For my Independent Study Project I would like to focus on two major themes. The first theme of the project is creating a system that allows a user to be able to reproduce a product with ease. The system I would like to create for this project would include a series of templates and jigs that would make the production of semi hollow electric guitars simple even for inexperienced builders. These templates and jigs would be made accessible to the public through open source, free pdf’s that could be downloaded on the Internet.
Furthermore, I would like to focus on material exploration and a modular and interchangeable system for the soundboard to explore how these materials affect the tonal qualities of the instrument. For example, I would like to examine how well the guitar will resonate with a Plexiglas top versus an MDF top or a hardwood top. Being able to use a wide range of materials would allow people with vastly different budgets to be able to produce what is essentially the same guitar.
To assure that my goals will be met of having a finished and functional guitar by the end of wintersession I will source a pre made neck. The main part of the guitar that I would like to focus on that would cause variations in it's sonic identity is the body so having a standardized neck would maintain that focus. Sourcing a neck rather than custom building one would allow for much more experimentation in the body and allow for more iterations to be made because neck building is the most complex and time consuming part of building a guitar.
After drawing inspiration from other guitars and developing the form of the guitar I wanted to make, I moved onto solidifying the dimensions and figuring out connection methods.
From here I moved onto 3D modeling my design in SolidWorks and rendering in KeyShot.
