcony at 4am... And he opened Teuffels door.
Anyways - that's a different story.

Back to Teuffel:
Yes - the Birdfish is closer to a Strat than to any other type of guitar, does it replace a Strat? Hell no (as my wife would say here in the South...)!
I actually experienced something very interesting. When you play a Birdfish, you DON'T want to play the regular stuff, like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Blues, Rock etc... At least that was my impression. I instantly started to play completely different licks, had a different approach - hard to explain.
But - it is very good for the inspiration.

I guess: This guitar has a different song it wants to play... (refering to my little blog clip about "what song a guitar wants to play": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC5N8g7nksU)

Soundwise it is extremely defined (due to the aluminum construction. I noticed the same thing with Spalts Hybrid guitars.), very punchy, not as sweet as a good Strat in the midrange. I can easily see Billy Gibbons use it for his more "modern processed" sounds. When you listen (not watch) to the guy in the Teuffel feature (it might be in the second part, though) when he plays this ZZTop like licks - it sounds very close to what I hear on Mescalero. BTW He actually played through a Matchless.


Do I play it all the time? No. Simply, when I am in the studio, the Birdfish is the wrong guitar for the "normal" things. Comparable to an exotic spice. You don't want to use cumin on a Hot-Dog. You may, of course. But there is a chance that somebody gets a bit ummm scared.
I like to get it out of its gigbag when I am getting tired of my "favorite 20 licks" if you know what I mean.

The same is true for the Tesla. Only in a different way. If I had to keep only one or two guitars, would I keep the Birdfish? Probably not. Not that it is a bad guitar, it's not me all the time, just in these special moments - if you know what I mean.

Good night,
Holger

[Neill]

it remains my favorite fixed-bridge electric instrument, to date.

dt / spltrcl

wow, big kudos.

could a transtrem be retrofitted onto a birdfish? just curious.

[sahhas]

question: in the beginning of guitar gourmet's teuffel profile #1 video, at about 1:02, there is a guitar sandwiched between shots of a tesla and a birdfish-WHAT GUITAR IS THAT? is that something that Teuffel is making?
it has a bigger body w/ headstock, standard trem, and 2 humbucking pu's, and the quick shots show images on it (projected? pasted in? don't know?).
just curious, b/c i hadn't seen that guitar shape before....

thanks many for posting the 2 vids of teuffel from the guitar gourmet series.
very interesting to watch. when the 2nd one ended, there was another profile that popped up, it ran about 3 min that was in all german (i think?) , i think the title was "teuffel builds a guitar for zz top"--couldn't understand anything of course, but watching his process a bit was intersting, and will say the body of the niwa is most cool, very very sculptural. interesting stuff to watch, and seeing the birdfish being played was most cool.
s---
www.myspace.com/scotthansen

[guitargourmet]

question: in the beginning of guitar gourmet's teuffel profile #1 video, at about 1:02, there is a guitar sandwiched between shots of a tesla and a birdfish-WHAT GUITAR IS THAT? is that something that Teuffel is making?
it has a bigger body w/ headstock, standard trem, and 2 humbucking pu's, and the quick shots show images on it (projected? pasted in? don't know?).
just curious, b/c i hadn't seen that guitar shape before....

thanks many for posting the 2 vids of teuffel from the guitar gourmet series.
very interesting to watch. when the 2nd one ended, there was another profile that popped up, it ran about 3 min that was in all german (i think?) , i think the title was "teuffel builds a guitar for zz top"--couldn't understand anything of course, but watching his process a bit was intersting, and will say the body of the niwa is most cool, very very sculptural. interesting stuff to watch, and seeing the birdfish being played was most cool.
s---
www.myspace.com/scotthansen

The guitar you can see is the "Cover", a project Ulrich pursued for a while. The idea behind it was to mass-produce an affordable guitar with maximum sound-quality which would feature an outside plastic-shell which you can exchange within seconds. Uli's idea was that a guitar is always a statement. This concept would give the (favorably young) player endless possibilities not only to express himself by what he plays, but also by what the "look" of the guitar expresses.
Ulrich had the idea to offer different pre-designed "cover"-shells and also "blank" covers, which the player could design or style himself. It would have been the first step towards a true "life-style" guitar.

I played a prototype and loved it. Unfortunately the collaboration between Teuffel and Fender didn't work out.

Then again - it took Les Paul ten years to convince Gibson to build an electric guitar...

I guess, there's hope. Ulrich mentioned a while ago that he might release the guitar himself.

BTW, there is more footage of it in part 4 or 5 of the Teuffel feature. I will upload part three today.

[guitargourmet]

wow, big kudos.

could a transtrem be retrofitted onto a birdfish? just curious.

In the first years Ulrich used pre-fabricated bridges for the Birdfish. He now makes every part himself. I am sure there is a way to get a tremolo in that guitar.

[kg*]

This is a pretty cool guitar, i REALLY love the pick up idea of how easily it is to swap them out and are able to move them around. But i think that the Cantina Band from Star Wars is the only band that should use this guitar.

[shigihara]

In the first years Ulrich used pre-fabricated bridges for the Birdfish. He now makes every part himself. I am sure there is a way to get a tremolo in that guitar.


the Niwa has Gotohs and a Wilkinson... works just fine... :-)

[sahhas]

ok, damn, thanks for posting clip #3 of the teuffel guitar segment. most interesting. love seeing those 3 switches in action.

when i was watching the end piece of henry kaiser playing the tesla in that trio format, i was wishing that would have gone on for a few more minutes.....oh well, such is life....

my one wish: when UT was talking about the tesla and it's development (and wow 4 weeks!) i was wishing it would cut to a segment of david torn playing his....oh well. i guess that would be asking too too much. (but seeing HK play his w/ a tiny fender amp to boot was a nice bonus!!!!!)

again, many thanks for posting those, look fwd to seeing segment #4
s----
www.myspace.com/scotthansen (http://www.myspace.com/scotthansen)

[TimmyPage]

I really want to hear some clips of the Birdfish.. i'm in love with the asthetic and the idea behind it. What I heard in that video was amazing..

[Mahogany]

Mr. Gtr Oblq......

Do you still have this one ?

http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq322/MKULTRA63/BirdfishFrontDavidTorn.jpg

[Orren]

Anyone have a lefty birdfish they wanna sell me really cheap?? :)

Orren

[guitargourmet]

ok, damn, thanks for posting clip #3 of the teuffel guitar segment. most interesting. love seeing those 3 switches in action.

when i was watching the end piece of henry kaiser playing the tesla in that trio format, i was wishing that would have gone on for a few more minutes.....oh well, such is life....

my one wish: when UT was talking about the tesla and it's development (and wow 4 weeks!) i was wishing it would cut to a segment of david torn playing his....oh well. i guess that would be asking too too much. (but seeing HK play his w/ a tiny fender amp to boot was a nice bonus!!!!!)

again, many thanks for posting those, look fwd to seeing segment #4
s----
www.myspace.com/scotthansen (http://www.myspace.com/scotthansen)

This is actually a GOOD hint! You reminded me that I have probably a full hour of that session. Henry played different guitars (Spalts, Teuffels, the rest I don't remember...). I will double check and upload the complete footage. Promise. Might take me to days, I will be on a photo shoot the next two days.

We have never met David Torn so far, but a good friend of mine knows him well and got a couple of Davids guitars.

Cheers
Holger

The fourth segment of Teuffel is up. The fifth and last one will be up tomorrow.

[shigihara]

The fourth segment of Teuffel is up. The fifth and last one will be up tomorrow.


Am I hearing Alan Bangs doing the voiceovers for UT ?

[guitargourmet]

Am I hearing Alan Bangs doing the voiceovers for UT ?
Yeah, Alan has such a pleasant voice. I used to listen to his late night radio shows in WDR for many years. Formatted radio has eventually killed so much interesting program.
Gregor "Krombacher" König does the main voice...

[phantasm]

I hope COVER becomes a reality- it'll be the only way i'll ever be able to afford a Teuffel.

[kingsleyd]

but..... birdfish is also way more than that "fender" analogy, no matter what UT's intentions were, imo.
within 10-20 minutes of mutzing around w/the tone-bars & pickups/heights/positions/angles on the first birdfish i had
--- the instrument that page hamilton bought, a bit later ---
i had a *deadly* semi-hollow body type tone happening..... really.
and etc.

Okay, splatt, this really piques my innarest. I love the idea of being able to play around with not only the different pickups but their orientation in space relative to the strings. And Holger, again, thanks for taking the time to do these videos. Very entertaining and enlightening. Not just with respect to what UT does and thinks about, but with respect to the whole idea of the intention of an instrument.

[splatt]

We have never met David Torn so far, but a good friend of mine knows him well and got a couple of Davids guitars.

holger?
that's me; torn. right here.
sorry..... i thought you knew that.
i posted some tesla-clips in your HK/tesla thread, yesterday.
dt / spltrcl

[Dog Boy]

Love to see hear play one in person. Until then I just don't know. And as for the Leo Fender comparison...plz.

[sahhas]

QUESTION: during one of the segments of UT talking about teuffel guitars (he's standing in front of a bogner amp), he mentions the players who play his instruments (or is drawn to them), and he says "experimental jazz" (loaded word-no need to debate, it's endless), and he says: Henry Kaiser, David Torn, and then there is a 3rd name, and i can't quite make out the name, sounds like Mark Freno (sounds like Fr-aaaaahhh-no, long "a" like the fonzie saying "aaahhh"),
i'm obvously not spelling the name correctly, b/c i couldn't find anything.
could someone clarify the name??
wanted to check out this individual who plays teuffel guitars, b/c i hadn't heard of him. and i can't remember which segment he is in...i meant to send this question a week ago....

thanks,
scott
www.myspace.com/scotthansen