Remember that viral clip of the guy playing his acoustic guitar underwater? He’s not a one-hit YouTube wonder – this rogue guitarist (who fans have dubbed a “musical genius”) has built an entire online following based on his crazy musical experiments, from drilling holes into his instruments to replacing his guitar strings with rubber bands.
Bernth – an Austrian-born, Los Angeles-based solo artist and session musician – dared to attempt the impossible when he blueprinted the idea for a 100-string acoustic guitar. And, against all odds, he actually built it, with his demonstration clip racking up more than 931,000 views to date. But this instrument sounds absolutely nothing like you’d expect…
Music Man readers can check out Bernth’s 100-stringed guitar performance in the viral clip above.
A dramatic, fast-paced montage reveals Bernth drilling multiple harp-like stringed panels to the body of a bog-standard acoustic guitar, his final Frankenstein creation possessing a shocking 109 strings in total.
After an entire day of tuning, Bernth attempts to record his original song, “I Still Miss You,” on the instrument. But as soon as he plucks out the first few bars, it’s clear this isn’t a ‘normal’ 100-stringed guitar by any means, if such a thing could even exist.
Rather than laying the strings over frets like a usual guitar, Bernth harnesses the magical tones of harps and lyres; his drilled-on panels harboring no frets, but a selection of simple, one-note strings which spill the exact same tones as a classical harp would.
Combined with the fretted neck of his standard six-stringed acoustic, the result is absolutely staggering as Bernth uses both hands to fingerpick mystic, fairytale, and medieval-inspired melodies. As the guitarist explains, “The harps are all tuned differently, resulting in interesting chords. I can use one hand for rhythm and the other for solos.”
The whole endeavor led one top commenter to joke, “And the Nobel Prize for the craziest guitar invention goes to the Mad Guitarist of our time… Mr. Bernth!”
With more than 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 572,000 followers on Instagram, and 131,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, Bernth is making waves online with his guitar experiments, practice tips, original music, and more. And if these viral clips have got you captivated, Bernth has got a string of European tour dates booked across February and March 2027 for those who would like to catch him live – just head over to his website to find out more!
Bernth is certainly one to watch — his 100‑string experiment and other sonic stunts prove he’s more than a viral novelty. To discover more from this boundary-pushing guitarist, check the useful links below for clips, gear breakdowns and places to follow his work.