When unique is an understatement

[Mandolin Cafe]

Sometimes, the term "long neck" doesn't really adequately describe what you're seeing. Either that, or a clever Photoshop trick. We suspect the latter.

[MikeEdgerton]

Would that be the Pete Seeger model?

[allenhopkins]

"See, I play a lot on the bottom frets, and I play quite a bit on the top frets, and I don't need any frets in the middle; that's where I play slide..."

[brunello97]

I wonder how my Blue Chip pick would sound on it?

Mick

[John Hill]

Ain't no money in the middle frets.

[Petrus]

Theorbolin (project)



(no theorbo smiley)

[Charles E.]

It may be a conversion to a Chinese type of instrument. We have a extremely longed necked 3/4 size violin in the shop that was converted to an Erhu.

[Mandolin Cafe]

It's Photoshopped. If you enlargen it in a photo editor it's pretty clear. Still, a great prank and the fact it's on eBay makes it all the funnier.

[Petrus]

Yeah hilarious for whoever pays $265 and receives gods know what!

[Josh Levine]

I didn't know pictures of the Shmergel Devastator existed.

[Dave Hanson]

It's a bouzouki or saz.

Dave H

[Bertram Henze]

It's Photoshopped.

The shadow cast on the neck from the stand:
- has a sharper border than the shadow cast on the top from the fretboard,
- is wider than the stand profile casting it,
- is slightly steeper angled than the shadow cast on the top from the fretboard.

[Bertram Henze]

CafPow! please...

[Champlin]

Hmmm.. I looked at the photos enlarged and I don't see a photoshop job. It looks to me that it has been spliced with a scarf joint on both ends of the middle piece. Why?... I have no idea. But I think it's legit.

[tonydxn]

Of course, it could be legit AND Photoshopped. Seller states it is 46 1/2" long. Would he say that if it was just a Photoshopped picture? I can't think why. It isn't even April! Maybe I'm just hopelessly gullible

[Tobin]

The front picture does make it look like a Photoshop job, or a terrible job of splicing in the fingerboard. But the photo of the back of the neck looks real to me. So I'm thinking it's probably legitimate, and those splices on the fingerboard are just throwing off the visual.

I can't imagine what purpose this would serve. They kept 4 of the original frets at the nut end, which would be completely useless with the new scale length. And the extremely long scale would require such huge strings to reach any kind of pitch that the dinky neck would bend and probably snap long before it got tuned up to any reasonable pitch. The tiny bowlback body would be way too small to produce any sound for those low notes, and wouldn't survive tuning up to higher notes.

It just don't make no sense!

[Bertram Henze]

And the extremely long scale would require such huge strings to reach any kind of pitch that the dinky neck would bend and probably snap long before it got tuned up to any reasonable pitch.

[Bob Clark]

If this isn't a photoshop hoax (which is a distinct possibility), could it have been put together for strictly visual purposes and never actually meant to be played? For example, could this have been a prop for a play?

On the other hand, could this have been meant to be played but part way through the conversion, the person doing it realized that it really was not a good idea it was and quit?

Who knows? I just know that I don't want it!

[Mark Gunter]

I doubt the photoshop theory after studying closely yesterday. I just looked again at the shadows based on Bertram's post, and nope - every photo is framed such that the shadow of the long neck is not visible; shadow evidence inconclusive.

The only thing that suggested photoshop to me initially was the splice at binding looks funny, and there are marks that suggest ghost frets a bit, but they're not really perpendicular to the neck. Nothing in the background (grass) suggests photoshop to me, and if I were to make this in photoshop it would b easy to provide frets and binding to sell the effect; this person didn't do that, and the funky-looking stuff would suggest a photoshop skill-level not commensurate with the ability to pull off the rest of the trick.

Don't know why somebody would make this neck, but it seems that the long neck is one piece all the way from the heel to the headstock, and is attached at the body by the two screws in the middle of the fretboard.

Ugly, yes.
Useless, yes.
But I doubt it's 'photoshopped'. I think this guy's really trying to sell it. Heck of a joke if I'm wrong, though

[Mark Wilson]

But I doubt it's 'photoshopped'. I think this guy's really trying to sell it. Heck of a joke if I'm wrong, though

I'm guessing 'Microsoft Paint'

[JeffD]

Its a well done photoshop.

A friend of mine is a guitar player and magician. He plays and sings and does magic tricks. He is quite entertaining. Many of his tricks likely are simple things that would lose their charm if I figure them out. So I don't work at it. And he is a real good guitar player, so some of his tricks are just applied virtuosity, like those trick bowlers who cross lanes.

But he has one trick that darn it all I cannot in theory figure out what he does. It looks just like he has a telescoping neck guitar. He slides it out and manages some funny glissando effects. He doesn't keep it out a long time, just out an arms length and back. Its real funny.

Of course nobody gets to inspect his guitar after the gig. But I suspect its a regular guitar and the effect is accomplished some other way. Maybe not.

[Mark Gunter]

Microsoft paint . . . telescoping neck. You guys are funnier than the photoshopped bowlback

[JEStanek]

Piccolo body bass.

[Mandolin Cafe]

Of course those with a sharp eye and keen memory will note this style of mandolin is not particularly uncommon. The Cafe noted multi-purpose long-necked mandolins in production with a news release dated April 1, 2006.

Bass Pro Enters Mandolin Market



Quote from article:
The Paddler - go from music to paddling in seconds. Above: shown in full extension.

We still have our Bass Pro model. It's a keeper!

[Mandolin Cafe]

I'm guessing 'Microsoft Paint'

Yea, Photoshop might be a stretch for this one.