I've spent far to much time thinking about this, and my promised ring on guitar string trick...
So. Ring on string. Never gonna work. I've asked my musician buddy about it and no. Nothing. Nadda. Takes far too much time to work during an act.
But hows this?
How about an acoustic track? With a miked up normal acoutistic guitar?
The song is introduced as a love song. Something truely personal to the performer. As a link to the song he asks for a momento of someone's love. Something powerful. He takes a wedding / engagement ring from a women far from stage. He needs this on stage to get the emotion needed for the song. He carries it back to stage and gives it to an audience member nearby. He starts the song, an acoutistic number, but it's not right. It's not HER ring - it looks different. We can get past this. it's a ring, but just not hers. It is covered up with a bandana and held by the audience member. The song starts played on the acoutistic guitar. The song is about love lost, but can be found again. As the climax of the song happens the person who donated the ring is asked to come down to the stage. Final cords of the song and musician rips bandana away from the person holding the ring. It's gone!!! Song finishes. Byplay with lender of ring about how easy love is lost, and is hard to regain once it's gone. That one needs to overcome many obstacles if true love is to occur.
Guitar is shaken. There's a sound. He asks lender to have a look through that hole under the strings into the main body that must have a name which I would know if I wasn't musically inept...
She sees a box. One far too large to get out whilst the strings are there. Our performer gives her a pair of shears and she cuts the strings. The box only just makes it out of the hole - it really was too large to sneak in during the song. It's held tight closed with elastics. She opens it. Inside theres another box held tight with elastics. And inside that.... well at this point if it WASNT her ring we would all be dissapointed.....
So. Whadda you think? Too twee? It's a nice trick, but not sure about the sell....
Plus you'd need to write a powerful love song for acoustic guitar. Your problem - not mine!!!