Nineboys Wedge - inspired by the Delta
The Nineboys Wedge has been receiving plaudits from the guitar press since it’s launch event, and with good reason. The unique instrument is inspired by the ‘diddley-bows’ used by early Delta Blues players. A single string is stretched over the body with a pick-up mounted underneath. The instrument is designed to be played with a bottleneck slide. The Nineboys Wedge is a modern, ready-made example of this, with a more reliable and approachable construction, but still maintains the charms of the original DIY creations. After all, we designed it ourselves.
Traditionally, Diddley-Bows were made from discarded materials, and spare items found in bins, farms, and junkyards. The Wedge pays homage to this with a soup can for the bridge and nut and bolt to hold it in place at the neck.
We’ve designed it so that it’s a highly approachable and comfortable instrument to play. A single machine head provides the ability to change tuning easily, and we’ve put a handy fret-board on the body to help. Designing it for the 21st century we’ve added volume control.
The beauty of the Wedge is that it’s built with consistency, to a high standard, yet maintaining the charms of the original DIY diddley-bows. Where possible, the Wedge is made from sustainable products and made here in the UK.
The Wedge is a great gift for the guitarist who has everything, or the one that wants to try something bold and new. Although originally a blues instrument, mixing a double octave range slide instrument with a pedal or two completely opens up the sounds possible. Here's an instructional video by Josh from Nineboys on how the Wedge works and how to use it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FA9kVXHNPI. Have a look at what some other people achieved with it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktPPZKe6cBg
Test yourself, just because there’s one string doesn’t mean that it’s a limiting instrument. Quite the opposite as you find new aspects of guitar based string sounds that you couldn’t achieve otherwise.
Here's what the lovely people at Guitarist Magazine had to say about the Wedge: http://www.musicradar.com/gear/guitars/electric/wedge-566026/review
