Jen Chochinov of U.K. noise-rock outfit Schande told us about her love for her Gretsch Electromatic Hollow Body 12-string guitar.
Jen Chochinov: Ever since I started playing guitar I have been enamored with 12-string guitars. Oddly enough, my delight in them did not actually motivate me to do anything about it, like say, oh I dunno, actually pick one up and play one. There was something so otherworldly about them to me, that being able to play one seemed like some special skill that only Olympic athletes or Nobel scientists had. Thank fuck I could not have been more wrong about that!
Thanks to one very kind Mr. Thurston Moore I was introduced to the Gretsch Electromatic Hollow Body 12-string guitar, and you will have to pry it from my dead bare hands to make me part ways with it. I am a Fender girl at heart, but the lightness and versatility of the Gretsch is a dream. Being able to so effortlessly create a wall of sound and jump between dynamics has reinvigorated the fun of songwriting for me. The ability to create such dimensional soundscapes and angular tones without needing a chorus or octave pedal is really special.
I can’t imagine a song like “Palimpsest” or “Derek” sounding good at all on a 6-string guitar– in fact I can say for certain I wouldn’t have even thought about writing Palimpsest if it wasn’t for the Gretsch. And the fact “Palimpsest” unintentionally sounds like an homage to Kaleidoscope from Siouxsie & the Banshees makes me love the guitar even more.
Schande's debut album Once Around is out now.
