check out the buitar in action
The story behind it
The Mother's Anger started in 2002 as a two piece, Jimi and Stitch, drums and guitar. As we were preparing for our first tour, craving more low end, we came up with a unique sounding alternative way to pump up the bass. The first "Buitar" was David's 1963 Fender Jaguar that was converted into a Buitar in 2002. It was a painful experiment, due to the risk of permanently downgrading a beautiful vintage instrument, but it was so successful that a 1979 Fender Stratocastar was converted as a backup shortly after. The two guitars were used on tours and recordings until stolen in a van robbery after a show at the Elbo Room in San Francisco Dec 26 2006. Following their loss, David purchased a used a long neck Fender HH, converted it to a buitar and it became his main axe that was used on all Reignwolf shows and recordings until current day. Another one ("Spank the Monkey") was created at the same time as backup (was stolen from a guitar tech shop in Dallas in 2009). Later throughout the years few more were created, each with unique wiring and tone, the latest and most advanced is the blue "Sustainable Components" Stitcx buitar built by Sal Cocuzza in 2016.
The technical aspect of the Buitar
The Buitar can be transformed from any guitar, its special characteristics fit some guitar more than others. The basic Bitar could be made out of any guitar by drop tuning the bottom (one, two or three) strings. For example on the Mother's Anger songs “Sniper” and “Kill the Radio” the tuning was AADGBE (drop A tuning). The neck tension would change the response and it varies greatly from guitar to guitar. Loose string sustains a thicker sound. The Buitars are wired to allow full separation of the bass and the guitar. Playing a buitar would necessitate an advanced playing technique to maximize the freedom of playing both guitar and bass at the same time. The main advantage of this instrument is the fact that as a single player the bass and guitar are always tight and has a very "fat" sound, hold the bass while playing solos and riffs or just playing either/or guitar/bass. The disadvantage is that playing the Buitar is different from playing a regular guitar and takes some time get comfortable with it, for example the tuning and the advantageous use of the left hand thumb.
It really works!
STITCX proved the buitar to be a fully functioning alternative for bass in years of touring with Mother’s Anger (EU and US tours) MASZER (KEXP) and Reignwolf (World tour with Black Sabbath, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Glastonbury etc.).
