Ariel Posen and the Mulecaster
Ariel Posen and the Mulecaster
Ariel Posen convinced me the Mulecaster was a thing. I started making steel bodies electrics mainly because I wanted to learn how to TIG weld. With their sharp cutaways I knew I wouldn’t be able to flange and solder them like the resonators. So I bought a TIG welder and cut up a couple hundred strips of 22 gauge stainless steel and every morning I would come in and TIG one rectangular tube of steel. It was kind of like when I learned to drive a stick shift. I was 24 and wanted to learn so I bought a civic in Chicago for $1700 that was stick. It took me 20 minutes to get out of the parking spot and with stop and go rush hour traffic I could drive stick by the time I got home.
So down the line a bit I saw Ariel play his Mulecaster at a concert before NAMM show. It was the first time I heard one on a stage in the mix with other instruments. I sat there with a shit grin on my face the whole time. The sound was like he was banging on a bridge cable. The huge 3-D quality was both controlled and created by the metal body. It was like there two guitars in stereo. I wasn’t biased going in - I just thought they were cool to make. But that experience taught me we were contributing a tool that could influence people’s inspirational decisions while playing.
-Matt