Musician Makes Fully Working Guitar Out Of His Dead Uncle’s Skeleton

One badass musician took a rather unconventional route to memorializing his dead uncle: he turned his skeleton into a fully working guitar. The musician, who calls himself Prince Midnight, thought burying his Uncle Filip didn’t quite show him the love and care he deserved, especially since it was Filip who encouraged Prince Midnight to get into heavy metal. So, he did what anyone in his position might do: turn his body into a musical instrument.

  1. Cremation is frowned upon in his culture. Prince Midnight wanted to ensure he respected the traditions of Uncle Filip’s Greek Orthodox background, which doesn’t allow (or at least doesn’t support) cremation. It’s unclear how they would feel about turning his skeleton into a guitar, but I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t think this is amazing!
  2. Prince Midnight made the guitar himself. He used Uncle Filip’s skeleton as a base for the guitar, then attached pickups, a jack, strings, volume knobs, a guitar neck, and the necessary electronics to get the guitar working. It sounds relatively straightforward but it wasn’t easy. “So, I decided to turn Uncle Filip into a guitar, which proved to be challenging. I did a lot of research and no one has ever made a guitar out of a skeleton. So, I did it,” he told Metal Sucks. “I started out consulting with two guys in Dean Guitars’ wood shop in Tampa but they got cold feet.”
  3. He’s proud of his creation and think that his Uncle Filip would be into the idea too. Despite the difficulties he had getting the guitar made, Prince Midnight is stoked with the final project. “Anyways, now Uncle Filip can shred for all eternity. That’s how he would want it. I’m super proud of the project and how it serves to honor him, his life and his influence on me,” he said.
  4. If you’re wondering, it sounds great. You might think that just because it’s technically a working guitar doesn’t mean it actually sounds good, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Prince Midnight insists it “plays perfect and sounds awesome,” and what more can you really ask for from a skeleton guitar?
Jennifer Still is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. The managing editor of Bolde, she has bylines in Vanity Fair, Business Insider, The New York Times, Glamour, Bon Appetit, and many more. You can follow her on Twitter @jenniferlstill
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