Tiki Guiro?

Not sure if this is the right place to post. I'm looking for a guiro ("the ribbed fish") made out of koa, hopefully with some tiki carvings or theme rather than a Latin theme. Any suggestions?

I would assume since we don't have a tiki instrument section...you're good.

Ah, a güiro, the wonderful instrument responsible for part of what makes Quiet Village so great.

I've seen bamboo ones, but never a tiki one. That sounds like a custom job for one of our carvers here on TC though. Kinda makes me want to carve one. :)

I have NEVER seen one made to look like a Tiki though, I wish I had one myself!

Here's the only thing I found..... http://www.rhythmtraders.com/Meinl-10-Djembefola-Tiki-Black-Djembe-p3768.html

[ Edited by: Tiki Cowboys 2013-04-16 19:33 ]

Tele,

Do you care how it sounds? The best guiros are usually made out of gourds and come in many sizes. Different countries favor different styles and sizes of these...for exotica stuff, i like the small puerto rican ones with the wire rakes vs. the stick style and large gourd/wide mouthed fish you see with latin/salsa bands. Rarely do i like LP's stuff but their combo metal guiro/shaker is great (minus the shaker) for the exotica sound too if you want something more durable than the puerto rican style.

i'd be cautious of "wood" - its a dense material that doesn't resonate well at that size of an instrument and you will mostly get high pitched contact sound and not a lot of body from the hollow area which is what really helps it project on stage. but, if it's a cosmetic thing you are after, then i understand the fun angle.

if you want a real instrument focused on sound, Steveweissmusic.com has the largest and cheapest percussion inventory on the planet - check them. They may not list every style/size so if you order, may want to tell them in the Notes what size you are looking for.

FUn fact: in the DR (Dom Repub), the guiro is feminine (guira) and is a large, cylinder shaped guiro, almost always metal, and hollow all the way through. Merengue!

best,
Mr. Ho

Thank you, Mr. Ho. Yes, the tone is the make or break factor. I didn't realize the fish shaped ones were made from gourds.

In my head, I was trying to merge the concept of a fish guiro with the wooden frog instrument. If that's not going to work, then I won't waste time on that avenue.

[ Edited by: Tele295 2013-04-17 09:02 ]

Me 6 years ago....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuKCTdZSd8E

A very deep tone, but it looks cool!

Jim Bacchi rubbing his Tiki - what a classic! But what's that damn white noise in the background? :D

I found this guiro made out of a big hunk of bamboo. Pretty close to the tone I'm looking for