Patrick Hufschmid Guitars

Following my recent post, it seems like Gibson Guitars have taken my(?) advice, and closed access to Gibson Island until it is in a better state of readiness. So having piqued your interest, it seems you will now need to wait a few months before you can go and pay your respects and perhaps blag a virtual copy of one of their iconic guitars. [ Actually, I have no idea if they plan such freebies, so be prepared to settle for a t-shirt. ]

But in the brief gap between posting about the island and it getting closed, I got the opportunity to meet another guitar maker, a guy who has been building fine guitars in both RL and SL. Born in the Netherlands but now based in Switzerland, Patrick Hufschmid (or PatrickHufschmid Beaumont in SL) has been producing his beautiful, hand-crafted guitars for around 11 years. In fact, even the pickups are custom-built to his own specification. More recently he has built an extensive range of both electric and acoustic virtual guitars for Second Life musos. They come with a range of animations, loops and special effects, "our goal is to create the most realistic and practical guitars in SecondLife."

If you like the virtual guitars and fancy a custom-built atomic guitar, then a 6-string will set you back around 3,350 USD (same for a 4-string bass) - and take about 3 months to build.

Here is a (newly revised) SLURL to his shop in Second Life. The shop is not a great architectural achievement, it's just a shop. On the ground floor you will find the full range of virtual guitars, while upstairs you can find out more about the real life guitars. My friend Xantherus might like to note that there is a virtual guitar that bears some likeness to a Flying V, though obviously it isn't actually one. So if you're disappointed that you can't get your hands on a Gibson, why not step up to the bespoke world of Patrick Hufschmid?

Here's a few snaps of the store - and of me twanging the MasterCoustic Dreadnought Spruce, which comes with a stack of animations and effects:

Gibson Guitars

If you have any knowledge of any form of popular music of the last 100 years, whether it be Jazz, Blues, Country, Rock, Pop or any of a zillion genres and sub-genres, then you surely must know the name Gibson, makers of some of the best loved electric guitars in the world. This is relevant because, while taking a look at the Second Life grid near the site of my last post I espied a Gibson Island. I zoomed in my map view. "Hot damn, that looks like the business end of a Les Paul" thinks I, and in a "we are not worthy" moment, I found myself teleported to the surface of the sim. But first, some background...

The Gibson Guitar Corporation has a history dating back to 1902 - further, if you want to include Orville Gibson's mandolin design of 1898. That great rock icon, the Les Paul, first saw the light of day in 1952, followed by other famous and much loved models like the Flying V and the SG. Over the years the company has diversified to cover a broad range of instruments, and also owns Epiphone, who produce cut price versions of the big sellers. ( I must confess an interest here , as I am the owner of a left-handed Epiphone SG - though it rarely gets out for any exercise these days).

The Gibson Island sim describes itself as: "Gibson Guitar Corp's official world on Second Life. Its a fun place for musicians and music fans, with lots to see and do, free concerts by SL and even RL musicians who endorse Gibson's family of products." It is in part of the grid that has many new sims, and many more in the early stages of construction. This sim is no different. The main feature is a combination of terraforming and object creation that forms the shape of the Les Paul guitar body, complete with strings, controls and pickups. However, it looks like a first cut at the moment - a "build it and see what it looks like" experiment that may be developed into a more fully-fledged version in due course. One side of island has more practical public spaces - an acoustic stage, a diner/dance hall and an electric stage. However, it is immediately obvious when you arrive that the island is quite a way off being ready. There are various odd bits of things dotted about the sim, seemingly is varying stages of test.

As I've commented before, opening the doors too early is not necessarily a good idea, since you end up with non-reports like this one. I can't really make any fair comment on the sim because it is so incomplete - but that's because I am of a generous disposition. A meaner "me" might treat any open sim as public and hence fair game, and review it accordingly. It is better to get the sim to a state you are happy to consider complete before letting in the hordes.

Here's a photoset so you can see what's there at the moment: