Hailing from one of the hubs of rock music of Northeast, Meghalayan musician Pynthemme Pale decided to take matters into his own hands when his parents refused to buy him a guitar by creating his own hand-crafted guitar.
The 20-year-old musician who hails from a picturesque hamlet (Thadlaskien) in the West Jaintia hills district in the hill state was only 15 when he made his very first guitar. However, things did not go according to plan. "I destroyed the very first guitar that I ever made because it did not work. However, I succeeded on my second attempt..", Pynthemme tells Inside Northeast.
Pynthemme also informed us about the process involved in the crafting of his self-made guitars, which cost around Rs 10,000 to make, all things considered. "Firstly, I use the wood and carve it into the neck and body then put them together. Then I use the pick-ups and then it plays! The best thing about making your own guitar is that you can customize it. The guitar I have made is in the shape of a bird and it is a scalloped-neck guitar. Moreover, if you make your own guitar, it will cost less...whereas, an electric guitar will burn a hole in your pocket and cost around 70k.."
Pynthemme's industriousness soon reached the notice of Meghalaya's CM Conrad Sangma. Sangma took to social media to laud the young musician for his deft craftsmanship. "This will inspire you. I came across this story of Pynthymme Pale, a young boy from Lad Mukhla, West Jaintia Hills who started making his own electric guitar when he was only 15! Since his family could not afford to buy a guitar for him, Pynthymme decided to make one for himself." The Chief Minister further wrote that he has instructed his team to reach out to Pynthymme as "such raw talent must be recognized."
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So how does Pynthemme rate his guitars which have now become famous thanks to the Chief Minister's appraisal on social media? "It works as well as a proper electric guitar, but unfortunately, I do not have the resources to buy the high-level pick-ups, so it does not reach the best level."
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