I once designed an electric guitar with in-built amp and speaker when I was a student. I must dig out some pics/drawings to share.... Has anyone else designed, prototyped, or even manufactured a musical instrument of their own design? Is anyone planning such a project? It's an interesting subject to me and would be great to hear about other people's projects....
I have designed a tremolo bridge for electrical guitars. I came up with the concept a couple years ago. Second prototype a few months ago and working on 3rd prototype at the present. Well its not a musical instrument but it is a Rolls Royce approach to a problem.
Nice - would love to see some pics, but I assume that IP is sensitive right now if it's work-in-progress?
Here's some pics of the aformentioned electric guitar with in-built amp and speaker I designed/prototyped when I was a student. This is from 1996. At the design show A mate checking it out The prototype in progess. The wooden parts are vac-forming moulds The prototype in progess.
Hi Gareth,I confess to being inept at using the forum. I tried to drag and drop some pics, to no avail....I'm not sure what "hotlink" means. So this is a chance for me to learn if you can tell me. Thanks, Stewart.
Hi Stewart: Here are the instructions on how to embed images that are hosted externally: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=35
Alternatively you can email anything to me and I'll put it up on our own webspace if you like. [email protected]
This is my favorite! I like the integrated electronics. Is that a bought in bridge or one you made? Is this CNC - those contours look very clean - must be incredibly difficult to shape by hand? How many guitars have you made in total and what's the most difficult part to get right? My money's on the neck. Getting adequate strength and the correct profile must be a nightmare
Thanks for posting these Gareth. The last guitar (with MIDI) is my latest, and is a combination of CNC, and hand-contouring. My Pro-E skills are very limited because I don't normally use CAD, so I could not do the surfacing to the level I would have liked, but I started out as an art student, and still have some pretty fair sculpting skills. The bridge is a Kahler tremolo bridge....in my opinion one of the best designs ever for a bridge. You string it from the front of the guitar (unlike a Floyd Rose), and the rollers make the whammy really smooth. I go to guitar shows, and generally buy used parts. With the exception of the last guitar, I was able to make them all for under one hundred US dollars each (not counting my labor).
