Surprising Facts About This Is Spinal Tap— The OG Mockumentary

Mixing Instruments

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During his solo, Nigel Tufnel rubs a violin bow against his guitar. This is a parody of Led Zepplin guitarist, Jimmy Page. He played guitar with a violin bow during several live performances. Jónsi of the band Sigur Rós is also known for his use of a cello bow on guitar.

Unlike bowed instruments such as violins, guitars generally have a very flat bridge radius and closely positioned strings, making it difficult to vibrate individual strings in the middle of the instrument. Needless to say, Jimmy Page is better at bowed guitar than Nigel Tufnel.