Funk Jams

VIDEO: “11 AM DUI” funk jam. Sling back your 1000 mg gummy and vodka screwdriver. Yo Jersey! Another in our Garden State portrait improv series. Chris Buono (on Sketch 7-string) with an unreal opening chord progression until the cops show up. Lawrence Haber (on Orchid bass) with the get down. Rick Toone (hey! me!) swings the Gretch kit. CB’s fuzz tone is through Starbird handmade pedal by Tom Cram.

I made some excellent mistakes on this session.

Wanted to try recording the trio as if it was a small venue live gig. So the amps were tucked up under the drums on the riser, with Tweedle almost directly below the snare. This is realistic, and typical for actual working conditions, but introduced a whole set of complexities in the form of sympathetic vibrations.

The snare picked up frequencies of the 7-string guitar with all that ferocious mid-range and bled into every drum mic as a constant background roar. During the session, the room volume of the trio masked that buzz, so it wasn’t until mixing a few days later that I hit wtf?!

Correction involved a lot of creative EQ to minimize the rattle, but as you know from mixing, removing frequencies can alter the tone of an instrument plus make stereo imaging a challenge. The music was undeniable though, so these mixes are worth publishing.

Next session I’ll use baffles. Also, I’ve been experimenting with some unorthodox drum mods to avoid snare buzz — specifically to correct for the frequency sweeps that happen with tremolo use.

As I said, excellent mistakes.

VIDEO: Tune called “Lip Service” via same crew as above. CB’s talking back is Kiwami envelope filter by David Rolo.

Wingspan Down Under

This Wingspan™ 6-string guitar is inspired by the textures and colors of the Great Barrier Reef and the lovely Australian sapphires mounted in the Element™ aircraft aluminum neck. Bare Knuckle signature custom pickups from Nolly Getgood and Misha Mansoor combined with 10-way switching. Carbon fiber pickguard. Patented Intonation Cantilever™ headless tuning bridges precision machined from stainless steel, bearing bronze.

Spearfish Small Batch

DRAWING: Spearfish™ tremolo-equipped 6-string guitar is now available for ordering. More than a decade of refinement into Spearfish™ engineering and ergonomics, evolving each generation more light weight, resonant, with incredible tone and sustain. Adding the new tremolo elevates the series beyond next level. This 2026 cohort will be a small-batch devoted to client finish requests.

Sunburst Spearfish Trem

PHOTOS: Sunburst Spearfish™ 6-string guitar. Swamp Ash, precision machined aircraft aluminum, stainless steel, carbon fiber. Element™ component set in black anodize, including the RICK TOONE™ patented tremolo system. Bare Knuckle bespoke pickups with 10-way switching.

“I got the guitar!! It is everything I could have dreamed of and so much more. It is perfect! Thank you so much for building this!” (Janarth)

Song of the Blue Guitar

VIDEO: Song of the Blue guitar — Applachian trance improvisation played by Killick Hinds. Blueburst Spearfish guitar is the gorgeous creature lending colors.

I’m always excited and delighted to get time with Killick. We have an awesome friendship across domains including hiking, philosophy, audio production, and of course music. You’ll remember his excellent melodic bass playing from our Pollinator Jam last July.

While he was on tour last month we scheduled a day here in the studio to capture…well, whatever decided to manifest in his hands on our particular day. Part of the magic of Killick’s artistry is EVERYTHING is ALWAYS an improvisation.

Create, publish, move on to the next moment.

At breakfast the morning of our session I asked if he had any specific expectations for the recording, and if not, would he be open to some unusual production ideas. The concept is an evolving mix, blending sources as the song progresses to forming a sense of spatial movement.

We would limit ourselves to natural acoustic spaces and mic techniques.

As you listen, note the blending between: Schertler contact mic on the neck, AT4050 close mic strings, Noble DI, SM57 on Tweedle, Symbiote, and AT4050 room mic (in a different part of the studio).

PHOTO: Killick adjusts tuning on Symbiote. Symbiote has two sets of bass strings, with discrete outputs, allowing for multiple tunings. Strings can be plucked, bowed, or become passive sympathetic resonators as seen here. Note the block of wood connecting Tweedle amp to Symbiote to convey vibration.