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guitargourmet
08-22-2009, 09:27 AM
Good morning folks,

I was just writing a little story about Ulrich in my new blog and thought, "Hey", y'all might like to hear part of the story. Now, I don't want to bore anybody, but to me there is nothing better than some insider information of what is happening in the guitar world.

A couple of years ago Ulrich Teuffel started a top-secret collaboration with Fender Guitars. He told me about it and asked my opinion and made me swear by the neck of my favorite guitar that I would not tell anybody about it. I did swear, I sold the guitar in the meantime and I guess today I can at least talk about some of the circumstances.

Let me simply call it the “under-cover” project… The plan was to release a new affordable custom electric guitar which is a mix of a lifstyle item and an electric guitar. I met x, the president of the Fender R&D department at the Frankfurt MusikMesse in 2005, he came personally to our booth and purchased two GG DVD's Vol1 (the one with Teuffel on it). One for himself and one for the board. We had a long talk and he stated several times that everybody at Fender Inc. belietypoves that – if there is a new Leo Fender – it truly has to be Ulrich Teuffel. I was pretty impressed.

What happened to that project? Who knows. Maybe it got stuck in the “hoe-zone” of beaurocracy. I assume it is like this super secret airforce Aurora fighter plane project. Nobody has ever seen it, but everybody believes that it exists. I have held a prototype in my own hands. I know it exists. I am a true believer. I even have a photograph with my little two year old daughter and the prototype. Let me tell you - I pulled every trick to buy that hand-made prototype. There was no way.

I still love the idea and the concept of this guitar. And as well as I know Ulrich, he is the guy to eventually pull it off! Go, Ulrich!

Y'all have a great Saturday,

Cheers
Holger

BTW The second part of the Teuffel story is uploaded on the Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDVoEl8uDy0

splatt
08-22-2009, 10:31 AM
so.....
somehow, it's cool with ulli to talk about this publicly, now?
i haven't spreched mit him in over a year.

dt / spltrcl

shigihara
08-22-2009, 10:54 AM
see the poster behind UT holding my niwa ? :-)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=189848829&albumID=1871506&imageID=30352897

splatt
08-22-2009, 11:15 AM
see the poster behind UT holding my niwa ? :-)

indeed!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=1871506&imageID=30352897
fwiw, i couldn't get to your "pics" via that link;
had to go to yer myspace page, first, and then click "see my pics".

btw:
i loved that "niwa blues" clip floating 'round the 'net, paul.

dt / spltrcl

shigihara
08-22-2009, 11:15 AM
david, fixed the link... mea culpa... too bad the cover project
didn't materialize...

thanks re:niwa blues clip...that was my 1st time out w/niwa...
you really got me interested in UT's guitars !

paul


indeed!

fwiw, i couldn't get to your "pics" via that link;
had to go to yer myspace page, first, and then click "see my pics".

btw:
i loved that "niwa blues" clip floating 'round the 'net, paul.

dt / spltrcl

splatt
08-22-2009, 11:25 AM
david, fixed the link... mea culpa... too bad the cover project
didn't materialize...

thanks re:niwa blues clip...that was my 1st time out w/niwa...
you really got me interested in UT's guitars !

paul
dude.
still playing, still loving my teuffels..... the niwa is really its own thing,
regardless of its "classic" nature:
killing!
dt / spltrcl

guitargourmet
08-22-2009, 12:05 PM
Hi Paul,

I guess we know each other from Cologne. I took a bunch of guitar lessons from you way back when... Still have your sheets and fingering patterns...
I guess it was around 1983/84?!

Anyways, greetings from the Deep South!

Holger

guitargourmet
08-22-2009, 12:06 PM
so.....
somehow, it's cool with ulli to talk about this publicly, now?
i haven't spreched mit him in over a year.

dt / spltrcl

I guess it's fine to talk to him about it. I don't really know what exactly happened and I really don't want to speculate. Tell him "Hi" from me.

Cheers,
Holger

Frater B
08-22-2009, 01:24 PM
But you started a thread about it on a public forum.
Just sayin', or typin' whatever.........

Who is to say they are not still talking?
Since you sold the guitar you swore on, it is okay to talk about it now?

I want a Niwa.

Oh, thanks for the link, very cool!

__

splatt
08-22-2009, 01:32 PM
I guess it's fine to talk to him about it. I don't really know what exactly happened and I really don't want to speculate. Tell him "Hi" from me.

hmmm.
ok! i will do.

dt / spltrcl

guitargourmet
08-22-2009, 01:32 PM
But you started a thread about it on a public forum.
Just sayin', or typin' whatever.........

Who is to say they are not still talking?
Since you sold the guitar you swore on, it is okay to talk about it now?


__

This was supposed to be a "funny". Sorry, when you didn't get it. When Ulrich was in certain phases with Fender, I did not talk to anybody about this matter. At some point the project fell through with Fender / got discontinued.
The last time I talked to Ulrich he was pursuing new projects. Very interesting ones, as a matter of fact...

HHB
08-22-2009, 02:25 PM
man I'm wantning a Niwa

Deft Tungsman
08-22-2009, 04:18 PM
I visited Uli at his workshop almost three years ago. We talked for a long time about this unmentionable(?) project. It sounded like a cool idea and was aimed at the affordable end of the market. He let me fool around with a prototype and showed me some photo mock-ups. I felt privileged to get a sneak preview and was expecting something to hit the market shortly thereafter, but that never happened. (My "special" feeling vanished about six months later when the Niwa came out. Uli never said anything about that at all, even though I asked him about the demise of the Coco!)

If you're curious about Teuffel's Cover Guitar, you can consult his patent on freepatentsonline.com. Uli is truly one of the most imaginative people in the business.

Frater B
08-22-2009, 04:29 PM
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20040244569-0-display.jpg

__

shigihara
08-22-2009, 05:56 PM
Who is to say they are not still talking?

I want a Niwa.
__

fwiw, according to UT they are not talking...

shigihara
08-22-2009, 06:03 PM
damn... time flies... mid 80's it was...:D

btw... didn't i buy a surfreter from your brother (?) norbert
a few years ago ?

grüsse aus der kölner südstadt !

paul

Hi Paul,

I guess we know each other from Cologne. I took a bunch of guitar lessons from you way back when... Still have your sheets and fingering patterns...
I guess it was around 1983/84?!

Anyways, greetings from the Deep South!

Holger

guitargourmet
08-22-2009, 06:40 PM
damn... time flies... mid 80's it was...:D

btw... didn't i buy a surfreter from your brother (?) norbert
a few years ago ?

grüsse aus der kölner südstadt !

paul

Norbert ist zwar nicht mein Bruder, aber nach fast 15 Jahren ist man wie ein altes Ehepaar... Er hat Dir die Surfreter verkauft.

Schöner Gruß zurück. Ich höre, es ist heiß bei Euch, bei uns auch...

Cheers
Holger

Chrome Dinette
08-23-2009, 06:11 PM
When I saw the thread title, I thought the long awaited Cover had finally appeared.

FWIW, coverguitars.com points toward the regular Teuffel site.