Home ➲ idea update ➲ linux guitar idea update 29/01/07 9:00:44 AM
body to be ash core, with ebony & holly top, back & sides
flush mound touch screen lcd/oled
tuner display built in to side of fingerboard
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Sphere It. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Brian Jones Says:
February 1st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Hi!
This is awesome!
One thing I’d personally love to see is a way to automagically change tunings. This is probably out-of-scope at this time, however, I’ve often wondered if I could motorize adjustments either in the headstock or in the bridge to accomplish this.
It may require the strings to be played to make the adjustments, so that the sounding notes could be used to determine if further adjustment is needed.
As a side effect, this same mechanism could be used to keep the guitar in tune, so you don’t really need a tuner interface. Just press the “standard tuning” button and you’re all set. Devote the touchscreen to letting the guitarist program custom tunings in.
salvarsan Says:
February 1st, 2007 at 6:09 pm
The guitar body can be whatever is inexpensive and sufficiently resonant — the old Danelectro formula of masonite flats on a poplar frame is still around and works fine as any Reverend or Jerry Jones guitar owner will testify. It also provides plenty of space for the hardware.
Would someone please figure out which DSP plug-ins are suitable for a Linux Guitar? Many DSP effects have unacceptable latencies, worse than MIDI.
Finally, understand that a highly technical guitar will have limited appeal to most gigging guitar players since A) they are more concerned with musical interpretation and B) aren’t usually the sharpest tools in the shed, or C) an unpredictable mixture of A and B.
jdog Says:
February 1st, 2007 at 9:45 pm
nice design, but I gotta say,
would the development be shortcutted a bit if you can fit an exisitng low-production guitar with the needed componants?
Im thinking specifically of Reverend guitars (i use a few).
They are constructed much like the old DanElectros, are basically built to order and could most likely be used with less revision than many others out there.
-perhaps as a proof-of-concept before building the entire guitar from scratch?
Nick Radonic Says:
February 1st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
1) Individual pickup amplifiers on each string. With a onboard electronics, the guitar does not need to use just the single/dual pickup coils as on a standard electric. You should be able to isolate and perhaps tune each pickup post just for the frequency range of that string.
2) Constant electronic tuning – I’ve heard of a system on pianos where the string is tuned slightly high, and then a small electrical current is sent through each string. As the current increases, the wire stretches and its frequency drops. Frequency is measured with the electronics (magnetic pulses from a pickup coil twangs the strings) and tunes an entire piano in about 45 seconds. Hence it could be very fast on a guitar. On the other hand someone else has an autotune mechanically adjusted guitar as well with motors in the tuning pegs.
Coocha Says:
February 1st, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Hardware suggestion: How about the VIA Nano-ITX line? tiny form-factor, Linux-supported CPU up to 1Ghz, onboard audio, and the LVDS design uses pinouts instead of onboard ports. Therefore, only the I/O ports you desire end up being implemented (and the I/O that is internal to the guitar can be cleanly done). I use the C7 1Ghz in my MythTV box and have played with the Jesusonic effects suite on it. It’s not a powerhouse, but by custom-compiling your kernel and keeping the GUI as lightweight as possible, it should have low enough latency for intended DSP applications.
Keith Watson Says:
February 2nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
Can I make a plea for us left-handed players who play right-handed guitars upside down.
How about a double cutaway so we can reach those high frets?
Great idea.
salvarsan Says:
February 2nd, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I am concerned that fully motorized automatic tuning would need lots of batteries. It would invite idiocy like leaving autotune active while fooling with the vibrato bar, a sure way to break strings.
…maybe an auto ‘fine’ tuner is all that’s needed.
A +/- 1/4 tone tuning per string might be easier to implement. Rely on the guitarist for a good approximation, then let the autotuner seek the nearest on-key tuning.
When the guitarist wants a custom tuning (e.g., “drop D”), he could manually lower E1 two steps, then let the autotuner handle fine details.
cl Says:
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:25 pm
There is no real need for mechanical auto tuning, fine or otherwise. Idiocy is not what is being invited…mission creep is.
I presume there will be A/D converters and separate pickups for each string. If that is the digitally change the pitch to the desired tuning. If done post A/D conversion it will be fine. I believe that is what Line 6 does with the Ariax.
A built in tuner is all that is needed (since guitarist have been tuning their guitars for a long time) and it should be on the side of the guitar facing up to the player, not on the fret board. Sabine and others make a really nice tuner that “attaches” to acoustics and that is the best place to put it.
cl
Gimpster Says:
February 4th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Here’s an idea that I just had. How about some sort of software where it can analyze, or you can program in, back up parts, a drum beat, a bass line, and such, then you can play those out through external speakers, so that you can solo over it, or just play along, whatever you want.
Or we could get really intense, have this software in place, and it analyzes the key you’re in, the tempo or anything else, and if you switch keys, then it will to. I think that would be pretty amazing.
Just a thought.
UnstoppableDrew Says:
February 5th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I’d be wary of trying to put motors in the peghead for autotune. You’re going to wind up with an instrument thats very neck heavy, and you’ll be straining to keep it upright as you try to play. For similar reason, weight should be as important an issue as processing power when deciding what to put in it. No one’s going to care what cool features it has if it weighs so much you can’t play it.
David Lovell Says:
February 6th, 2007 at 12:17 am
This may be heresy, but I’d really go for a way to sample the output of any guitar (or other instrument) and store to USB. I’m thinking of a memory stick with a female phono jack.
In record mode, the USB sampler stores the last N minutes electrical signal from the instrument. In playback, it reproduces the stored signal exactly so that it can be run back through your amp, FX, whatever.
…or is such a thing already out there?
Briony Noh Says:
February 9th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
A tuner on the body, yeah, deffo. That’s a given. But how about a small screen for a playlist? Save you taping a list to the back, which always looks tacky. Could also prog in the lyrics and maybe even cues for the chords. I’m always forgetting them.
A metronome (or basic drum sequencer, nothing flashy) to improve timing.
Key-note bassline, something that just occurred to me could be a natural offshoot from the LCD display with chord cues typed in.
I would be concerned about getting too gimmicky without actually being very useful. The above suggestions come mostly from thoughts I’ve had before when gigging or watching others play (with music stands or song-sheets on space-stealing chairs beside them or whatever).
But no one will buy a guitar that doesn’t sound good, so concentrate on the construction and action while considering pick-ups that can be electronically enhanced but don’t sound too bad, anyway. Now add a pick-up simulator board to select between single-coil/humbucker sound at either bridge or neck position. Check out some of the better pick-up sites to see how widely these sounds can vary, not only from s/c to hummer, but even from humbucker to humbucker.
Finally, think of how the pick-up sounds themselves can be mixed with each other. Standard guitars offer multi-position switches. This guitar could do far better than that, even with only two pups.
As a Santana devotee, I’d also be in Heaven if I could get that Smooth and Eternal Sustain at the flick of a switch. Thought I’d mention it.
Oh, yeah, and design it to look good, but please bring out a lefty version at no extra cost!
Briony Noh Says:
February 9th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Oh, and the on-board recording device looks like a winner to me, too!
contetortellino Says:
February 11th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
autotuner: instead of putting motors in the peghead why don’t use a steinberger tipe bridge. It will be easyer to balance the instrument carving the body if necessary.
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