What could be more beautiful than giving this guitar a second life? Preserving the scars left by time pays homage to it. It's a beautiful story that shows creativity doesn't necessarily lie in buying new equipment. Thank you, David.
This is like an analogy of the unpredictable changes we go through in our life... you never know how things gonna end up and no matter how long darkness and loneliness take over our days theres always a chance to be rescued and raise again like this guitar. I loved it!
Can't find the right words to express my admiring for you 😇. What others consider garbage changes into a joyful video with a lovely song. That's really a gift to be so creative as you are. Thanks as always for sharing and all the best to you!
It kinda just happens once you start looking enough without giving up. My finds, though, were all in Yard Sales and Goodwill. Also one in a Flea Market, though that one was a Favilla Bros. Bowlback Mandolin from 1912. Eventually, something's gotta give. And some of that can be astonishing, even now. Else, I wouldn't have been given a 1935ish Supertone, even though it's badly warped (but is still fixable.)
The song stands on its own, but I definitely think bringing the viewer along for some of the creative process creates that much more of a connection to it. That peek behind the curtain is something else. Thanks, once again, for sharing!
I live near you. I remember that guitar. My wife and I spoke to a woman in the back yard about it and some Dansko shoes sat out on the sidewalk side of their fence. Love your videos.
nice, wild timing too. I recently happened upon my old squire guitar that I had at my parent's place and is in major need of some tlc as they kept it outside in the backyard for most of the several years I've been away. Really awesome video
Great work and it is fantastic that the wood was still "alive" . I once found an electric guitar in the trash and I made an electric bouzouki that also works
I was so stoked to see this I personally am a huge fan of Presidents the United States of America and have also fashioned my own basitar and guitbass in the past. We also took a bass body put a guitar neck on it and strung it up tuned like a cello and called it 'the dark lord' we only played sabbath on it lol
Hey if there's any other presidents fans that don't want to or can't build one of these you can just tune your guitar and bass down to c standard and play the whole album through
I was surprised that you finished the fingerboard with tru oil and left the rest of the neck as you found it! Pretty amazing that it was mostly playable after years outside like that. The song sounded cool!! I’m looking forward to seeing what other experiments you have in store…
I am a saver of broken guitars. It isn't that hard to do and $500 worth of tools is enough...easily. Don't even need that much initially. Glue, clamps and sandpaper is enough sometimes. Fixing and modding and setting up guitars takes time but it's fun. Especially when one gets to play them or know that other's are benefiting from the effort. As my son begins high school I will volunteer my time and tools to fixing and improving guitars there and at other schools. If it has a straight neck it's usually worth fixing. Twisted necks are my limit, but I'll save everything else on a guitar. Especially Strats because there are so many necks out there. They seem to just turn up in my universe. Watching this video has my mind made up that I must build a bassitar of some kind. Must must must. Cheers David Hilowitz Music. Last bit, if one ever breaks a truss rod on a budget guitar please don't toss it. Same with badly worn frets. Either isn't worth the time and effort to restore them if the guitar is worth less than about $1k. Instead just modify it to be a slide guitar. Just raise the action sky high and tune it to an Open tuning. Slide is fun and if one looses their grip strength over time, playing slide is still very do-able at a basic level. It's still making music and it'll keep one's mind active and creative into the late years.
You know, when I see stuff like this, it breaks me.. As a musician, it just, it hurts so badly. I'm glad there's people like you out there who manage to give them a second chance though.
One kind of video I like to watch is the guitar restoration or in this case Bassitar... This instrument is truely one of a kind man. Love to see the guitar comes back to life from its bad day again... No guitar deserve to be abandoned😊😊
It takes a lot of confidence and self respect to be so open with your creative process in your videos. Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into that very personal aspect of creation.
For the basitar setup, I went through the same website, and even wrote to Ballew, who answered me about potential issues I might encounter. Glad to see someone following the same path
I found an electric guitar in the trash a couple of years ago, but mine just hangs on the wall next to an acoustic guitar that i also found in the trash. Both are First Act kids toys, so no real loss to the world of music.
Great work, sir. Your chorus sounds more like a pre-chorus, to my ear, as it's still building-up to something bigger, a crescendo, before descending back into a verse. Sounds great, and I really appreciate the reusing of something left to rot!
Never heard of a basitar before. I saw this one on one of your other videos, and said to myself, "Is he playing a... two string bass?.... on a guitar body?" Which led me to this video, and ... yes. Yes he was. I love this idea. I'm going to look into it further. Thanks for showing this to me.
Crazy, I put that Guitar there 7 years ago to see what would happen if I left one out for a long time. Took it down a couple of times but eventually forgot about it. I figured someone would take it if I forgot about it. Crazy stuff man.
so my dad passed away back in April and had this old strat i think. with all the guts ripped out and strings taken off he would air guitar his favorite songs too. anyways i grabbed it from my moms today to see if i could rebuild it. your video has really inspired me thank you.
I'm rewatching all your found instrument videos because I feel like I've just had a bit of a David Hilowitz moment myself; I was walking down a street and saw a couple of guitar necks in a skip outside a house. I knocked on the door and the man dug out five(!) dusty necks and two bright red bodies - all Stratocaster-style, save for one Telecaster-style neck - from the skip. I talked to him a little bit about my interest in building and repairing musical instruments, and he went inside and returned with a pair of mostly complete but very dusty and dirty guitars, a Stagg Stratocaster copy and a Nevada Les Paul copy. None of the things are particularly high quality or valuable, but in this kind of situation the value is stored in the experience and the backstory. I always see videos like this and think 'wow, I wish I could come across an unwanted musical instrument under mysterious circumstances' and now it has happened - hopefully not for the last time! :)
@@DavidHilowitzMusic Yes! He was really very nice. He said he built guitars from parts, and these were bits that he hadn't ended up using. I think he was quite pleased to see them going to someone who would appreciate them, and hopefully I can use them in my own musical creations!
My aunt bought me this EXACT guitar at a yard sale for a buck.. indonesian 05 model..everything is the same! My grandpa and i are gonna fully restore it. It was covered in paint, missing jack output, and a few other things. Love projects like this especially with my grandpa!
Pretty insane that the neck of that bass wasnt totally twisted after staying outside for a couple of month/years... Awesome job anyways, you are a magician
I cant explain how I wanna be you so bad ur just a music genius man be grateful of you’re skill because I would kill to have such musical talent and wish I could have you’re skills one day
There's a zen philosophy called wabi sabi that values objects being old, tarnished, and weathered by age, ie cracked ceramic cups, that elevates their value, because they reflect their true nature as being impermanent, and also well loved. Your rescued bassuitar fits that description of wabi sabi perfectly.
it's a crazy coincidence that this is what you decided to do, at least for me... I've been listening non-stop to Morphine for the last few days for the first time since the late '90s.
I like the story more than the repair. I would have have totally sanded and refinished the neck and headstock. I have had luck using wood hardener for waterlogged wood with great results. The fact that the finish wasn't cracked and chipped for being outside in the elements is a miracle. A wet sand and polish might bring back the finish. Someone stole my Steinberger XM2 out of my car back in the 90s. It was recovered a few months later after sitting in about 3 feet of water in the Charles River. I picked it up at the police station and it was trash. I didn't even want to touch it, it was covered in a green slime. I did manage to get it to play, it took a ton of cleaning and work. I got all the old parts cleaned and working but the finish was non existent. I would like to see this strat refurbished in the future.
I just love your channel, the vibe and quality is so good, and your composing skills are so consistent. Loved the song, by the way! it reminded me a lot of a song called Unfolded Eye, by From grotto, One of my favorite bands.
GodDAMMIT Dave, is there anything you can't do?!! You even sing really well! Sheesh! 😆 Appreciate the tune coming onto the Patreon - happy listener here. Great video; I'm not even a guitarist and you made it interesting for me. All the best.
To be honest, i am a sucker for old things. Old cars, old bikes and old instruments. I do not like restoration projects, but rather bringing life back to the item and make it functional again. I like all the dings, scratches, faded paint etc, it shows the "honestly and life" of the object. I think of it as "this item has been neglected-/gone through hell" and still completely functional. Good job though!
I envy your ability to just stumble across potential projects
IKR? I live in Philadelphia and I never see anything good.
Frrrr
Everything is everywhere
There are 10 projects in your own home. Projects are everywhere.
I envy his ability to actually see the projects through. This guy is a wonder!
Wow. Not only did you do a fantastic job restoring the guitar, but you pulled a catchy indie rock song out of nowhere. Good show, David!!
@@wriglarzzz no i dont think he's joking. i genuinely loved the sound of that
@@wriglarzzz Joking about what, mate?
@@wriglarzzz you must be so sad finding such a non funny comment funny
I had the same guitar, I literally left mine leaning against a dumpster. The maintenance guy at the apartment building gave it to his kid.
what is fantastic about it?)
You saved that guitar's life, making you a literal guitar hero. :D
haha I guess so, yeah
it's just entertainment
@@DeathMayBeYourSantaClausz just?
What could be more beautiful than giving this guitar a second life? Preserving the scars left by time pays homage to it. It's a beautiful story that shows creativity doesn't necessarily lie in buying new equipment. Thank you, David.
This is like an analogy of the unpredictable changes we go through in our life... you never know how things gonna end up and no matter how long darkness and loneliness take over our days theres always a chance to be rescued and raise again like this guitar. I loved it!
Still takes funds to be there ?
@@chinmeysway sorry i don't understand the question
Can't find the right words to express my admiring for you 😇. What others consider garbage changes into a joyful video with a lovely song. That's really a gift to be so creative as you are. Thanks as always for sharing and all the best to you!
I swear you must have some hidden power to just stumble upon instruments and audio equipment
Yeah after a while us musicians just find them I have tons of guitars I bought for $40 or just found in the trash
How
It kinda just happens once you start looking enough without giving up. My finds, though, were all in Yard Sales and Goodwill. Also one in a Flea Market, though that one was a Favilla Bros. Bowlback Mandolin from 1912.
Eventually, something's gotta give. And some of that can be astonishing, even now. Else, I wouldn't have been given a 1935ish Supertone, even though it's badly warped (but is still fixable.)
The song stands on its own, but I definitely think bringing the viewer along for some of the creative process creates that much more of a connection to it. That peek behind the curtain is something else. Thanks, once again, for sharing!
I live near you. I remember that guitar. My wife and I spoke to a woman in the back yard about it and some Dansko shoes sat out on the sidewalk side of their fence. Love your videos.
nice, wild timing too. I recently happened upon my old squire guitar that I had at my parent's place and is in major need of some tlc as they kept it outside in the backyard for most of the several years I've been away. Really awesome video
Instantly fell in love with this song. What a great project, thanks for giving a new life to the instrument!
I don’t play an instrument, produce music, or restore things, but there’s just something so fascinating about your videos. ❤
Great work and it is fantastic that the wood was still "alive" . I once found an electric guitar in the trash and I made an electric bouzouki that also works
I clicked for the guitar repair but stayed for the song. I am glad that this video is simply beautiful and experimental in all ways possible.
bro single handedly saved this guitar’s life. Amen
As a bass and a guitar player i felt sad seing that guitar left alone. You did good rescuing it and ur song was great :)
I was so stoked to see this I personally am a huge fan of Presidents the United States of America and have also fashioned my own basitar and guitbass in the past. We also took a bass body put a guitar neck on it and strung it up tuned like a cello and called it 'the dark lord' we only played sabbath on it lol
Hey if there's any other presidents fans that don't want to or can't build one of these you can just tune your guitar and bass down to c standard and play the whole album through
This song escalated quickly! :)
Congrats.
clicked for the guitar ... stayed for the song and sheer talent . Awesome!
I was surprised that you finished the fingerboard with tru oil and left the rest of the neck as you found it! Pretty amazing that it was mostly playable after years outside like that. The song sounded cool!! I’m looking forward to seeing what other experiments you have in store…
You're offically my favourite youtube channel, you're so curious, creative and inspiring.
Love this track you made with it. Really nice groove and harmonies!
I am a saver of broken guitars. It isn't that hard to do and $500 worth of tools is enough...easily. Don't even need that much initially. Glue, clamps and sandpaper is enough sometimes. Fixing and modding and setting up guitars takes time but it's fun. Especially when one gets to play them or know that other's are benefiting from the effort. As my son begins high school I will volunteer my time and tools to fixing and improving guitars there and at other schools. If it has a straight neck it's usually worth fixing. Twisted necks are my limit, but I'll save everything else on a guitar. Especially Strats because there are so many necks out there. They seem to just turn up in my universe. Watching this video has my mind made up that I must build a bassitar of some kind. Must must must. Cheers David Hilowitz Music.
Last bit, if one ever breaks a truss rod on a budget guitar please don't toss it. Same with badly worn frets. Either isn't worth the time and effort to restore them if the guitar is worth less than about $1k. Instead just modify it to be a slide guitar. Just raise the action sky high and tune it to an Open tuning. Slide is fun and if one looses their grip strength over time, playing slide is still very do-able at a basic level. It's still making music and it'll keep one's mind active and creative into the late years.
You know, when I see stuff like this, it breaks me..
As a musician, it just, it hurts so badly. I'm glad there's people like you out there who manage to give them a second chance though.
One kind of video I like to watch is the guitar restoration or in this case Bassitar... This instrument is truely one of a kind man. Love to see the guitar comes back to life from its bad day again... No guitar deserve to be abandoned😊😊
Insane how clean the print is on the back of the headstock considering the condition of the rest
Lends new meaning to one man's trash is another man's treasure. Those two-note chords really did give the illusion that it was a bass.
I wasn’t expecting such an amazing banger to come from the thumbnail. I really liked how this vid played out. It would be cool to see more like this
It takes a lot of confidence and self respect to be so open with your creative process in your videos. Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into that very personal aspect of creation.
As a bassist I salute the power of the bassitar and the rescued.
May the low end serve you well in this new life.
You really kind of do it all, don’t you? I learn so much from this channel! Thank you!
For the basitar setup, I went through the same website, and even wrote to Ballew, who answered me about potential issues I might encounter. Glad to see someone following the same path
I'm kinda amazed this thing didn't just crumble. Good on you for saving it!
A broken, abandoned guitar is the perfect metaphor for Philly.
I found an electric guitar in the trash a couple of years ago, but mine just hangs on the wall next to an acoustic guitar that i also found in the trash. Both are First Act kids toys, so no real loss to the world of music.
Chills when you started recording the vocals! What a track, and such a cool instrument to add to your collection.
Great work, sir. Your chorus sounds more like a pre-chorus, to my ear, as it's still building-up to something bigger, a crescendo, before descending back into a verse. Sounds great, and I really appreciate the reusing of something left to rot!
Pretty sweet! Found this from a story on yahoo news. A beautiful thing giving that guitar a new chance at life!
*So did I!* 🙂🤘🤘❤
Sir, you provide some of the best content on the entire internet IMO. Thank you!
To give a guitar a new life is the most impressive thing you did. And the way it returned to life is the most. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Good job!!!👍🏼
Nailed the 90’s vibe with that bassline
Never heard of a basitar before. I saw this one on one of your other videos, and said to myself, "Is he playing a... two string bass?.... on a guitar body?" Which led me to this video, and ... yes. Yes he was. I love this idea. I'm going to look into it further. Thanks for showing this to me.
I love the switch from your typical "look what I found" format to "look what I did with what I found" format
Love the fact you turned it into a bassitar, and the song is awesome.
One of my first guitars was found by my dad in a dumpster. I cleaned off the gunk, and it's still one of my favorites.
I call it the Dumpstercaster.
Crazy, I put that Guitar there 7 years ago to see what would happen if I left one out for a long time. Took it down a couple of times but eventually forgot about it. I figured someone would take it if I forgot about it. Crazy stuff man.
I have one of these from 2000 and this series was GREAT. I can’t say enough nice things about it
so my dad passed away back in April and had this old strat i think. with all the guts ripped out and strings taken off he would air guitar his favorite songs too. anyways i grabbed it from my moms today to see if i could rebuild it. your video has really inspired me thank you.
I'm rewatching all your found instrument videos because I feel like I've just had a bit of a David Hilowitz moment myself; I was walking down a street and saw a couple of guitar necks in a skip outside a house. I knocked on the door and the man dug out five(!) dusty necks and two bright red bodies - all Stratocaster-style, save for one Telecaster-style neck - from the skip. I talked to him a little bit about my interest in building and repairing musical instruments, and he went inside and returned with a pair of mostly complete but very dusty and dirty guitars, a Stagg Stratocaster copy and a Nevada Les Paul copy. None of the things are particularly high quality or valuable, but in this kind of situation the value is stored in the experience and the backstory. I always see videos like this and think 'wow, I wish I could come across an unwanted musical instrument under mysterious circumstances' and now it has happened - hopefully not for the last time! :)
That's amazing! I'm convinced there's tons of stuff like this in many people's basements, but it's great that you got to actually meet the person!
@@DavidHilowitzMusic Yes! He was really very nice. He said he built guitars from parts, and these were bits that he hadn't ended up using. I think he was quite pleased to see them going to someone who would appreciate them, and hopefully I can use them in my own musical creations!
Wow! Not to mention that growly bit you just played, it sounded like a heavy duty electronic keyboard. Just superb🎉❤
My aunt bought me this EXACT guitar at a yard sale for a buck.. indonesian 05 model..everything is the same! My grandpa and i are gonna fully restore it. It was covered in paint, missing jack output, and a few other things. Love projects like this especially with my grandpa!
Pretty insane that the neck of that bass wasnt totally twisted after staying outside for a couple of month/years... Awesome job anyways, you are a magician
Love the way the headstock looks. I'd spray clear over it!
love how this started as a restoration then turnd into a full song writing, totaly me
blows my brain when david start to sing, i didn't see that coming
Wow! I am an Indonesian, and I am so proud that Indonesian made guitar is that tough!
I cant explain how I wanna be you so bad ur just a music genius man be grateful of you’re skill because I would kill to have such musical talent and wish I could have you’re skills one day
There's a zen philosophy called wabi sabi that values objects being old, tarnished, and weathered by age, ie cracked ceramic cups, that elevates their value, because they reflect their true nature as being impermanent, and also well loved. Your rescued bassuitar fits that description of wabi sabi perfectly.
You've earned my respect for rescuing that guitar. Nice Vocals.
Great to see old abandoned Instruments come back to life, neat wee song too 😊
If I saw an instrument that someone left behind, I would steal it because I want a giant collection of instruments
Very cool video, love your bassitar and that you saved that poor guitar - catchy song too! 👍🎶😎
Great job on this restoration David, amazing job as always!
Sounds incredibly good to me. Love that and dig that you gave it a new life. I always hope to just a find a guitar somewhere.
Great voice, man.
Bro i cannot stop watching your videos now. I love the formatting.
Really like that song, and the concept of a two string bass.
I love the headstock on that, it looks amazing
yeah!! David at his best - equal parts inspiration. talent, ingenuity, curiosity. Well done, love the track!
i seriously love ALL of this. The idea, the recovery, the song!
wow a real restoration video?! i havent seen one of these in years, good that theres still genuine restorations
Every time i watch your videos im amazed, but this time my jaw dropped. This is the definition of "make something from nothing"
You saved the guitar and it thanked with awesome music in return
your video quality is wonderful, super underrated!!
It is so weird to see the instruments you made into plugins on your wall. In my own music your plugins are my most used by far!
I love your improvisation. Good on ya, lad.
the chorus of this song reminds me of Death Cab! Awesome job David, you're videos are insanely inspiring!
it's a crazy coincidence that this is what you decided to do, at least for me... I've been listening non-stop to Morphine for the last few days for the first time since the late '90s.
I like the story more than the repair. I would have have totally sanded and refinished the neck and headstock. I have had luck using wood hardener for waterlogged wood with great results. The fact that the finish wasn't cracked and chipped for being outside in the elements is a miracle. A wet sand and polish might bring back the finish. Someone stole my Steinberger XM2 out of my car back in the 90s. It was recovered a few months later after sitting in about 3 feet of water in the Charles River. I picked it up at the police station and it was trash. I didn't even want to touch it, it was covered in a green slime. I did manage to get it to play, it took a ton of cleaning and work. I got all the old parts cleaned and working but the finish was non existent. I would like to see this strat refurbished in the future.
Guitar turned out hella dope, David Hilowitz Music!
I used to live right next to that guitar in West!! This is amazing :)
I just love your channel, the vibe and quality is so good, and your composing skills are so consistent. Loved the song, by the way! it reminded me a lot of a song called Unfolded Eye, by From grotto, One of my favorite bands.
I really love the rustic look the head stock has.
GodDAMMIT Dave, is there anything you can't do?!! You even sing really well! Sheesh! 😆 Appreciate the tune coming onto the Patreon - happy listener here. Great video; I'm not even a guitarist and you made it interesting for me. All the best.
I could watch you create a song everyday. The process is inspiring!
To be honest, i am a sucker for old things. Old cars, old bikes and old instruments. I do not like restoration projects, but rather bringing life back to the item and make it functional again. I like all the dings, scratches, faded paint etc, it shows the "honestly and life" of the object. I think of it as "this item has been neglected-/gone through hell" and still completely functional. Good job though!
Now THIS is a proper relic instrument. Sounds great!
This song you made is sick, it could easily be in my playlist
Man, David's music is consistently good
Wow. A really strong 80's - early 90's "Madchester" vibe! I can imagine The Stone Roses singing this!
man that song sounds great, it has that very early 2000s vibe that i miss
Always a great day when we see a new upload on your channel :)
You channel is so chilling, love it
Simply wonderful, brought a real smile to my face, many thanks. Ace song too. xxx
You're very talented Mr. Hilowitz
Absolutely love this - I'm off to go find an abandoned guitar!!
Woah, I know that exact website! I was planning on making my nephew a bassitar to introduce him into playing music and jam with him!
11months late but that song give some serious feel good inc vibes 5:00
What a fund project, thank you for sharing it!
I love your work. Thanks for making the internet a better place 😊
Basitars are absolutely amazing! I got an old strat I made into one, and I love it. Amazing vid as usual!