Odd guitars made via 3D printing

February 5, 2014 7:41 AM

This Les Paul inspired guitar body was created via 3d printing. Here are some more ODD guitars. ODD was started by Olaf Diegel. His day job is professor of mechatronics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand.

Process

The 3D Printing technology used in ODD guitars is called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and builds the components by spreading a thin layer of nylon powder, that is then fused in the correct locations for that particular slice of the component. The layer is then dropped down a fraction of a millimeter, and another layer of powder is spread on top of the first, and the process is repeated until the component is built. The typical layer thickness is 0.1mm.

Pickups, bridges, necks, tuning heads, etc. are still not 3d printed (yet).

More Coverage
Premier Guitars
White Clouds

More 3-D printed delights
Cubify
 

posted by Herodios (27 comments total)

Wow, those Cube printers are very attractive, and not as expensive as I thought they'd be.

Re: the guitars- I can't imagine they'd be that great for sound or sustain, seems like tone would just vibrate/bleed off.
posted by stinkfoot at 7:56 AM on February 5, 2014

Mechatronics! I learned a new word today.
posted by my favorite orange at 7:57 AM on February 5, 2014

What stinkfoot said. A guitar's body is more than just a place to mount a bridge and pickups. The acoustic and resonant properties of the body are integral to the sound, and I can't imagine these guitars sounding anything like a Les Paul.
posted by rocket88 at 8:31 AM on February 5, 2014 [5 favorites]

OTOH the unique properties of the body might give the sound something totally unique...kind of like the Ovation bodies. It would be interesting to experiment with...
posted by Benway at 8:38 AM on February 5, 2014

Getting a malware block notification for the site. Anyone else?
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:48 AM on February 5, 2014

You can buy a lot of guitar for $3500 -- or even several nice guitars. These are interesting as novelties, but I have serious doubts about their musical qualities.

Still, as a guitarist, this is a cool post.
posted by mosk at 8:57 AM on February 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

These are awesome. As someone who builds guitars for fun, I'd love to make something like this some day.
posted by drezdn at 9:04 AM on February 5, 2014

The acoustic and resonant properties of the body are integral to the sound

There's a lot of experimental data out there that casts a great deal of doubt on that claim (at least when we're talking about the amplified sound of a plugged-in electric guitar.
posted by yoink at 9:29 AM on February 5, 2014

The gears and piston on the steampunk model are motor driven.

And Fender seems to be getting in on the act.
posted by Enron Hubbard at 9:38 AM on February 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

The acoustic and resonant properties of the body are integral to the sound

A puny string will have a really hard time moving a solid body. There is just too great a mismatch between their respective acoustic impedances to expect the body to matter much at all. Electric guitars can have great sustain specifically because there is so little energy transfer between the string and the body. The top of the body of an acoustic guitar, in contrast, can vibrate much more easily. There's a lot of crosstalk that happens between the body and strings in an acoustic guitar, at the expense of sustain. Energy transfer is yet greater in a banjo- but they don't sustain at all.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 9:57 AM on February 5, 2014 [2 favorites]

Guitarists: Think neck-thru maple with 3-d printed wings.
posted by Ardiril at 10:17 AM on February 5, 2014

kind of like the Ovation bodies.

I think that’s what everyone’s afraid of.
posted by bongo_x at 10:23 AM on February 5, 2014 [3 favorites]

How odd. ;)

It's nice to see that there are new possibilities opening up. I find it's quite inspiring to play guitars that are visually different, but that has nothing to do with the sound quality. I wouldn't worry too much about the limitations of sound quality of these things; there is so much affordable technology that has already made up for that. It's not what you have -- it's what you do with it.

If you put a guitar that looks like it was made in Gondolin into my hands, who knows what I might come up with.

It's a little disappointing to see that the body shape is mostly limited to Les Pauls and Strats and not something new.
posted by strangeguitars at 11:03 AM on February 5, 2014

There's a lot of experimental data out there that casts a great deal of doubt on that claim

I found this, but seems like kind of a meh source to me. The guy is basically saying that he's not finding significant difference between two different types of wood, when the signal is amplified. That doesn't come to close to addressing the issue of how overall body construction/composition/material-distribution affects tone/sustain. What else you got? I didn't realize this was a contentious subject in the guitar world.
posted by stinkfoot at 12:11 PM on February 5, 2014

I know this is anecdata for the tonewood argument, but Concrete Telecaster - there is a video somewhere in those 38 pages.
posted by Broken Ankle at 1:16 PM on February 5, 2014

Your playing style, amp, pickups and pick have greater effect on the sound of a solid body electric than the type of wood. I can't find the link but on tdpri.com someone posted an audio sample with everyone guessing the 'tonewood.' The tonewood was MDF.
posted by Tacodog at 1:36 PM on February 5, 2014

"I didn't realize this was a contentious subject" - heheh. If it's on the internet, it's contentious.
posted by Ardiril at 1:48 PM on February 5, 2014

Here's the mystery tonewood test. Pics on page 3.
posted by Tacodog at 1:52 PM on February 5, 2014

Here are a few studies that might be of interest (with animated GIFs!)

Acoustics and Vibration of Guitars
posted by methinks at 2:29 PM on February 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the resonant quality of the body of a solid body electric guitar makes up I'd guess less than a few percent of what we'd consider it's overall tonality.
posted by stenseng at 3:42 PM on February 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

Update: ODD Guitars' Youtube channel.

The third link down is the same clip that Enron Hubbard linked to above, and is probably the best: Seven minutes long, demonstrating several models in a variety of styles.

Listen.
 
posted by Herodios at 4:25 PM on February 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

I played a traveler guitar, the kind that's basically a neck with a couple of aluminum rods to hold it with, and it sounded great. Single coil pickups had great sustain, nice bark.

That's what made me seriously question the tonewood thing. Not giving up my 400-pound Paul copy, but it was interesting anyway.
posted by petebest at 5:30 AM on February 6, 2014

The third link down is the same clip that Enron Hubbard linked to above, and is probably the best: Seven minutes long, demonstrating several models in a variety of styles.

Well, I'm convinced. Seriously.

I mean, at first I thought, "I actually don't much care what these guitars sound like, they look so cool," but that clip plus the "first sound test" one (which is the all-too-familiar Guitar Into Cheap Amp Picked Up By The Camera Mic YouTube Style, just in case anyone's thinking the sound is totally a result of computer modeling magic) thoroughly convinced me that these are totally viable guitars.

I do wonder how durable they are, though, and I have to think that all those intricate designs might be a bear to keep clean.
posted by soundguy99 at 10:39 AM on February 6, 2014

I do wonder how durable they are, though,

Well, it is sturdy high-impact plastic™ (nylon).

and I have to think that all those intricate designs might be a bear to keep clean.

Ugh, yeah; smoke and beer and food . . . Could get nasty.

The Cubify site shows ODD's similarly constructed drum kit. Now I'm thinking about all the drummers I know and how once the sweat starts flyin' . . . .
 
posted by Herodios at 11:51 AM on February 6, 2014

I played a traveler guitar, the kind that's basically a neck with a couple of aluminum rods to hold it with, and it sounded great. Single coil pickups had great sustain, nice bark.

Laugh all you want - I have never played guitars/basses that feel as good, sound as good amplified or record as well as my Steinbergers. Added bonus: I don't have to wear a back brace on stage.
posted by mintcake! at 12:02 PM on February 6, 2014

I do wonder how durable they are, though,

Well, it is sturdy high-impact plastic™ (nylon).

I say this calls for a test.

Who's got an extra $3500 laying around so I can Pete Townshend the thing and see what happens?

Anyone?

Anyone?
posted by soundguy99 at 12:10 PM on February 6, 2014

I do wonder how durable they are, though,

Well, it is sturdy high-impact plastic™ (nylon).

I say this calls for a test.

I say "be careful with that soldering iron."

Uncle Olaf's Farm*
There's some three-dee printed guitars
More durable than you'd think
And they're all made out of plastic
When they melt they start to stink

There's a clip of smiling musos
Nearly dead with plastic joys
And smiling down in Auckland
Is the JAFA who makes the toys . . .

----------------------------------------------
*With apologies to Frank Zappa. And to Olaf Diegel.
posted by Herodios at 2:06 PM on February 6, 2014 [1 favorite]