88-Year-Old Musician Crafts Unconventional Horn Section Featuring Bass Guitar Made from Moose Antler and Cello
Eighty-eight-year-old Lorne Collie has been creating musical instruments for over thirty years, known for their unique materials and sound.
His creations include a bass guitar and cello made of moose antlers, a baseball bat violin, ukuleles made from cookie tins, and guitars crafted from pitchforks, a shovel, and a rake.
Among his favorites are a frying pan mandolin and a banjo made from a motorcycle tire rim covered with stretched deerskin painted by his late wife.
Collie, who resides outside the small Manitoba community of Hilbre, explains that he used to reject offers to buy his instruments to avoid being overwhelmed with orders.
He recalls turning down a $35,000 offer for a moose antler electric guitar.
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Now, Collie is looking to sell some of his collection with his son’s help, hoping to upgrade his electric car for better travel to see his family.
He plans to sell the electric bass guitar for $8,000 and the cello for $6,500.
Collie expresses his desire to travel and visit his family spread across Alberta and British Columbia.
He reveals that he first put his antler instruments up for sale this past summer, but despite interest from Vancouver, no one came to see them.
Collie’s journey into instrument-making stemmed from a life-threatening experience that led him to retire from his machinist profession.
After surviving a brain aneurysm in the late 1980s, Collie found solace in creating musical instruments from unconventional materials.
His passion for instrument-making continues as he plans to craft a Celtic harp from a large antler with a deep curve.
Although not a professional musician, Collie dreams of musicians performing with his creations and hopes his instruments bring joy to others.
