DIY One-Man-Band Rig: Technical Specifications & Concept

1. The Concept & Philosophy

• The Goal: Born out of live solo performances, this project stems from the need to create a custom physical interface that serves as a bridge between the guitar and the piano.
• The Harmonic Range: The total span of this 14-string system matches the full 8 octaves (97 keys) of the legendary Bösendorfer Imperial Grand Piano 290. While the architecture relies on the same 4 octaves repeating, they are tonally differentiated and characterized by mounting dedicated string gauges and calibers on each fretboard.
• The Heart of the Rig: The search for new musical languages should never stop at any obstacle, nor should it settle for what the market offers. Like going to a tailor for a custom-made suit, this rig was custom-built and tailored around the specific biomechanical and artistic needs of the performer.
• The Creative Freedom: Having the ability to simultaneously control the bassline and the rhythm—the true heartbeat of any song—and weave melodies and solos into them without the help of loopers or pre-recorded backing tracks brings immense joy. This musical "spaceship" allows the performer to go straight to the heart of every track and deeply explore the study of music as a whole. It bridges the gaps when one is rhythmically lacking despite being good harmonically, or vice versa. From a creative standpoint, it allows one to compose a piece starting from a rhythm, rather than a bassline or chords. Ultimately, it allows you to play a song with your entire body, just as if you were making love to the music.

2. Asymmetric Guitar Architecture & Electronics

• The Mosaic Build: The instrument is a mosaic crafted from two pre-existing 7-string guitars. The design and shape of the unified poplar solid-body were entirely conceived and drafted by the performer, and then assembled by a luthier.
• Standard Baritone Tuning: Both necks utilize standard 7-string baritone tuning with an additional low B string (B-E-A-D-G-B-E), which was strictly preferred over the all-fourths tuning often used for heavy tapping, preserving traditional guitar intervals and feeling.
• Asymmetric Offset: A fundamental construction feature involves the alignment of the two necks: the bottom neck is not positioned flush with the top neck, but is offset and recessed (rientrante). This structural asymmetry was specifically designed to allow the player to reach the middle of the bottom neck much more easily—an area where, as we know, all stringed instruments express their full sonic and harmonic potential.
• Independent Electronics: The instrument is loaded with three Seymour Duncan 7-string pickups. Despite merging everything into a single body, the wiring and electronics are kept meticulously independent, maintaining two separate, dedicated audio outputs.

3. Advanced Biomechanics & Hand Coordination
Managing a full arrangement without the use of loopers requires complete hand independence, alternating between standard coordination and simultaneous tapping.

• Dual-Neck Hand Interface: The specific physical clearance and spacing between the two necks are optimized to allow both standard coordination and simultaneous tapping configurations:
  • Left Hand: Works exclusively on the fretboard of the top neck, maintaining a natural and traditional position.
  • Right Hand: Moves between both necks depending on the arrangement needs. When working alongside the left hand on the top neck, it plays using a fingerpicking technique. When it moves to the bottom neck, it plays using tapping (resulting in simultaneous two-handed tapping).
• The Right-Hand Thumb Extension Technique: Pushing this approach to its limits, it is possible to execute an advanced hybrid mechanic: while the right hand executes tapping on the bottom neck, its thumb can extend to strike or pluck the strings of the top neck. This generates a simultaneous fingerpicking and tapping effect from a single hand, accessible only after targeted practice on this specific instrumental architecture. This independence becomes an incredible opportunity to explore new musical ideas, study polyrhythms, or construct complex two-handed chords, closely recalling the sophisticated harmonic research and voicing structures typical of the jazz piano tradition masterfully explored by innovators like Bill Evans.
• The Load-Bearing Stand: A custom metal stand bears the full weight of the heavy 14-string instrument. Beyond simply holding the guitar, this stand is a core component of the loopless engine. By removing all load from the performer's back and shoulders, it grants total lower-body freedom. This structural independence is what physically allows the performer to shift weight balance, lift toes and heels, and precisely operate the foot drum kit without losing physical stability during energetic live sets.

4. Dual-Output Routing & FX Chains
Treating the system as two isolated instruments allows for distinct pre-mix tone shaping before the separate signals are blended at the mixer:

• Top Neck Signal Chain: Routed into an Electro-Harmonix Bass9 bass simulator to enrich, solidify, and back up the basslines executed in tapping.
• Bottom Neck Signal Chain: Routed into an Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine to transform the tapped melodies and chords into rich organ textures.
• Master FX Chain (Post-Mixer): Once both separate signals pass through the mixer, they are combined and sent through a shared master effects chain to give ultimate cohesion to the overall sound:
  1. Electro-Harmonix Nano Q-Tron: Adds dynamic envelope filtering and auto-wah expression to the blended mix.
  2. Neo Instruments Ventilator II Rotary Effect: Ideal for blending, modulating, and gluing the organ and guitar tones together.
  3. Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano: For adding depth, space, and reverb.
  4. Digital Tuner: For end-of-chain signal monitoring.

5. The Foot Drum Hardware & Anti-Cross-Talk Hack
To achieve a realistic live groove that matches the guitar dynamics without loopers, the performer had to completely re-engineer how the hi-hat works, which is always the hardest part to simulate with the feet.

• The 5-Trigger Hardware Layout: A total of 5 digital triggers are integrated using specific hardware models to simulate a complex acoustic kit:
  • Left Foot (Toe - Straight): Triggers the Snare or Rimshot (1x Roland SPD-ONE Percussion).
  • Left Foot (Toe - Angled Left): Triggers an Open Hi-Hat / Medium sample length (1x Meinl MPDS1 Stomp Box Digital).
  • Left Foot (Heel): Triggers a Closed Hi-Hat / Very short, tight sample (1x Meinl MPDS1 Stomp Box Digital).
  • Right Foot (Toe): Triggers the Kick drum (1x Roland SPD-ONE Kick).
  • Right Foot (Heel): Triggers a second Closed Hi-Hat / Slightly looser sample than the left heel (1x Meinl MPDS1 Stomp Box Digital).
• Leveraging Sensor Profiles & Sensitivity: Commercial companies design these pedals assuming you'll only step on one at a time—they don't realize what a gigging multi-instrumentalist actually needs. To build a full loopless engine and get massive dynamic separation, this layout functions without accidental cross-triggering by exploiting the native difference in sensitivity between brands. The sensitivity of the Meinl units (rare, discontinued models) is much lower compared to the Rolands. Thanks to this difference, it is possible to position the Meinl stompboxes under the heels (where the leg weight is heavier) and the Rolands under the toes (where the exerted weight is significantly lighter), perfectly isolating and balancing the playing dynamics.
• Custom Acoustic Samples: To achieve an organic and cohesive live groove, the factory presets of both the Meinl and Roland units were completely bypassed. High-resolution samples belonging to a single, real acoustic drum kit were personally sourced and selected from professional external databases, and uploaded directly into the internal flash memory of all five modules to guarantee perfect tonal uniformity.
• Ergonomics & Custom Enclosures: The custom-built mahogany structures function strictly as dedicated physical housings and mounts to keep the modules stable, properly aligned, and ergonomic. Alongside this system, a custom-made wooden platform raises the performer just enough to eliminate any height differences, bringing the foot drum exactly to floor level and ensuring a natural playing posture throughout the entire live set.
• Cognitive Load Management: To make the rig viable for a live multi-instrumentalist, the kit is completely modular and scales according to the harmonic complexity of each song to manage mental bandwidth:
  • 2-Stompbox Setup (Minimum): Used for harmonically intricate tracks (e.g., complex jazz standards). Reducing the percussion to the bare minimum frees up mental bandwidth, allowing total focus on hand independence.
  • 3-Stompbox Setup (Standard): The baseline configuration for most songs. It delivers a solid, standard groove (Kick, Snare, basic Hat) without overloading the performance.
  • 4 or 5-Stompbox Setup (Maximum): The 4th and 5th triggers are brought in exclusively to handle advanced medium-open and fully-open hi-hat nuances.