Meazzi

[biscuit]

Every now and then I browse the local classified ads platform in search for instrument trades and today I came across a guitar brand I had never heard before: Meazzi from Italy:

www.willhaben.at/iad/kaufen-und-verkaufen/d/meazzi-continental-60er-jahre-vintage-raritaet-in-wunderbarem-zustand-semi-acoustic-hollowbody-gitarre-266366279/

 

I did a little research and found a Meazzi Hollywood Jupiter model on Reverb:

reverb.com/item/15351634-meazzi-hollywood-jupiter-1964

This guitar has really incredible features for the mid-sixties, among them a mercury-operated switch that puts the guitar into standby when it is in the upright position 

Here's another Meazzi (Hollywood Mustang) in action:

[Deleted]

Cool guitar - sounds great too.
Nice playing, whoever that is.
TT

[Malc]

Great guitar and playing. Reminds me of Bill Frisell.

[snakehips]

Hi there !

Mercury ?? !!!!!!!!!

OMG !

[lexluthier]

Hi! The guy in the video has a great Youtube channel with a plethora of weird and wonderful non American guitars demonstrated, highly recommended!

For more Italian odities and some other great instruments, check this out...........

Enjoy! Chris

[Stevie]

Mercury amalgam? Who knew?

I have such a tilt switch. It is a glass encapsulated mercury bath. I believe it came from a pinball machine. I had a crazy idea to place it the ignition circuit inline with direction of travel in my Saab. The idea being that unless overridden, the car would start readily, but it would drive like a kangaroo. It didn't happen!

Sure mercury is dodgy stuff, but no one told us or our teacher that when we were encouraged to try to pick it up with our fingers off a plate. Well we (I?) lived to tell the tale anyway...

e&oe...

[Deleted]

I've seen a mercury tilt switch on a vibraphone for turning on or off the rotating discs at the top of each sound chamber which create vibrato. The advantage is they are noiseless. Not sure they would have worked for the likes of Hendrix or Townshend though!

[Pickers Ditch]

More commonly used as tilt switches in car alarms, fail safe switches to shut down machinery if excess vibration or movement is critical etc.
Have used them for years on industrial kit with no problems. Usually in double skinned systems/containers to retain any Hg in the case of damage. Just be sensible and follow all procedures re use/disposal etc.
What's the problem?

[Pickers Ditch]

Back on subject - Meazzi - one of my mates at school in Germany, early 1960s, had a Meazzi guitar and amp.
We thought it was crap because it didn't have the "F" word on the headstock.
Such naivete.....he sold the lot for DM50 - about a fiver in them days, roughly about £100 today.