Teuffel Birdfish Teuffel

The Concept:

The concept behind the Birdfish was to build a guitar where the fundamental elements- the tonewoods and the pickups- are put together in a modular fashion. This design not only allows unlimited tonal possibilities, but also results in a very lively and percussive tone.

The Design:

The body consists of two tonebars which are screwed on both central elements “bird” and “fish”. The neck is bolted onto the upper element “bird” while the lower “fish” carries the control box in which you find the guitar electronics. A rail between “bird” and “fish” holds the slideable pickups. All three pickups can be exchanged with each other within seconds.

All of the parts (including some of the screws) are painstakingly manufactured by Ulrich Teuffel in his workshop to exacting specifications. This guarantees that all parts harmonize together in the best manner. Only the Tune-o-matic bridge comes from Gotoh and Schaller.

The main elements, bird and fish, are carved from a solid block of aluminum, hand-sanded, then plated and polished. This material has the property of transferring vibrations without adding coloration, so what you hear with the birdfish is the tone of the neck and the tone bars.

All of the other parts are also hand-made and no detail is overlooked: The strap pins are designed to appear more elegant. The wire clamp is practically a piece of jewelry- cast in brass and buffed to a high gloss by hand before chrome plating. Even the stainless steel hex screws are hand-polished.

The Tone:

The tonebars define the basic sound of the Birdfish, like the body wood of a traditional guitar. Two sets are included: One pair is made of American Alder while the other is made of selected Michigan Maple. They are interchangeable and mixing them up allows the birdfish to alter its basic character. Their design allows them to react  to every subtle nuance of the string vibrations and the result is a percussive and twangy attack.

The pickups are easily movable and interchangeable by hand. Five different pickups are inlcuded: Two single coils and three humbuckers. The character of the single coils is vintage. The tone of the humbuckers are like a P90, a PAF and a hot PAF. Each pickup can be placed in every position. They use custom made AlNiCo Magnets and are wound and tuned in the Teuffel workshop.

What you get:

Besides the bragging rights you get for becoming part of an elite group of musicans and guitar enthusiasts, the Birdfish will be delivered to your door in a custom fabricated flight case (lightweight and compact) along with a full set of tools for adjustment, 2 sets of Tonebars and all 5 pickups.

Overview:

In terms of originality, tonal versatility, craftsmanship and engineering, nothing even comes close to a Teuffel guitar. It’s no wonder these instruments have become among the most cherished possesions of players like David Torn, Henry Kaiser, Hans Zimmer, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Page Hamilton, Kirk Hammett, Amir Derakh and many others.