The Hydra: A Triple-Neck Steampunk Guitar By Steve Vai

The brainchild of famed guitarist Steve Vai, the Hydra is a triple-neck steampunk-styled guitar that combines four different instruments: a fretless 12-string guitar, a half-fretless bass, a 7-string guitar, and a harp (seen at the bottom). Following Vai’s concept, the instrument was designed by Moti Kashiuchi and built by Ibanez Japan’s Kazuya Kuroki. There’s no doubt in my mind if you play the right chords on that thing, you can summon a dragon.

The idea for the guitar was inspired by a song on Vai’s new album ‘Inviolate’ called ‘Teeth of the Hydra.’ Each part of the instrument can be played independently of the others, with its own switches, mixers, and effects. Can you imagine how powerful it must feel to wield this thing on stage? Now I can see why they call guitars axes, and it’s not because you can use them to chop wood. I learned that the hard, expensive way.

The video tour of the instrument highlights a lot of the guitar’s customization and effect options, including a “seducer” effect for the harp. Personally, I would just leave that on all the time until I found myself with more groupies than I know what to do with. Although, if I’m being completely honest, even one groupie would be more than I know what to do with.

[via Laughing Squid]

Ozzy Osbourne Plush Bat Has a Detachable Head

On January 20, 1982, in Des Moines, Iowa, singer Ozzy Osbourne bit off the head of a dead bat thrown on stage by a fan, in front of a crowd of 5000 people. There is apparently some debate on whether he really did it or not, but the stunt made rock history anyway. Well, it’s the 37th anniversary of the incident and to celebrate it, there is now a plush version of the infamous bat with a detachable head.

You could never get away with this stunt today, real or not, because PETA would hound you forever. If you want, you can pretend that you are Ozzy on stage, and take a bite out of this thing if that’s what you’re into. There’s no actual blood in this plush toy, but if there were, this would be more of a slushie than a plushie.

It’s a cute plush when it’s head is on anyway. The first batch of these toys went up for pre-sale and is sold out. We have no idea if there will be more. If you see them for sale, buy it like a bat out of hell. Oh wait, that’s Meat Loaf. Anyway, no threat of rabies with this bat. Bite it all you want.

[via Boing Boing via Geekologie]

Marshall’s Hanwell HiFi speaker is bred from guitar amps, at-home with your PMP

Marshall's Hanwell HiFi speaker bred from guitar amps, made to pump out

It's been a year since the legendary guitar amp and speaker makers at Marshall Amplification made a splash in consumer audio with its Marshall Headphones spin-off (Zound / Urbanears). In commemorence of the amplification division's 50th aniversary, both have announced the Hanwell: Marshall's first speaker rig that's made for a counter-top instead of a festival stage. Combo guitar amp / speaker meets HiFi speaker. Most anyone who plays guitar, or has seen the likes of Slash and Nigel Tufnel shredding it up, will immediately recognize the iconic Marshall design ethic down to its iconic plastic nameplate on the front grill and gold accents.

There's no major tech at play inside of the system, but with looks this cool it's not like it matters -- hopefully, the sound quality will match. Up top there's a familiar panel housing a 3.5mm input, power toggle and knobs for bass, treble and volume, while internally you'll find a duo of long-throw woofers and tweeters. The cab itself is made from wood and wrapped in black vinyl tolex like its bigger JCM siblings -- heck, it even comes with a coiled audio cable. There's no specific information beyond all of that such as pricing and availability -- especially whether "these go to 11" -- but you'll find a press release and close-up shots after the break.

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