Guitar Design

Posted on 26th May 2008

It's been 18 years since I picked up my first guitar, and I have to say I don't get to play it as much as I used to due to other priorities in life. It doesn't mean to say that I have lost my interest in playing it, but I have started to be more interested in designing them with a hope that one day I'll get to build them. It seems to me the experience of building a musical instrument with my own hands, carving it out from a piece of beautiful wood material suits who I am better than being a performing artist - 'master craftsman' resonates better with my heart.

My parents moved home recently, and in the process of moving they found quite a few miniature guitars I used to build in my teenage years. It was really interesting to see them again after so many years, as it really showed me the fact that at heart I was more interested in designing & building guitars than playing them from the early stage of my musical career.

Please enjoy the gallery of my guitar designs and miniature guitars.

Blue Electric Guitar

Handmade Miniature Guitar

Materials : Cardboard & Wood
Date : 1993

This is one of the first miniature guitars I made in my teen years. Apart from the head & neck, which are made of wood, most parts of the model are made out of cardboard from the back of note pads. Tuning pegs are made of wooden toothpicks, and frets are from old guitar strings. It should really be called a recycling guitar. It is 240mm from the head to the end of the body.

Electric Guitar Neck

Handmade Miniature Guitar

Materials : Wood
Date : 1993

This is the neck of a Stratocaster® style miniature guitar I made. Unfortunately the body of the model was destroyed during my parent's recent move hence just the neck, but I'm quite pleased with the finish of this one-piece neck carved out of a wood strip.

Stratocaster® is a registered trademark of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Red Archtop Guitar

Handmade Miniature Guitar

Materials : Wood
Date : 1994

This was my first attempt at an archtop jazz guitar with 'F' shaped sound holes. Unlike my other miniature guitars, the body of this model is made of wood. I can't quite remember why but I decided to just make the body and mount it on a wooden base as a semi-3D ornamental placard.

Tadaima Guitar 2006

Guitar Design Concept

Design Type : Vector Drawing
Date : Aug 2006

Prior to the summer of 2006, building a guitar with my own hands was a part of my retirement plan. For many years I've dreamt of having a workshop at the back of our house where I could spend hours carving wood; building guitars has always seemed like an idyllic activity as it combines my love of art & craft with love of music & guitars.

Then something happened during the summer of 2006. As a part of our quest for life's purpose & vision, my wife & I were reading a number of Christian books which talked about becoming the person God created us to be through embracing the qualities He has given us individually. One author puts it as finding the God-given desires of our hearts that make us come alive. This inspired me to think 'Why leave it till my retirement?'. So I started designing guitars as a part of visualising my dream of becoming a guitar craftsman.

At the time of writing, I still haven't seen this concept design realised into a working musical instrument. However in the meantime God has been showing us a bigger picture where the desire of my heart is worked out as a part of the vision for us as a family for His purpose. In all honesty, I really don't know when & how this will happen but I am trusting in God's ability to take us there in His timing. In the meantime, I am focusing on the things He has tasked me to do for now as I believe everything is a part of our preparation for the future - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 - NIV*).

NIV* : New International Version (Bible Translation)

Tadaima Guitar 2006

Guitar Design Concept

Design Type : Vector Drawing
Date : Aug 2006

A variation on the above design concept with different body material and the pickup configuration.

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