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Guitarist
06/1999 |
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© teuffel Weissenhorner Strasse 13 89233 Neu-Ulm Germany mail@teuffel.com |
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Guitarist
06/1999
©
teuffel Weissenhorner Strasse
13 89233
Neu-Ulm Germany mail@teuffel.com
Future Publishing
30 Monmouth St,
Bath BA1 2BW
Enland
E-mail: guitarist@futurenet.co.uk
It's a guitar, Jim
"You know, it`s pretty astonishing that so few modern
luthiers are able to produce a truly original guitar. We`ve
all seen endless copies of Strats and Les Pauls with the odd
improvement here and there, but nothing rivals the Teuffel
birdfish for originality. This guitar has even received an
industrial decoration; the Baden-Wurttemberg International
Design Award 1998. this prize was purely for the design,
having nothing to do with the guitar`s status as an
instrument. But recently, that record was set straight by
the Talent Award 99 from the Association For The Promotion
Of Handicraft which endorsed the birdfish`s high standarts
of luthiery and craftsmanship. When I spoked to a delighted
Mr. Teuffel at the Frankfurt Music Messe about the reception
of his `baby`, he told me that Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top had
bought one. And in our book that`s an impressive accolade
for any guitar, or builder.
Where's the wood?
The first thing you notice is that there`s not a lot of wood
on the birdfish. This is because its structure centres
around two aluminium sculptures; a bird and a fish
(geddit?). These are joined by a stainless steel slide-rail
and two cylindrical tonewood bars: the `resonators`. You get
two pairs in the birdfish kit; maple and swamp ash, each of
which is covered in a of matt, moleskin-feel finish. Ulrich
manufactures the matt finishing product himself:"It is a
special colour made from minerals, glass and metal flakes
and soft polyurethane. Unlike other matt finishes, contact
with your arm won`t make it got to shiny. A quick wipe with
soapy water and a towel is all it needs to keep it looking
brand new forever."
The birdseye maple neck is the only piece of bare wood on
show. And what a show it is; beautiful, sexy honey-coloured
figuring and a profile that`s so comfortable it`s like it
grew in your hand. This is a result of more organic approach
Teuffel has to neck manufacture. Whereas most of the guitar
is precision engineered, the neck`s comfy profile comes from
years of luthiery experience and that elusive
`feel`factor.
There`s just one part of the birdfish which isn`t
custom-made; a Schaller string clamp just behind the nut
enables the use of regular strings as opposed to the double
ball-end type found on most headless guitars. It makes for
swift stringing and maintains the tidy appearance.
Down at the bridge end a suitably heavy-duty fine-tuning
system, featuring large non-slip knurled tuners and
no-nonsense ball-end retainers, works in tandem with a
custom-built ABM tune-o-matic bridge. This is
height-adjusted by a two tumbwheels. And as if all isn`t
more than enough to impress you, just wait `till you get a
load of the electrics.
Plenty of pickups
The birdfish kit contains a grand total of five pickups,
again handmade by Ulrich Teuffel, and finished in the same
matt covering. Two single coils, one marked `R`(right wound)
and one marked `L`(left lound) provide hum-cancelling
operation when combined, and three humbuckers of varying
strength. The power of the humbuckers is signified by one,
two or three dots on the rear. All units can be mixed and
matched quickly in any configuration you wish, using the
unique plug-in wiring system. They`re all held in place by a
single knurled thumb-srew which clamps the pickup`s
rear-protruding 1/4-inch steel rod to one of three
`sledges`. Inside the pickups military-spec, gold-plated
mini-jacks ensure reliable contact and longevity. Any
mechanical adjustments to the birdfish can be made using a
supplied multi-tool. Even the large wooden resonators can be
changed with this, and as long as you remove them in
sequence, you won`t even have to re-tune. The kit was
intended to contain three sets of resonators - the other
being mahogany - but in attempt to keep the weight down it
was decided to stick to maple and swamp ash.
The birdfish`s contol consist of a master volume and tone
with cast, `alien-head` bonnets and a regular Schaller
five-way switch. The five-way`s knob is simple black plastic
but Ulrich`s obsession with detail has resulted in
persuading Schaller to produce chrome knobs for future
birdfish.
Heavy metal
The two sculptures and floating control box that form the
guitars are cast in al local high-tech plant so Ulrich can
monitor proceedings. "The casting process requires the
special equipment and technology used in the car industry to
create the best quality components" he says. It begins with
his own hand-made wax models which are coated with a ceramic
compound, then baked in a kiln to form a cast. Melting the
wax away during kilning leaves room for molten aluminium to
be poured in to the mold under vacuum. After cooling, the
ceramic former is broken free and the cast part is removed.
Next it´s polished t a high gloss by hand, which Ulrich
describes as "time consuming and difficult, but essential
for a good finish". Lastly each `bird`, `fish`or contol box
is first copper, then nickel and finally chrome-plated.!
Does it sound good?
The birdfish`s acoustic volume is much quieter in a direct
comparsion with a regular guitar. However the sheer sustain
is beyond belief. It certainly makes a difference when
playing pieces that involve holding chords while playing a
melody over the top. Notes that would otherwise fade and die
are still ringing clearly. Although the basic birdfish tone
is fairly bright, it´s not the brash brightness of, say
a piezo pickup that cuts right through your head. It´s
more a situation of `these are the frequencies you`ve been
missing`.
When selecting the bridge pickup or indeed any pickup, it
really is a case of saying to yourself, `which pickup do I
fancy today?` rather than just a quick flick of the switch.
With a choice of five on offer, you can pretty much build
any sound and therefore `guitar`you like. And as you can
slide them to and from, the tonal possibilities are
potentially endless.
I tested the birdfish through channel one of a Trace Elliot
C30 valve combo, set up for a clean sound. The hottest
three-dot humbucker is incredibly crisp and clean in the
bridge position, almost `active`sounding for it`s
noiselessness. I was impressed by the way the pure, natural
highs sustain, lending an almost single-coil clarity to the
tone, yet with all the body and fullness of a traditional
humbucker. A quick flick to the neck pickup, a single-coil
in this case, reveals a fat, woody tone that`s ideal for
Hendrix or SRV-style playing. It`s mind-bending just how
much `timber` there is in the tone and how easy it is to
emulate different guitars. I put a single-coil in the bridge
to see how well it would `twang`, and i wasn`t disappointed.
Every bit as much bite and percussive response as you could
want.
With the tone quality already proven through the clean
channel, things just got better and better as gain levels
inevitably rose. The birdfish`s versality knows no bounds;
heavy metal, blues, jazz, funk and down-tuned riffs are all
equally well catered for.
Verdict
Even through the birdfish looks unwieldy, everything is
in just the right place. The guitar balances just as well
when sitting as it does on a strap and all points of contact
with your body have been carefully thought out, providing
exceptional comfort and playability. Price won`t be an issue
for truly dedicated players as the birdfish is special
enough to warrant serious second job/saving activity. You
can see where every penny has gone in making the Teuffel
birdfish a masterpiece of design, a versatile and highly
playable instument and, as this particular guitar is No 76
in a series of just 500, a collector`s item too. Catch one
if you can.
Rating
Build Quality 5 of 5 points
Playability 5 of 5 points
Sound 5 of 5 points
Value for money 5 of 5 points
Verdict 5 of 5 points
We liked : Fab design, original concept, attention to
detail, sound, nubuck case.
We didn´t like: Mahogany tone bars should be included
at this price
Written by Ben Bartlett