What, you ask, is a skatar? It's a skateboard, an electric bass and acoustic guitar. This brainchild of skate-punk rocker Keith Irish is actually a skateboard zither with two isolated channels for bass and guitar, but somehow the portmanteau skatar than is sassier than skither.

Irish reveals only the basics of constructing of his treasured skatars. He starts with a weather-beaten wood skateboard deck, adding new skate wheels if required. A custom-carved, spiral headstock is attached to the deck, then he "strings it up through the board, and tightens the strings with guitar tuning pins." Two guitar pick-ups are jerry-rigged in some mysterious way, and an amp jack is attached.

If you try this little DIY project at home, note that Keith Irish uses a special slide to play notes and chords: a pint bottle of Hennessy cognac. Irish does not reveal if the bottle he uses in concert contains any cognac, so a bit of experimentation is required.

How does it sound? Not bad. If you are curious, go visit the Punk as a Doornail site and watch one of their low-tech videos. The band considers the skatar "the ultimate noise guitar perfect for raunchy and lewd skate punk," so please: consider this a warning about their lyrics.

Reference: Skateboard Guitar at punkasadoornail.net

BrevityQuest10



This version of a skatar should not be confused with larger models that simply use a solid body electric guitar as a skateboard deck. What? Oh, of course you wouldn't make that mistake. Sorry.

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