In 1991 I visited the Messe (MusikMesse Frankfurt) trade fair. In meetings with Larry Fishman I demonstrated to him how I had used his pickup and preamp, and that it had produced a very playable and effective e-violin. At the end of the Messe I returned to Kirkabister near Vidlin in Shetland having secured OEM pricing to use Fishman electronics throughout the Skyinbow range.
1992 saw the renovation of the weaving shed and garage in Kirkabister (pictures) as a new production and workshop space. I also returned to Messe Frankfurt with a stand organised by Tony Reaves of MTR and Hugh Manson of Manson Guitars. That year Messe showed me there was demand for my products and enabled me to source materials at prices that could work supplying trade, including timber and hardware from Erlangen violin suppliers in Germany.
Other developments included: the first production of hand made Skyinbow e-Violins; the Skyinbow Pro with a Fishman v 100 adapted and fitted in to the top of the violin; the Skyinbow Pro+ with Fishman V100 in the top plus adapted Fishman G2 preamp (volume, treble and bass controls), powered by a 9v pp3 battery fitted on board.
1993/4 saw the first commercial production of Skyinbow e-violins produced in the Kirkabister workshop, the incorporation of Skyinbow LTD and the registration of the Skyinbow logo. I also made 2 electro acoustic Octave Mandola/Bouzouki’s for the late, great Davy Steele. (pics)
Back to Messe in 1995, with the help of life long friends, Jimmy Moon of Moon Guitars and Victor Smith of Flatbush, I proudly stood at Skyinbow’s very own trade stand. We had a fantastic exhibition and secured distribution in many countries including Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Norway, New Zealand and Australia. (We also sold instruments to other countries including France, Tunisia, Algeria, Colombia, South Korea and far flung exotic locations like Reunion Island.)
History of Skyinbow
Introduction to Skyinbow history