Mattias Krantz is a Swedish engineer who modifies instruments mostly by having really dumb or funny ideas, and then being stubborn and persistent enough not to give up where any sensible person would. He has done a number of weird and whacky pianos (including one previously featured on mefi) but has more recently moved on to guitars: a petrol-powered electric, an acoustic strung with Madagascan spider silk, and a spinning necked guitar which he then tries to play. Now his most recent guitar project is all about speed: picking speed, specifically. Here is his concept for a thousand-pick auto-picking guitar, like a hair metal hurdy-gurdy. [MLYT]

Translating Great African Composers. "In this mesmerising performance and talk, Derek Gripper explains how he painstakingly translated the works of the great Toumani Diabate from the 21-string kora, onto six string guitar. He gives context to the virtuosity of Diabate himself, and an insight into how African music traditions are passed down. In the process of this translation, Derek is also capturing these African masterpieces onto guitar scores, providing a new way for the works of great African composers to be preserved and interpreted by musicians worldwide."

Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté - Jarabi Toumani Diabete - bio. Derek Gripper on NPR's Tiny Desk. "Earlier this year, Gripper finally made it to Mali, where his efforts received the blessing of Toumani Diabate himself; the two even jammed together."