Ellis Guitars
Encyclopedia
Ellis Guitars is a company based in Perth
, Western Australia
producing handmade acoustic guitars and acoustic stompboxes
. In recent years the company has produced some novel, sometimes unique, guitars based upon a resonator
design.
The 7 string resonator guitar
is a single cone resonator guitar
with an added harp
string which can be on a bass
or baritone
scale length. This guitar was first demonstrated in Melbourne
Australia 2005. It is currently owned and played by Jeff Martin
formerly of The Tea Party
. Jeff Martin
played this guitar on his on his album Exile and the Kingdom
(2006
) on the songs "Black Snake Blues", "Lament" and "Good Times". Jeff Martin also played the 7 string as recorded on
Live at the Enmore Theatre (DVD)
in Sydney, Australia on the 7th September, 2006 during his Australian Tour.
Along with these unusual guitars, Ellis Guitars also build traditional acoustic
instruments
such as the OOO, OM, Dreadnought and Jumbo acoustic guitars
. Also built are Weissenborn
style guitars.
The Ellis stomp box sounds like a kick-drum and can be used as a trigger. The stompboxes
built by Ellis Guitars are small in size. Traditionally stomp boxes have been large wooden boxes with a microphone underneath which produce a tap/boom sound usually to accompany a solo guitarist. The Ellis model is about the size of a CD case and plugs directly into an amplifier or P.A.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
producing handmade acoustic guitars and acoustic stompboxes
Stomp box
thumb|Puck'n Stompa by PetermanA stomp box or stompbox is a simple percussion instrument consisting of a small wooden box placed under the foot, which is tapped or stamped on rhythmically to produce a sound similar to that of a bass drum. A stomp box allows a performer such as a singer or guitar...
. In recent years the company has produced some novel, sometimes unique, guitars based upon a resonator
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
design.
7 string resonator guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
is a single cone resonator guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
with an added harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
string which can be on a bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
or baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
scale length. This guitar was first demonstrated in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
Australia 2005. It is currently owned and played by Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (Canadian musician)
Jeffrey Scott Martin is a Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for fronting the rock band The Tea Party. Martin began his career as a solo artist in October 2005, when The Tea Party disbanded....
formerly of The Tea Party
The Tea Party
The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences, dubbed "Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s up until 2005 when the band broke up, The Tea Party released eight albums on EMI Music Canada, selling 1.6 million records...
. Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (Canadian musician)
Jeffrey Scott Martin is a Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for fronting the rock band The Tea Party. Martin began his career as a solo artist in October 2005, when The Tea Party disbanded....
played this guitar on his on his album Exile and the Kingdom
Exile and the Kingdom (album)
Exile and the Kingdom is the debut solo album from Canadian singer/songwriter Jeff Martin. The title is derived from the 1957 book of the same name by Albert Camus.-Track listing:...
(2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
) on the songs "Black Snake Blues", "Lament" and "Good Times". Jeff Martin also played the 7 string as recorded on
Live at the Enmore Theatre (DVD)
Live at the Enmore Theatre (DVD)
Live at the Enmore Theatre is a single DVD by Canadian singer/songwriter Jeff Martin and the Toronto Tabla Ensemble. Like the Live in Brisbane 2006 album, the performance was recorded during Martin's September tour of Australia...
in Sydney, Australia on the 7th September, 2006 during his Australian Tour.
Along with these unusual guitars, Ellis Guitars also build traditional acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
such as the OOO, OM, Dreadnought and Jumbo acoustic guitars
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
. Also built are Weissenborn
Weissenborn
Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s....
style guitars.
Ellis Stomp Box
Stomp box
thumb|Puck'n Stompa by PetermanA stomp box or stompbox is a simple percussion instrument consisting of a small wooden box placed under the foot, which is tapped or stamped on rhythmically to produce a sound similar to that of a bass drum. A stomp box allows a performer such as a singer or guitar...
built by Ellis Guitars are small in size. Traditionally stomp boxes have been large wooden boxes with a microphone underneath which produce a tap/boom sound usually to accompany a solo guitarist. The Ellis model is about the size of a CD case and plugs directly into an amplifier or P.A.