Teuffel Birdfish Prodigy - Alpine Flamed Maple & Cuban Mahogany #259

The Teuffel Birdfish Prodigy possesses the kind of presence that stops a room. Sculpted metal catches the light like liquid mercury, charcoal shaded maple reveals ribbons of astonishingly tight flame, and ebony pickups appear suspended within an open framework of curves and space. Every element is exposed, deliberate, and beautifully resolved. This is an instrument that invites you to reconsider the electric guitar, then places the means of that discovery directly into your hands.

German luthier Ulrich Teuffel has spent decades exploring that possibility. After founding his company in 1988 and building instruments rooted in traditional craftsmanship, his study of industrial design from 1992 through 1996 transformed his approach. The Birdfish, first presented at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in 1995, became a defining expression of that evolution. By making tonewoods and pickups interchangeable, Teuffel gave musicians an unusually direct relationship with the architecture of their sound. His work has earned design awards, entered museum collections, and found its way into the hands of artists including David Torn, Henry Kaiser, Billy Gibbons, Kirk Hammett, and Hans Zimmer. Across those very different musical worlds, its appeal is the same: the freedom to follow an idea somewhere unexpected.

Introduced in 2008, the Prodigy designation gives Teuffel even greater freedom to explore exceptional woods, elaborate finishes, specialized hardware, and distinctive pickup treatments. These instruments are individual expressions of his vision, with materials and details chosen to serve each particular creation. This Birdfish Prodigy embodies that spirit beautifully. Its flamed Alpine maple tone bars wear a luminous Charcoal Burst, their dense figuring shifting between silver, smoke, and near black beneath the gloss. The matching visual rhythm of the flamed Alpine maple neck carries that movement along the instrument, while the dark ebony fingerboard and sculptural pickup housings provide a quiet, organic counterpoint to the brilliant metalwork.

A second set of tone bars, crafted from Cuban mahogany and finished in Metallic Gold, opens another dimension of exploration. The Birdfish allows the player to exchange the Alpine maple pair for the Cuban mahogany pair, or combine one bar of each species to investigate a hybrid configuration. The wood becomes an active part of the creative process, something you can change, compare, and experience through your own touch and amplification. Visually, the transformation is equally compelling, moving from the dramatic natural figure of the charcoal maple to the warm, sculptural glow of gold.

That same spirit carries into the electronics. Five interchangeable Alnico 5 pickups, each housed in ebony, provide an extraordinary palette: a P90 voiced humbucker, a PAF voiced humbucker, a hot PAF voiced humbucker, and individual left wound and right wound single coils. Together, they invite exploration of wiry clarity, textured midrange, rounded vintage voices, and more assertive drive. The ability to exchange pickups makes the instrument adaptable to changing musical instincts, while standard five way switching keeps the playing experience familiar and immediate.

The neck brings this remarkable design into comfortable, practical focus. A 25.5 inch scale length pairs with a 1.71 inch nut width, widening to 2.20 inches at the 22nd fret. Neck depth progresses from 0.81 inches at the first fret to 0.94 inches at the 16th, providing a gradual increase in substance as the hand travels upward. The ebony fingerboard features a compound radius of 13.7 to 17.7 inches, offering a gently curved foundation for lower position work and a flatter surface farther up the neck. Twenty two narrow, tall Wagner stainless steel frets provide a precise playing surface, while glow in the dark side dots preserve the fingerboard’s clean appearance and offer guidance on a dim stage.

Teuffel’s proprietary brass bridge, headless tuners, and adjustable action locking nut complete an instrument whose engineering is as individual as its silhouette. At 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and accompanied by a custom Teuffel flight case with fitted accommodation for its remarkable collection of components, this Prodigy arrives as a complete invitation to experiment.

There is something deeply compelling about a guitar that makes you curious before you play the first note. This Birdfish Prodigy sustains that curiosity through its materials, its mechanics, and the possibilities waiting within each configuration. It is a singular work from a builder who has devoted his career to expanding the instrument’s vocabulary, made for a musician ready to add something personal to the conversation.

• Flamed Alpine Maple Tone Bars Set - Charcoal Burst
• Cuban Mahogany Tone Bars Set - Metallic Gold
• Flamed Alpine Maple Neck
• Set of Interchangeable Alnico 5 Pickups in Ebony Cases
• 1x P-90 Voiced Humbucker, 1x PAF Voiced Humbucker, 1x Hot PAF Voiced Humbucker, 1x Left Wound Single Coil, 1x Right Wound Single Coil
• Standard 5-Way Switching
• Teuffel Proprietary Brass Bridge & Headless Tuners
• Teuffel Proprietary Adjustable Action Locking Nut
• Ebony Fingerboard
• Glow in the Dark Side Dots
• 25.5" Scale Length
• 0.81" Thickness @ 1st Fret
• 0.94" Thickness @ 16th Fret
• 1.71" Nut Width
• 2.20" 22nd Fret Neck Width
• 13.7" - 17.7" Compound Fingerboard Radius
• 22 Narrow/Hight Wagner Stainless Steel Frets
• Custom Teuffel Flight Case
• 7 lbs 8 oz
• #259

For more information about this Teuffel instrument, please contact us.