I can't think of a single instrument that -- in its place -- qualifies a 'unfavorite.' Most instruments, well-played, are all right in their place, and can even be, as someone here said, 'hair-raising.'


I can stand the dulcimer, the fiddle, the guitar (6-, 9- and 12-string), the Hawaiian guitar and Dobro, the banjo (tenor or 5-string), the ukulele, the mandolin (with and without the banjo part), even the guitar-banjo, an even-more-unsuccessful marriage than the banjo-mandolin; the sax (even Hassan Roland-Kirk and his three at once playing), the bodhran, the bongo, the dumbeck, the full-kit drum set; the piano, harpsichord, organ, synthesizer, calliope, and carrilon; the French, English, and other nations' horns, oboes, bassoons, and even the bombard (the latter playing 'over the hill and far away,' of course).

Then again, 'unfavorite' could mean 'the one I don't like to hear more than once a year (or decade),' in which case, I think for me it would be highland warpipes (not to be confused with Northumbrian small-pipes or uilleann pipes or whatever -- even Bulgarian ones can be OK in limited amounts). But warpipes are a once-a-decade thing for me, and it should be even longer if the tune is either 'Amazing Grace' or 'Scotland the Brave.' I could make an exception, though for 'Nut Brown Maiden,' but that's just a reference to an obscure British film we love in our house.

If I didn't mention your en-favorite or favorite or ambivalent-to instrument, tough. Make your own list.

Bob