Tuesday, October 17, 2006



Well it was fun while it lasted. I bought this Novax CH-8 last January. The CH-8 is Charlie Hunter's custom designed 8 string guitar which utilizes 3 bass strings tuned E-A-D, 5 guitar strings A-D-G-B-E and a split pickup system that runs bass and guitar lines out to their respective amplifiers. I spent 2 months playing nothing but James Brown tunes on this guitar and it taught me two things:


1.) I love James Brown in the most masculine way possible.


2.) I can't play 8 string guitar.


I might have guessed, I don't even like to play a 6 string in dropped-D. But I am amazed by Charlie Hunter and have wanted one of these for nearly as long as I have played guitar. Other gear I have bought because of Charlie includes a Hughes and Kettner Tube Rotosphere, a Mesa Boogie amp, and I've been lusting after the now out of production Way Huge Aqua Puss analog delay pedal. I've even considered strapping my Boss TU-12 to my pedal board instead of messing with a stomp box and to be honest, if I ever used any of the guitar pedals I owned, I would probably buy a Keeley Compressor too. When it comes down to it Charlie is still amazing and I'm too obsessive about being awesome at everything to have time to learn 8-string. So I am selling the Novax to pay for the Custom Shop Tele I bought a few months ago. By the way, James Brown's guitarist Phelps Collins played a tele. (Sorry no link to that, that guy is a ghost.)

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