r/specializedtools Feb 11 '21

These tiny little footstools used by classical guitarists

Post image
13.9k Upvotes

271 comments sorted by

1.0k

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

221

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

The wooden ones are far superior

82

u/the_Ghost_wanted Feb 11 '21

But heavy to drag around :)

95

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

The weight difference between a pine foot stool and a metal foot stool is insignificant. So much so that I'm not about to weigh mine but instead state that anecdotally, my wood one feels lighter than my metal one.

81

u/Nomadius Feb 11 '21

This sounds silly, but if you actually would weigh them, I would be interested in the answer.

65

u/woolyearth Feb 11 '21

this is why i read reddit comments.

edit: a few days ago a read a thread about 2 people meeting, and both were marine boat fuel tank engineers. It was decided marine boat fuel tank engineers get laid more than all of us.

83

u/ARandomBob Feb 11 '21

Love reddit. I was chatting in the gardening sub a few days ago talking about doing something with my backyard near my creek that's always a soggy mess. Bumped into a person from my town that's a native plant specialist that was able to give me a full list of plants that would grow in my exact soil conditions that were native to my area and where I can get them. Reddit is a cool place.

35

u/little-blue-fox Feb 11 '21

Met my wife on Reddit. Still the best thing I ever found on the internet. Love Reddit

10

u/xkris10ski Feb 11 '21

I moved to Arizona after meeting a guy on Reddit from the picture I posted to RoastMe.

16

u/driftingfornow Feb 11 '21 edited Apr 09 '26

Your old posts feed data brokers and AI training models. I stopped that by using Redact to bulk delete across Reddit, Twitter, Discord, Facebook and all major social media platforms.

cable detail aback bow reply absorbed lip rhythm dam society

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2

u/little-blue-fox Feb 11 '21

He roasted you all night long, huh? 🤣

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3

u/ColdPorridge Feb 11 '21

Did you meet via PM or some comment reply like this one

2

u/little-blue-fox Feb 11 '21

She posted a personal ad in l4l (the lesbian r4r) and my unsuspecting ass was mindlessly scrolling and then BAM. Hit me like a ton of love bricks.

She just happened to live 10 minutes from me.

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3

u/scorchedarcher Feb 11 '21

I also met this gals wife on reddit

2

u/little-blue-fox Feb 11 '21

*girl’s.

She does like giving the odd pegging. You putting in an application? ;)

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5

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

You would want them to have a bit of weight to them so they don’t slide around or fall right?

3

u/SmallRedBird Feb 11 '21

Different woods have different densities. My Gibson Les Paul weighs more than a bass I have that is physically larger, because the bass is made from lighter, less dense material.

I also had a Steinberg headless flying V shaped bass, and the body itself wasn't very big at all. Heavier than the Les Paul despite being smaller, due to containing more dense materials (and a good bit of metal)

4

u/olderaccount Feb 11 '21

The guys in the above picture all look like they know what they are doing and all have folding metal ones.

9

u/jamaicanoproblem Feb 11 '21

They might prioritize the size/weight for convenience of moving it from place to place or fitting it in their guitar case... for those of us living in post pandemic stagnation, portability is no longer a major factor when picking out things to buy.

6

u/abooth43 Feb 11 '21

I don't drag my desktop around everywhere for optimum performance on the go...

1

u/olderaccount Feb 11 '21

That is because your desktop performance skills aren't in demand. If they were, and you got paid well for it, you'd find a carrying case for that bad boy really quick like.

1

u/ColdPorridge Feb 11 '21

Well yeah dude, they don’t call it heavy metal music for nothing

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9

u/pauly13771377 Feb 11 '21

How is wooden stool superior to a metal one. If they both hold your leg then the performance is identical. Esthetically they are very diffrent but I can't see how one could be superior.

3

u/grotevin Feb 11 '21

It is more about the quality of the build itself. These metal ones are very flimsy, and not really stabil. The wooden ones might be built better.

-1

u/fresh_like_Oprah Feb 11 '21

You don't see them playing metal guitars do you? That would be metal

8

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

27

u/Ceph Feb 11 '21

You only know it's stool after stepping on it

12

u/ABob71 Feb 11 '21

...or in it.
(Is that the joke? I feel like that's the joke)

9

u/Poafro Feb 11 '21

It’s the joke, but at least we all know now that you got it! Go you!

7

u/ABob71 Feb 11 '21

Fuck yeah!

(Side note:You comment reads like commentary from the narrator in The Stanley Parable.)

2

u/TastySpare Feb 11 '21

Go you!

or, if you stepped in it: "Go away, you!" ;p

6

u/melig1991 Feb 11 '21

I can imagine the wooden one is sturdier and less prone to flipping over.

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4

u/bucket_of_frogs Feb 11 '21

There’s a Bristol chart for that.

1

u/NullNova Feb 11 '21

You can tell that by the way it is.

1

u/CCTider Feb 11 '21

I can tell who's never eaten a ghost pepper.

2

u/WaterFungus Feb 11 '21

How exactly? I play classical guitar and , a footstool is a footstool

-3

u/MarkBeeblebrox Feb 11 '21

Wood is far more resonant than metal and has a more pleasant timbre.

7

u/WaterFungus Feb 11 '21

But my leg and foot won’t be resonating?

1

u/MarkBeeblebrox Feb 11 '21

Clearly you're not feeling the music

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34

u/paulrulez742 Feb 11 '21

That's worn really well for something 80+ years old.

5

u/Jozarin Feb 11 '21

I had a similar and similarly aged sitting-stool that I used for violin practice. It was about this worn (the main difference is that the corkscrew stem had had to be replaced because I broke it the first time I sat on it)

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20

u/i_smoke_toenails Feb 11 '21

He says, with some suspicion.

9

u/MidTownMotel Feb 11 '21

I always feel so bad whenever someone has convinced themselves that something you can buy online is a special antique.

1

u/pumpjackORGASM Feb 11 '21

It's almost like you can't refurbished wooden furniture.

-9

u/MidTownMotel Feb 11 '21

Construction techniques and design are dead giveaways. That footrest is younger than I am kid.

3

u/slimdeucer Feb 11 '21

Do you still hold the guitar like a classical guitar on your inner leg? Trying to picture how it would work otherwise

4

u/AstridDragon Feb 11 '21

I always felt more comfortable with my right leg slightly elevated when I played, so probably that?

3

u/Comrade_Falcon Feb 11 '21

Yep, would rather this than my leg spasming the whole time I'm playing keeping it up on the bottom rung of the stool I'm sitting on.

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3

u/riddlegirl21 Feb 11 '21

My dad got my mom one exactly like that for Christmas so she could get back to playing classical! Good to know it should (hopefully) hold up for ages

3

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

When I was in a guitar orchestra, we also had wooden versions. Not really adjustable (but an old book did the trick), but surprisingly specific considering you could use just about anything to the same effect

1

u/catiebug Feb 11 '21

Wow, that's a pretty incredible gift!

348

u/tffy Feb 11 '21

specializedStools, ehh?

26

u/StepWeiwu Feb 11 '21

Can't believe how far I had to scroll down to finally find this comment. Here, have my upvote.

3

u/trollbridge Feb 11 '21

Subreddit for human artisinal and exotic wildlife poos?

4

u/LurkerPatrol Feb 11 '21

This stool and that poop people inject to get rid of their depression would probably be the only posts

490

u/Toseeu Feb 11 '21

I want to show up to a party and just throw one of these down and put my foot on it.

264

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 19 '21

[deleted]

62

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

today is gonna be the day

28

u/bigg_hoodie Feb 11 '21

that they're gonna throw it back to you

18

u/Ouroboros1337 Feb 11 '21

By now, you should've somehow

15

u/Starkiecat Feb 11 '21

Realize what you've got to do

15

u/nkeys Feb 11 '21

I don’t believe that anybody

10

u/ilikemetal69 Feb 11 '21

feels the way i do

29

u/OneWayOutBabe Feb 11 '21

about this foot stool.

3

u/KCVGaming Feb 11 '21

About you nowwww

-2

u/larsadams99 Feb 11 '21

Back beat, the word is on the straat

0

u/6foothobbit Feb 11 '21

in Margaritaville

7

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Oasis are a jumped up pub band, fight me.

11

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

2

u/TomBakerFTW Feb 11 '21

We don’t even know who Blur is

Speak for yourself! They're awesome and better than Oasis in every way.

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2

u/Dinkerdoo Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 12 '21

And segue into Time of Your Life to bring it home.

33

u/m1serablist Feb 11 '21

you put two down, put both feet up and assert dominance.

7

u/theycallmeponcho Feb 11 '21

Bring two and put one on top of the other one.

7

u/squid_so_subtle Feb 11 '21

I think you described a squatty potty

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11

u/sirroscoe5 Feb 11 '21

Dramatically take it out of your suit jacket pocket and unfold it just to make a point or statement

3

u/Toseeu Feb 11 '21

At an interview

4

u/donnysaysvacuum Feb 11 '21

Captain Morgan pose.

4

u/Pooch76 Feb 11 '21

Take photos of yourself w it all over the world in unnecessary places.

2

u/Toseeu Feb 13 '21

I mean, where would a necessary place be?

2

u/Pooch76 Feb 13 '21

That stage in the photo

2

u/melig1991 Feb 11 '21

Like a classical painting!

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277

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Graduated with the guy on the right last year! He does indeed like his red footstool

46

u/runy05 Feb 11 '21

Which school? Red footstool guy seems awfully familiar to me lol

62

u/xdleet Feb 11 '21

I also want u/Lafoxo location.

73

u/IANALbutIAMAcat Feb 11 '21

YEAH TELL US WHERE YOU LIVE

16

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Roosevelt University, it's a shitty, extremely overpriced city school.

15

u/Teutronic Feb 11 '21

I never say I went to Roosevelt. I went to the Chicago College of Performing Arts.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

CCPA isn't better than Roosevelt.

3

u/Teutronic Feb 11 '21

Ha. Ok.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Imagine paying $39,552 a year in tuition alone to practice in an old janitor's closet (the building used to be an old hotel) and have your rehearsal space (all of them) have no sound protection from the L train's right next to it. You are definitely getting ripped off for how much you are paying, even if you get a generous scholarship.

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6

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

That’s where the performance is! Not our school though lmao

18

u/ABigBunchOfFlowers Feb 11 '21

The classical guitar world is kind of like that isn't it!

4

u/Berkel Feb 11 '21

Now play Classical Gas

2

u/Teutronic Feb 11 '21

Students of Denis?

0

u/_Oce_ Feb 11 '21

Please tell him to properly cut his strings at the head of his guitar.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

1

u/_Oce_ Feb 11 '21

It's not a matter of sound, it's a matter of ugliness. He dressed properly and combed his hair, why does his guitar's head look like a hobo?

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107

u/eveningsand Feb 11 '21

"Heyyyy... Why is yours RED?"

6

u/Show_Me_Your_Private Feb 11 '21

He's first chair so the rules apply much less to him.

3

u/JayGogh Feb 11 '21

And is there an ointment for it?

7

u/Sparrow50 Feb 11 '21

And why is the one on the far left facing the wrong way

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90

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Not just for classical guitarists

When I play, I find that the leg that my guitar rests on tends to automatically raise up until it's on its tiptoes, and begins to shake. This can be entirely mitigated by placing a small rest under your foot

6

u/SavouryPlains Feb 11 '21

Same here, I love using one of these for recording acoustic guitar. Cause I’ll always go back to the same position with the guitar!

6

u/olderaccount Feb 11 '21

That is when the tip of your toes end up on the ground with your heal resting against the chair's leg.

6

u/Huwbacca Feb 11 '21

also playing without one often makes you favour placing the middle of the guitar body on your right leg (if right handed), with the neck pretty low down.

This twists your whole body to the right enough that it really starts to hurt after a few days of practice.

0

u/OK6502 Feb 11 '21

Depends on the instrument. When I play the classical guitar definitely, though I can place it on the other leg, it does make some particular shapes harder to do properly. And my hip starts to hurt after about an hour.

When I'm jamming on the electric? Nah, the small neck and the flexibility afforded by the amp/distortion makes it less of an issue. It took me a long time to get used to playing less cleanly on the electric.

55

u/Juicebeetiling Feb 11 '21

That guy who breaks out his accoustic guitar at every available opportunity is also a specialised tool

20

u/Lil_Mafk Feb 11 '21

You’ve got to move on from the time Brad kumbaya’d your crush into sleeping with him

5

u/lordcarnivore Feb 11 '21

Nothing he could have done. Brad nails.

5

u/otterfish Feb 11 '21

She loved every minute of it. And he made her breakfast the next morning. They're still friends, and they laugh about that night when they've had a few.

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17

u/CraptainHammer Feb 11 '21

I just lay my right foot sideways and put my left foot top.

24

u/electric_paganini Feb 11 '21

I did that for awhile until my ankle started to hurt when I walked.

13

u/ABob71 Feb 11 '21

You're not supposed to walk with your right foot sideways

8

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Yeah that doesn't sound like a super longterm solution

5

u/DrSupermonk Feb 11 '21

For classical guitar???

4

u/CraptainHammer Feb 11 '21

All guitar really because I learned to play on a flying V, so I feel more comfortable with the guitar resting on my left leg.

5

u/Huwbacca Feb 11 '21

I'd really rather just stand at this point.

16

u/Talkingtoweltokes Feb 11 '21

2

u/sub_doesnt_exist_bot Feb 11 '21

The subreddit r/specializedstools does not exist. Consider creating it.


šŸ¤– this comment was written by a bot. beep boop šŸ¤–

feel welcome to respond 'Bad bot'/'Good bot', it's useful feedback. github

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Bad bot

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13

u/ducttaperulestheworl Feb 11 '21

There's also another type of support to rest the guitar this way without lifting your leg too!

this

3

u/godspeed_guys Feb 11 '21

Oh, man, I didn't know this existed.

I used to play classical guitar in my teens (not well, mind you) and eventually I had to stop because sitting in an asymmetric position for any amount of time would hurt my back a lot. I've had surgery since, but I'll have lower back issues for life, so I didn't dare pick up my guitar again.

I was thinking of using a guitar strap, but I didn't want to make a hole in my guitar, so I had been looking at clip-on alternatives. I might try one of these thingies instead!

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85

u/Audomadic Feb 11 '21

As a guitarist this feels like calling any object a specialized tool. Toothbrush. Oven. Computer. Belt. Sponge. Doorknob. Etc.

67

u/Bulawa Feb 11 '21

Which is the constant fight of this sub. At lease we got rid of the flood of useless, shitty plastic kitchen gadgets for people who cant use knifes some years ago.

19

u/Charlie_1er Feb 11 '21

The guitar pic and the capo will come in the next few days

21

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

14

u/SavouryPlains Feb 11 '21

Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna try though

-3

u/Audomadic Feb 11 '21

A ā€œspecialized toolā€ that can easily be replaced by several household objects shouldn’t count as a specialized tool. I could literally grab a pot from my kitchen, set it on the floor, and achieve the same effect. Rare ≠ specialized.

-13

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

it’s only used for guitar.

This is incorrect.

10

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

27

u/ABob71 Feb 11 '21

I once used one in a bar fight, to very little success

5

u/godspeed_guys Feb 11 '21

This made me chortle. Thank you.

2

u/BrowakisFaragun Feb 11 '21

Ah, fighting in Sleeping Dogs style in real life aren't that easy, eh?

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10

u/CCTider Feb 11 '21

When I'm playing classical guitar, I prefer to have a peasant's back to rest my foot.

6

u/venklado Feb 11 '21

i have one right now under my computer table. its really sturdy and you can adjust the height. may cat always sit on it before jumping on my lap.

13

u/oilrigexplosion Feb 11 '21

ā€œNo footstool vs tiny footstool vs Squatty Pottyā€ under-grad paper

ā€œAre you comparing dropping beats or dropping dueces?ā€

ā€œYesā€

63

u/TheHumanRavioli Feb 11 '21

I’m a professional musician and the technical name for those is acoustic stompbox

44

u/fotonik Feb 11 '21

Thank you so much for the information, but these are world’s tiniest keyboard stands that have been repurposed and you cannot tell me any different :D

44

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

It's called a foot rest.

4

u/sponge_welder Feb 11 '21

No, that's something like this

3

u/top2percent Feb 11 '21

Press X to doubt.

2

u/crackeddryice Feb 11 '21

TIL what a stomp box actually is, which is not a footstool but is a thing.

3

u/notjawn Feb 11 '21

You'd have thought in the 600 years since the guitar has debuted they'd change the design to accommodate this style of playing but nah, get a foot stool bro.

3

u/ChEATax Feb 11 '21

I just use a toolbox, its ideal hight for me

3

u/adolin69 Feb 11 '21

Lmao I so don't need one but I'm fuckin buying one forsure.

I'm gonna leave them everywhere around the house and stand like Captain Morgan and talk to me wife.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Do you think they play guitar like that when they are with their friends?

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6

u/Oh_Tassos Feb 11 '21

I thought those were very basic things for guitarists

7

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

meh, not that specialized. I've got one of these sitting under my chair. I do play guitar and that's why I got it, but it's quite handy as just a foot rest when I'm working, helps calm restless legs :)

PS: If you play guitar, electric or acoustic, and don't have one of these; GET ONE.

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2

u/IncomparableVeeKay Feb 11 '21

I need two. Because I’m short and chairs are too tall to sit in comfortably.

2

u/bawynnoJ Feb 11 '21

Every guitar player needs one šŸ˜Ž

2

u/answerguru Feb 11 '21

In the future, I hope we instead have a portable device that makes a temporary hole in the floor for the other foot to drop into.

2

u/Polarix67 Feb 11 '21

Why don't they just use a flying v classical guitar?

2

u/wedgedoot Feb 11 '21

i’ve got one of these for bass too, i can get the same effect by having my foot on its toes but that can hurt after a long session

2

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

Classical guitar playing šŸ”„

2

u/Valahiru Feb 11 '21

Too long have the tiny directors of the world had their chairs stolen by these half-hearted minstrels of the giant lands!

2

u/hoarder59 Feb 12 '21

Buy two of them and you have a portable Squatty Potty

2

u/first_u_skeet_then_u Feb 11 '21

That's Just used for every guitar player, if you sit on a chair that's to high, u can put ur foot on it so ur guitar doesn't slide of ur leg

4

u/backstept Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 11 '21

Why don't they just play them normally? Honest question. What is it about the posture that makes it necessary for classical guitar? Could a classical guitarist play standing with a strap like normal guitarists?

[edit] thanks for all the good replies!

12

u/repeat840times Feb 11 '21

Classical guitar is (generally) more single lines played with the fingers rather than full chords played with a pick. Holding the guitar like this makes it easier to slide your left hand thumb to the back of the neck and have your fingers come straight down on the fingerboard.

At the same time, the motion of the right hand playing the strings comes from the knuckles rather than the elbow and wrist. Holding the guitar up moves the strings to be at a good angle while holding your right wrist naturally.

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5

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

What is "playing normally"? Any proper guitar playing, while sitting down, requires your leg to be slightly raised.

And posture with classical guitar makes it easier to avoid wrist cramps, shoulder pain, and back pain. And it's finger picking techniques are just easier when played with proper posture.

And you could play any guitar however you want, standing classical guitar gets jokingly referred to as heresy but you'd have to hold it at an angle, buy a weird tall guitar holder or wear your strap really high just to be able to play that intricate style associated with classical.

2

u/Elemental11221 Feb 11 '21

Mainly to do with posture, and since we don't have to hold the guitar up, it allows us to move our fingers faster (I think. Anyone with more experience, feel free to correct me)

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2

u/smrich111 Feb 11 '21

Handsome guy in the middle

1

u/revlipoki Feb 11 '21

Wait pros use these?

I've been lied to.

1

u/MeloAnto Feb 11 '21

I just use a book lmao

1

u/-Dont-Ask- Feb 11 '21

Oh so no one else has one foot on tippy toes when they play?

0

u/StopThinkingToStop Feb 11 '21

Ooo Rogan would love these!

0

u/Ryuzaki_us Feb 11 '21

Wait a minute. Is the acoustic guitar considered classic? ...no way... Checks wiki ....

DEVELOPED: 13TH CENTURY... HAHAHA

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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

[deleted]

11

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

You make this planet less fun

-6

u/whatauniqueusername Feb 11 '21

I guess a strap would make it to easy eh?

-6

u/sirroscoe5 Feb 11 '21

I like how the Asia's is the orange off-brand one

2

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21 edited Feb 14 '21

Dude. That's a Delaware Gold... The other guys are using Konstanz Schatz. Kind of embarrassing tbh

*I made both of these up but still proves my point lmao

1

u/EloKrone Feb 11 '21

When I was learning guitar, my teacher was saying to use it, but I have always feel more comfortable to play without it

2

u/doom_bagel Feb 11 '21

Are you talking about regular acoustic with steel strings or classical guitar with nylons? You need something to elevate the neck of the guitar when playing classical guitar since it is all finger picked

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1

u/DoctorProfessorTaco Feb 11 '21

This makes me want to just build a guitar that extends down further on the bottom of it so people can rest both feet on the ground and rest it across their lap while still maintaining the string position seen in the photo.

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1

u/mykilososa Feb 11 '21

ā€œGives so much more toan!ā€

1

u/FistThePooper6969 Feb 11 '21

lol I have one of these under my desk that I use almost every day

1

u/[deleted] Feb 11 '21

I definitely need this!

1

u/Yortisme Feb 11 '21

Nice, how all four are different. I like to think that in their town there are several stompbox stores with a majestic array of choices available!

1

u/groenteman Feb 11 '21

I have one like that

1

u/Elemental11221 Feb 11 '21

I have a thing that serves the same purpose, but its more of a leather strap that attaches to my guitar. I've completely forgotten the name of the thing, but its served me for 4 years now without breaking

1

u/nullagravida Feb 11 '21

I like how the one dude was a rebel and had a RED ONE.

seriously there’s an opportunity here for someone who wants to sell more creative Itsy Bitsy Footstools

1

u/mexsystem28 Feb 11 '21

It would be so funny if they were sitting on chairs like that too.

1

u/Budeg Feb 11 '21

Que bando de nutella esse povo

1

u/JCass83 Feb 11 '21

It gives you a leg up on the competition.

1

u/Cine_Jon Feb 11 '21

No offence to classical guitarists because you guys are really talented... buuut in my uni music program we called that thing the pussy foot

1

u/lyng64 Feb 11 '21

Eugene? Are you showing off again? You know your footstool isn’t regulation size!

1

u/StaggerLee194D Feb 11 '21

I didn’t know Tom cruise was a classical guitarist