Knock-Offs, Rip-Offs, and Just Plain UGLY!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 4:18 pm

Time to revive this thread with a SUPREMELY UGLY doubleneck.

This is currently for sale on Ebay...where else?

I get shivers looking at it!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:06 pm

Waddaya mean "SUPREMELY UGLY", Paul? I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

And burn it! Then again, there's always ebay......

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:59 am

The pickups are worth a few bucks! And I know a guy that'd love to have that Hofner bass bridge.
I'd give the seller $200, tops.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:04 am

Without: Day there would be no Night, Good there would be no Bad, Right there would be no Wrong...etc. etc. Opinions are like Ice Holes, everybody has one.....

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:33 am

Welcome back, Dale.

Without beauty, there would be no ugly. And this sucker is BUTT UGLY.

Having spent my career in the design field, and now being involved in the field of design education, one of the most common public misconceptions about good design is that its a matter of opinion.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While everyone has his or her idea about what "looks good to them", good design is, in fact, definable and quantifiable. It would, however, take more space than a post or two, to lay out some tenets for discussion.

Instead, let me ask: would anybody doubt the timeless beauty of a Rickenbacker Capri, Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster, or a Gibson ES-295 (for example)?

Can anyone deny that a '64 Ford Mustang or a Ferrari Lusso has NO bad angles for viewing, and no ugly details? How about a Beech Staggerwing or an F-16? Or the Apple G5 iMac upon which I'm viewing this Forum?

So that should tell us something: A good design will have, as one of its qualities, nearly universal appeal to a viewer.

Another misconception is that "good design" is something that only "snobs" should care about. This is a natural consequence of our culture, which believes that anything that cannot be understood immediately and without qualification or education, is too highbrow for general consumption. It's the old American fear and mistrust (instead of respect), for intelligence and sensitivity.

There is nothing snob about an iPod, for instance, and countless Fenders have been owned and well-played by people with less than a high school education.

Good design is for use, and enjoyment, by anyone who can put aside their cultural prejudices and welcome it into their lives.

Junk, on the other hand, is junk, and is beneath contempt, not least because it wastes time and materials that could have been put to better use making something of beauty.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:48 am

Here is an example:

http://www.chindogu.com/chindogu/chin8.html

of...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:38 am

Although this has a very appropriate Japanese name, chindogu seems to have been invented by our own Phillip (now "Pippa", since his/her sex change operation!) Garner back in the early 1980s.

Pippa:

And one of her inventions, a recumbent unicycle:

lyle_from_minneapolis · Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:07 am

Just brilliant!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:53 am

Just came across two pieces from a luthier who shall remain anonymous. Some of you will probably think that I'm being a bit too harsh here, but the first one of these, although well-intentioned and based upon sound engineering principles and interesting theory, is just too weird and nasty to get me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. It has an offputting insect kind of vibe to it; kind of reminds me of the earwigs in This Old House...

The next is almost OK. Again, good intentions, nice craftsmanship (where do they get the Hobbits who shape and sand these things?) but I'll just call it, "Honey, I squashed the Mosrite"...

squid · Post by **squid** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:59 pm

Then there's Metheny's "picasso" guitar, made by Linda Manzer, a very well respected Canadian luthier. It totally creeps me out (to me it looks like a hydra devouring a guitarist) but it sounds okay in Metheny's hands. 42 strings in total.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:29 pm

And just in case anyone forgot about Teenar...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 6:39 pm

Now all we need is a Teenar Picasso...maybe licensed by Bob Guccione? That covers all the bases.

steve_hershberger · Post by **steve_hershberger** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:15 am

My Eyes My Eyes!!!!

Paul, I totally agree with your philosophy of design principles. There's just "something" about what constitutes a perfect combination of form and function that just "works" (for lack of a better term).

And, somehow, some designs are instantly "classic" and become the main criteria against which we judge everything else. Sometimes an "improvement" might work fine and maybe even make an original better in some respect(s) (for some people), but I'm of the mind that says "If it ain't broke, there's nothing to 'fix'."

To me, Teles, Strats, Les Pauls, Rics (and some cars too) - they got them right the first time around, so why mess with success?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:29 am

My own benchmark for contemporary automobiles is the original Studebaker Avanti. I talked my ex-father-in-law (a judge in Chicago) into buying one (a Nate Altman Avanti II) in the late '70s because his XJ12L was constantly breaking down. He liked the idea of being able to drive to the factory in South Bend, IN, to watch his car being built. It took four months, and Nate took the Jag in trade. It was a beaut--silver metallic with moonroof, maroon suede interior, including the headliner, and Dayton wire wheels. He drove it for about eight hard years with few problems, and in the meanwhile bought Nate's daughter's own A II for his wife, and a gold one for his son.

I was promised the silver one back in the mid-eighties, but then split up with my ex, and the rest, as they say, is history...

wints · Post by **wints** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:35 am

Paul, I have to disagree on the aesthetics of the Avanti.

While having a American custom built automobile to contend with the contemporary Ferrari, Aston or Rolls Royce of the day is honourable, but that fibre glass body, and especially the front end is severely deprived of any aesthetical benefit.

When it comes to beauty the XJ12 makes the Avanti look every inch of ugly that it is.