SPECIAL EDITION CHRISTMAS 2013 ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC FATBOY KAZOO & STAND

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Each year I make several Special Edition Kazoos to celebrate various holidays and special events.  This includes National Kazoo Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, New Years and other special days.   Generally these are unique kazoo designs that are only made once.  Right now I am working on this year's Special Edition Christmas Kazoo which is both a one of a kind Christmas Kazoo and a new FatBoy Kazoo Design.  It is a sculpted one of a kind Collector's FatBoy Kazoo with an absolutely beautiful wood grain/knot pattern and color.

I call this new design the "Convertable" FatBoy Kazoo for two reasons.  First it because it converts from an acoustic to an electric kazoo, which in itself is not a new design as I already have an acoustic/electric Performer FatBoy Kazoo in the kazoo factory catalog. There is also another convertable feature of this new FatBoy design.  It can be mounted in a standard Hohner Harmonica Neck Holder on either the mouth or vent side of the resonator cap.  The original design of the FatBoy Kazoo only offers mounting in the neck holder on the vent side of the resonator cap which results in about 2.5" of the kazoo mouth end extending beyond the neck holder.  When mounted on the mouth side of the kazoo less than an inch of the mouth end extends beyond the neck holder.  This more similar to that of a harmonica.

This kazoo will come with two resonator caps.  One acoustic and one electric to fit the Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic available at Kazoobie Kazoo. You can play acoustic with either resonator cap but the Hummbucker will only fit the Electric Resonator Cap.  It also comes with a beautiful matching wooden display stand.  The Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic is not included with this kazoo and must be purchased separately.  They are are available at KAZOOBIE KAZOO   and some other great electric kazoo stuff too!!

This Special Collector Edition "Convertable" FatBoy Christmas 2013 Kazoo, Serial Number 001, will be finished and available in my ArtFire Shop sometime in October 2013.

Acoustic Resonator Cap On Kazoo

Electric Resonator Cap On Kazoo

Stand, Body and both Resonator Caps

Stand, Body and both Resonator Caps

On January 1, 2014 a new Performer Design "Convertable" FatBoy Kazoo with dual mounting locations will be available in the kazoo factory catalog.  At that time all other FatBoy Kazoos models will have an option for selecting the location of a mounting point for the harmonica neck holder,  either on the mouth or vent side of the kazoo resonator cap at no additional cost.

So be sure and keep an eye out for this one!  It will make a beautiful Christmas gift for for everyone especially performing musicians and collectors.  The FatBoy Family of Kazoos are my most popular instruments literally around the world.

Happy Kazooing to All!
Doc

PS
Here is a picture of a previous Acoustic/Electric Collector FatBoy Kazoo.  This kazoo has been sold and is not available.  I added this picture to demonstrate how the Hummbucker mounts to the kazoo.

This picture shows a traditional Collector FatBoy with mounting on vent side 
of the resonator cap.  It is used for demonstrating the Hummbucker Kazoo
Pickup/Mic attached to the kazoo. 
Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mics are available at
KAZOOBIE KAZOOS

I TOOK A WRONG TURN IN ALBUQUERQUE!

I'm back!!! LOL   It looks like I have been lost since my last blog post It's been a while since I have had time to post a new blog.  Today I have the workshop all caught up and am taking the day to do website updates.  I thought the best place to start would be letting you know what's been going on in the Kazoo Factory and around the Homestead.

It has been a pretty rugged summer weather wise with daily heat index (what it feels like) going over 100F outside and way hotter in the workshop.  So this has mean that the workshop is on Tropical Hours.  This is an old sailors term from my days on an old WWII destroyer with no air conditioning anywhere but the galley. When operating in tropical climates we would start work early while the coolest and knock of ships work early before the peak afternoon heat.  I do the same in the workshop each year.  I should be back on regular hours in a month or so.

Lots has been going on since my last blog post.  I have been petty busy making kazoos and designing some new ones too.  Have also had lots of fun on several new collaborations with performing musicians for some great custom designed kazoos! This includes the UkeZoo Kazoo that is shaped like a Ukulele, the MicZoo Kazoo designed to fit a microphone clip held in a mic stand, Yellow Submarine Kazoos and a few more!  I am working on a collaboration right now for a 12" dreadnought kazoo that will be performing early next year at the World Busker's Festival in Spain!  I have also designed a few new kazoos myself including and Electric Performer FatBoy Kazoo that is made to accept the Hummbucker Kazoo Pickup/Mic that is available at Kazoobie Kazoo.  I am presently making a Special Edition Collectors Electric FatBoy Kazoo that will be available soon!  I even modified my old Performer FatBoy to accept the pick up and am having a ball running it through my old Digitech Genesis 1 processor to my old favorite Peavy Rage guitar amp.  Kazoobie Kazoo also just added a Professional Hummbucker Pickup to their catalog!!

Back in July I was very proud to be part of N'UKEFEST 2013 in the UK donating a beautiful Custom UkeZoo Kazoo for their raffle in support of Macmillian Cancer Support.  The UkeZoo joined some beautiful ukuleles and other items that were donated and raised nearly 1000 pounds for a great cause!!!   I just sent another kazoo back to my stomping grounds as a kid back in Charlotte, NC to a local elementary school for a Silent Auction fund raising event.  The school is within a few miles of where I grew up so that made this a very special kazoo for me.  It is a new designed Custom Traditional Carolina Kazoo.  I will be making these available soon.

Recently added a new country to the list of "Where In The World Are Aswego Kazoos".  In one month I shipped the first two kazoos to Switzerland.  Still shy of my "Bucket List Item" to have one in every country on the planet but making process.  As always I have had the great pleasure of making kazoos for some fantastic people from all over.  I sure like making kazoos my way.  I makes it nice getting to meet and communicate with real people for a week or so while I make their kazoos.  One thing I have discovered is that there are really some other crazy people in the Kazoo and Ukulele communities around the world!!!

Which reminds me I also got myself a soprano ukulele last Christmas.  I figured that since so many ukulele players were using my kazoos the least I could do was learn to play the ukulele!  Not only have I discovered a much under estimated instrument that is just plain fun to play but a bunch of ukulele players around the world who have helped me learn.  I ain't there yet but I am closer than I was last Christmas and just got my second ukulele, a tenor ukulele this time.  I highly recommend the ukulele to everyone as a perfect companion to a kazoo!

There's lots more that's been going on as usual in the workshop.  I have tinkered with a few other instrument builds when I had time and as always having a bunch of fun.  Hope this blog finds each of you happy, well and most importantly having fun.

Happy Kazooing to All
Doc