ESOTERICA ELECTRICA
JOL DANTZIG
The Myth of Multitasking
“Despite the obvious evidence to the contrary,
every generation thinks they invented sex.”—
John Grail, philosopher, pickup designer.
I’m reminded of this quote every time I
hear terms like “Business 2.0,” “The New
Economy,” and especially “multitasking.”
Spurred on by our love for ever-accelerating
technology, it seems many folks believe that
somehow our brains are keeping pace with
the speed of semiconductors. If you’ve ever
tried to talk to someone while they’re typing
a document you already know how well this is
working. Regardless, in almost every segment
of society, multitasking is treated as some sort
of new order. The truth is that multitasking
isn’t just limited to computers—think of the
Swiss Army Knife designed in the 1890s, or the
venerable Shopsmith of the 1950s that could
be converted into five different machines. For
that matter, consider the guitar itself. Capable
of single-note lines, chords either strummed
or plucked, sound effects, volume swells—on
and on it goes. Perhaps it’s this versatility that
not only endears us to the electric guitar, but
is also the catalyst for a desire to have even
more choices. Certainly, salespeople believe
that more bells and whistles give them greater
ability to move product off the shelves, but let’s
examine the potential and pitfalls of trying to
cover all of the bases when designing a guitar.
sonic buffet comes with a price. The amount of
magnetism focused on the strings by three sets
of pole-piece magnets spikes the output and
then puts the brakes on each note, giving the
Strat its trademark percussive attack. In each of
these cases the addition of features subtracts
from something else.
builder has to decide where to split the hair.
When an acoustic bridge is used, it may yield
a good acoustic sound, but the electric tone
will suffer accordingly. Use a metal bridge for
rock tones and the acoustic side has an uphill
climb. Any way you slice it, it doesn’t seem
like you can get 100 percent of everything,
but as a builder, it’s fun to try.
Changing the scale length (the distance
between bridge and nut) is another way to
produce characteristic sounds. As scale length
is increased, more tension is required to pro-
duce the same note. The higher tension creates
a more harmonically rich tone that guitarists
refer to as twangy, and is slightly harder to
In all of these cases, the question ultimately
comes down to whether “almost” is good
enough. For a wedding group, getting 80%
of the exact sound may be close enough.
Modeling guitars (and amps) that can get
very close to the “real” deal may be perfect
The same basic guitar with one pickup
sounds different than if it had two, which
is easily demonstrated by the difference
between a Telecaster and its single-pickup
sibling, the Esquire.
Early electrics were simple affairs with one
pickup and a volume control, but it wasn’t too
long before the tone control made its debut. If
one pickup was good, builders thought maybe
two or even three would be better. But even
at this point in the electric’s evolution, com-
promises were being made. Multiple pickups
witness the string’s vibration at different or
multiple points along its length, allowing for
more tonal variations, but the added magnetic
pull changes the fundamental way the string
vibrates. The same basic guitar with one pickup
sounds different than if it had two, which is
easily demonstrated by the difference between
a Telecaster and its single-pickup sibling, the
Esquire. There is practically a cult of players
who are devoted to the Les Paul Junior with a
single P- 90 because it rings out the way a two-
pickup Special rarely does. On the other side
of the argument sits the Stratocaster, whose
versatile three-pickup design delivers five varia-
tions with the flip of a switch, and can be easily
modded to provide more. True to form, this
play. Shorter scales play more easily and place
more emphasis on the fundamental of the note,
producing a fat tone. It’s often this difference in
tension that players respond to physically and
aurally when choosing a guitar. The effect is
noticeable enough that some builders have tried
to split the difference between long and short in
an attempt to provide the best of both worlds.
Although some say this compromise is neither
fish nor fowl, the results are certainly popular.
The promise of doing two things at once is
again at the heart of the marketing pitch.
when you have to cover everything from
ABBA to ZZ Top and want to travel light.
Purists, for whom only 100 percent will do,
will travel with a big locker full of guitars and
will play only one thing at a time.
Recently, the multitasking concept resurfaced
in the form of the so-called “hybrid” guitars
such as the Taylor T- 5 and the Parkwood
PW-H4, which attempt to deliver both elec-
tric and acoustic sounds in one instrument.
By adding acoustic-type pickup saddles to
an electric guitar, musicians are promised
the ability to shift between both types of
sounds. This is something I did in 1991 with
the Duo Tone model, so I can say firsthand
it’s difficult to get each voice even close
to perfect. Once again, it’s the balance of
compromise that dictates the result. Even
with onboard modeling, it seems that each
In many ways, this whole multitasking thing
reminds me of politics. Instead of focusing on
doing a few things really well, builders some-
times try to design something for everyone in
one instrument. There’s always a lot of promise
up front, but when you get to the gig things
may not go so smoothly. The designs I respect
the most zero in on a particular concept and
take it to an elegant conclusion. Because in life
and in guitars, all things to all people may not
get each individual task fully done.
Jol Dantzig
Noted designer, builder, and player Jol Dantzig founded
Hamer Guitars, the first boutique guitar brand, in 1973.
Since then, he has worked or recorded with many of the
most talented and famous names in music. Today, as the
director of Dantzig Guitar Design he continues to help
define the art of custom guitar.
