So… Win or fail ? Paul Kinny’s Stereo Acoustic guitars feature two sound holes on its mammoth design. It’s somewhat remiscent of a harp-guitar.
The two holes are oddly positioned toward the musician, so the audience might get a little confused. But who cares? They’re already mesmerized by this behemoth thing.
This guitar does not look very practical but it is supposed to be the ultimate guitar to record a magically rich acoustic sound. If you’re in doubt about the shape or the practicality of the stereo guitar, just think about how it would be to play a guitar shaped like, say, a banana.
I’d say “win”! The sound would bang around in that huge resonator. When it finally escapes via the two side soundholes, I’d bet it has great bass and woodiness to it. You would probably hear a millisecond or two’s worth of delay for the same reason… something like having a chorus pedal on to fatten up the sound. I bet it sounds very distinctive. It would almost have to.
Ergonomically, there can’t be much doubt that it’s a disaster… one might be tempted to have a stand built for it so that it could be played in a seated position, something like Pat Metheny’s Manzur multi-neck (which eventually imploded from string tension stress, apparently). Its sheer fragility would argue against its ever being taken on the road. Weight is probably an issue when you think of the interior bracing that that huge, pendulous upper chamber would require.
All things considered, though, I’d say the tonal and engineering advances this instrument features would put it in the “win” category. Full marks for innovation, anyway.