Krappy Touchstyles

[dpm]

yeah, true, the expectation and indeed the whole point of krappy is to be crappy

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

This kind of made me laugh, at least they are honest. I did look in to one, but i decided to hold off for a while.

Pre-lude to it was funny too

Our instruments are built for frugal people
who aren't very concerned with regard to
quality, construction, materials, or safety.

The instruments are crafted from whatever
we find suitable. Pedigree of wood is not
a priority for us. We might get it from
a local hardware store, or use some old
shipping crates, or skids. Who knows??!!

 

[Daemoniac]

yeah, true, the expectation and indeed the whole point of krappy is to be crappy

I really think it would be entertaining to see/try one, but I would never part with the cash for one

 

[MF_Kitten]

the whole manifesto thingie is meant to be funny, and it only applies to their novelty guitars (their toilet seat guitars and other funny novelty things that aren´t meant as serious instruments). in their pricing, they write:

"the wood description offered in the earlier manifesto doesn't apply to these guitars. High quality hardwoods including mahogany, maple, walnut and occasionally oak form the neck and body of these tapping beauties. A rubbed oil finish brings out the rich grain of these contrasting woods."

which is what lead me to think they meant that. but the manifesto was right, yeah...

 

[leftyguitarjoe]

EDIT: Hmm..... I wonder if they would be willing to make just the neck/body and ship it without frets, hardware or pickups. If it knocks a good $100 or two off the price, one could get it done by a more "professional" luthier/tech.

Krappyguitars

Scroll down to "Justanek"

 

[Poncho]

A local guy here has one of his touchstyle instruments, it's certainly crappy. The fretwork was possibly the worst I've seen. I kind of like the idea of making something quick and cheap but not at the expense of functionality.

You would be talking about my instrument, Dan. The 'functionality' is fine considering I play it in a band with no problems and I get more positive comments that not. I know it doesn't have three different kinds of interwoven wood or a speedometre or a pancake maker, but it's a lot more affordable than the $7000 you quoted me for an instrument. What gigging musician in today's landscape can afford that? Just sayin'.

 

[dpm]

Hey man! Nice to see you here I'd really like to have checked out your Krappy and thought "hey that's rough, but cool". Like I said, I can appreciate a quick and cheap instrument, but decent frets are so fundamentally important to playability that they make or break it. Likewise, a fancy, shiny instrument with all the bells and whistles is as good as useless if the frets are loose and uneven. I do see very expensive guitars with loose frets, non-functioning truss rods, poor neck angle etc.... now that is disappointing. Loose and uneven frets can be corrected relatively easily, but the last 2 are a nightmare.

BTW, there's one step lower on the pauper scale than a gigging musician - a luthier

 

[Explorer]

I figured that a Krappy instrument would be like getting one of the infamous Wishbasses. I owned a Wishnevsky briefly, but have now decided that I'd rather spend my time in other ways than polishing a possible diamond in the rough...

 

[Poncho]

I know not many will agree, but one one hand I think it's subjective. Some folk need the bells and whistles. I'm content tho. I feel a little like a Seasick Steve of touchstyle guitars playing it, but it plays and sounds great which is what I bought it for. I gave up playing ultra expensive axes years ago as they're usually a waste of money that I could use on other things (like rent and general living). Heck, EVH used his own homemade strats, so I don't particularly feel bad about using something inexpensive that does what I want it to.

Besides, now that I'm used to tapping (with occasional picking and strumming) I just can't go back. So ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

 

[Billard]

sorry for graverobbing this thread, but I must note that on Krappyguitars , he (the builder) attests that the wood manifesto (where he talks about how the guitars are made very fleetingly and with Krappy [had to, sorry] wood) does not apply to the touchstyle instruments. Apparently they are made of "high quality hardwoods" such as maple, mahogany, walnut and occasionally oak. Seems to be the antithesis of what a Hello Kitty Squier is to Fender. Good instruments from an otherwise bad company.

 

[marcwormjim]

In 2011, I decided to try my hand at the Stick. Unfortunately, most manufacturers of touch-style guitars build them to order, at upwards of $2,000. Kevin Siebold was the only guy I found who fit the bill - I think my 10-string came out between eight and nine-hundred. He was friendly, informative, asked up-front what woods I wanted, and regularly sent me updates and photos of the build without my ever requesting them. It was clear that his heart was in his work, and that he was the kind of guy you'd look forward to doing business with again.

I never put time into playing it, but it's in the rack with my other basses. The instrument is perfectly "playable", but the truss nuts seem stripped, and his..."proprietary" hardware means I can't do much to lower the action without countersinking or replacing the bridge. I can't really comment as to how level the frets are; being as I've never put the strings close-enough to the board for such flaws to reveal themselves.

Overall, I felt then and now that I got my money's worth. Had I known that the bridges on these instruments are/were one of the corners cut, I'd have insisted on paying extra for proper hardware.

The bottom-line is that, if you have a notion to build an extended-scale instrument with an unusual tuning or body-shape, you should consider having Kevin build it for you.

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

There's Also 'Sonorus Tappers'

 

[Explorer]

That Tapladder design used by Solorus is beautiful.