An Ergonomic Guitar Tale
It started at Christmas 2007 after a 15-year hiatus to raise children and run a “normal” career. Suddenly, with kids running themselves to schools and practices, there was a tiny increase in the amount of time available to return to what had been a passion so many years before. In the search of a concept to tie things together, I stumbled on Rob Irizarry’s buildingtheergonomicguitar.com blog and realized immediately that this was a worthy cause to dedicate myself to. This community, which has morphed into eLUTHERIE.org, has a large number of very dedicated readers and followers, and has indeed offered a lot of cheers of encouragement as well as good discussions on the way.
The theories that I picked up on and formulated for myself were:
Low total weight to save shoulders and back
Weight distribution that centers the guitar’s weight in line with the player’s centre of gravity
Allow multiple standing and seated playing positions to minimize static loads
Minimize strain on the wrist and palm when playing
Restful on the eyes
Bonus design goal: experiment, take chances, be innovative and have fun!
I started with pen and paper and CAD drawings and published the progress on a blog of my own. It quickly became apparent that there was no hardware available that met the requirements I had, which were: headless and light-weight. It was logical for me to start in this end, because I was originally trained as a mechanical engineer and had access to a metal workshop, but not a woodworking workshop. Before I knew it, I was contacted by readers who wanted to buy the hardware that I had designed and prototyped.
I completed the first series of hardware, both separate fixed combined bridge/tailpiece/tuners and a tremolo version that had Floyd-Rose measurements. (This leads me to an additional design goal: stay standard. Luthiers all over the world have routing templates for Floyd Rose tremolos, and Strat type neck pockets already, so as long as I am not severely constrained by these I try to stick with them.) This hardware design track has kept me occupied for over a year now and is in its second iteration. A complete concept of parts that would allow conversion of a guitar into an ergonomic one was born: Ergonomic Guitar System (EGS) and the hardware was the first step.
In parallel, I had been sketching on a body shape. I was featured on this site in March of 2008 when still in the cardboard template stage. This then continued with styrofoam in several iterations until I was sure that the body shape would both look and feel good. The objective of minimizing strain on the wrist led to exploring a Torzal Natural Twist neck, and while trying to figure out how to make it, via machined aluminium, to twisted aluminium beam, I discovered and learned how to mold carbon fiber again, no woodworking shop, and a desire to take chances and experiment. Heavily influenced by Gus Guitars and the Luis and Clark carbon fiber cello, my goal was to make the back of the guitar and neck in one piece.
After experimenting though, I quickly realized that I should begin by making smaller pieces at a time simply due to how tricky it was to work with carbon fiber and epoxy. I designed a Torzal twist neck with dimensions that would be possible to retrofit on any Strat type guitar without modifications, but have had to shelve it due to lack of time, still believing that it is a good idea in terms of ergonomics.
In the summer of 2009, I travelled across the atlantic to meet up with one of the luthiers I had made “virtual” friends with: Rick Toone. He had combined his Trapezoidal Neck Profile with a not-so-extreme version of fanned frets. I liked both of these concepts a lot, so when it became time to build an exhibition/demo guitar and I only had a few weeks to do it, I put the Torzal twist plan on the shelf and charged ahead.
I had launched my EGS hardware at the Uppsala International Guitar Festival in 2008, having picked up and assembled the first tuners the same morning as it started. There was interest for sure, but mounted on a piece of MDF, they didn’t look very exciting. When I was invited to exhibit again at the 2009 show, I decided to complete a whole guitar in time for the show.
So, running with what I had, which was my almost 20 year old stash of left-over wood (ebony, maple, wenge) and some Louisiana Swamp Ash I had picked up on eBay. With the maple and wenge not being thick/big enough for a carved top, it turned into a flat top. With a flat top, I wanted to try carving a decorative f-hole. With an f-hole, let’s try to make it semi-hollow. And so on: it’s been an improvisation from start to finish.
For the neck, I tried to find an off-the-shelf fretless neck that I could modify, which was impossible on such short notice. I then tried to find a cheap neck that I could shave off the fretboard and replace but I couldn’t find a good one for that either. I did find, however, the left-over piece from a neck-through bass I made a long time ago. That would have to do, and while taking chances, I put a carbon fiber tube into it as a truss rod experiment, a technique I learned via eLUTHERIE.org’s Design & Technology Exchange. I had previously discovered Lace Alumitone pickups that fit well into my overall design concept in terms of looks and “innovativeness” and that are incredibly lightweight.
So, I give you the EGS Prototype Guitar:
Weight: 1850 grams/4 lbs
Swamp ash back, stained “Ebony Black”, finished with Danish Oil
Large tone cavities cut both top and bottom
Curly maple top (5 mm thickness), finished with Danish Oil
Black veneer strip in centre
Three-piece wenge neck with cherry veneer strips
Ebony fretboard
Carbon fiber truss rod
Super wide/high frets
25.5″ scale length on low E, 25″ scale on high E string
Strandberg EGS fixed bridges
Lace Alumitone humbucker pickups
5-position pickup selector (front HB, front SC + rear SC out of phase, front HB + rear HB series, front SC + rear SC in series, rear HB
Initial impressions by players to date include:
Low weight is awesome
Trapezoidal Neck Profile feels comfortable and is easy to get used to
Fanned frets are also feel natural and are easy to get used to
It is a very “fast” instrument
Sustain is great
Sound is unique (in a good way)
So, watch this space for follow-up instruments or visit Strandberg Guitarworks.
Beautiful, Ola.
You built that very rapidly and under difficult working conditions, which is a testament to your advanced hand skills.
I love hearing and seeing it in action. It will also be cool to explore how the sound character of your instrument and hardware changes with the addition of different types of pickups: Alumitones are quite neutral.
We’d also enjoy musician’s impressions of your hardware (tuning) because that is such an important part of the musican/instrument connection…and because you’ve invested so much time, effort and care into your designs.
Hello Rick, thanks for your comments! I have a play-date with a friend on Thursday to do some recordings. We will make some comparative samples with well known models which I will post ASAP.
I will bring a video camera and see if we can’t get some comments too.
Cheers,
Ola
Ola,
Very cool! Congrats on the build.
It’s hard to tell — is it a very slight fanned fret or not?
Thanks!
Marc
Hi Marc,
yes, it has a 25.5″ (“Fender”) scale on the low E and a 25″ (“PRS”) scale on the high E.
I string it with 10-46 D’Addarios but players think it has super light gauges on.
Cheers,
Ola
Hi Ola – Congratulations !
Very nice work.
Best wishes,
Mark
Ola…
It sounds like a perfect match for modern jazz or fusion. I’m surprised how much “wood” is in the tone for such a small body, but there’s a lot of singing high end there as well. I think you’ve got a hit on your hands.
Regards;
– Mark
[...] case you haven’t seen it already, I have written a brief history of the first EGS guitar over on eLutherie.org. var addthis_pub = 'olastrandberg'; var addthis_language = 'en';var addthis_options = 'email, [...]
Thanks Mark,
I did some recordings with a friend yesterday and will post them ASAP. Although these recordings don’t really reflect the jazz/fusion thought it does confirm your thoughts.
Peter, who played, loves the sound of the Alumitones on this particular guitar. It is clear and open and “airy” when played distorted. It may have less bottom than a regular humbucker, but this bottom seldom works in your favor anyway in a recording/live situation.
Cheers,
Ola
I have created some samples comparing the EGS guitar with a Strat equipped with humbuckers as well as a couple of clips demonstrating the action of the tuners. Check out my channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/olastrandberg or my blog.
Cheers,
Ola
The stints of clean tone in the posted video are really interesting. A lot of body, yet really focused, and the attack is very….soft, despite pick use.
Conversely, in the gain portions of the vid, the seeming treble shelving didn’t sing in the upper registers – although that might’ve been more the amp/gain circuit, or even just gain structure of it.
This guitar might be really great with much higher amp gain scenarios. (I have an all-mahogany neck-thru that might remotely be similar, and at high gain it has a bit of ‘wooo’ in it, but still more treble than yours.)
Thanks a lot for your comments.
The setup was a Tech 21 Power Engine and a demo setup of a range of Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series. Especially “Blonde” and “Liverpool” sounded awesome, both clean and overdriven, but in general all sounds were better than those picked up in the video.
I will make sure to get more samples up soon.
Cheers,
Ola
Very nice work Ola!
Rick
Very very nice work! I would love to try it out someday. Next years Uppsala guitar festival maybe or FUZZ fair in Gothenburg in May?
Right now I am on a trip to Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand so you will be relieved from my rantings and ravings about this or that for quite some time. Still intrigued by the SLIGHT fanned fret, and why you did’nt go all the way like Novax did.
Also I question I have directed to all these headless builders: Why is always the tuning assembly (bridge) recessed into the body? Some of the bassa built here let that whole thing protrude out a bit, moving the scale a bit back, and let the 12th fret be closer to that of a regular guitar. I’ve not yet understood why this happens as fast you play on ANY headles, klein, steinberger or not. The 12th fret moves forward, more away to left from you, that a regular guitar. Yet – on a regular guitar – there’s too much wood abd body behind the bridge and string piece anyway. Thinking that THAT would cause it to move it more out to the left. But no. I would like to see the bridge/tuner assembly OUT of that recessed cavity. Even if just by one inch, it
s quite a lot when moving the 12th fret closer to your playing a regular guitar. Of course, the bridge and tuners would be more prone to catch or bump into something, and get wrecked, but I also think it would be easier to find with just the fingers.
/Mats
Hello Mats! So the wonders of modern technology still keep you in touch with the real world even away from home…
Thanks a lot for your comments as always. I had to read them twice to figure out what you mean though: you are saying that the whole string assembly should move in the direction of the picking hand?
I think I have the way I do (i.e. “conventionally”) simply for aesthetics and honestly have not given it any thought. Pulling it back would alter the proportions of the instrument and, in particular, the cut-away in a normal looking shape would be affected. Rick Toone’s Dove (http://www.ricktoone.com/dove/) has fewer frets (19 if memory serves me) and no traditional cut-away. It probably also does have the scale moved closer – Rick: do you have any comments?
I will keep this in mind for future builds and see if I agree with you…
I think the overall design moves the neck to the right quite enough to accommodate easy reach of things, especially given the 25.5″ scale length. To go further than this seems a little pedantic.
I have seen one or two basses here, where they have moved the tuner assembly out. It seems it was a neck through and the tuner assembly was – sort of – sticking out from the body altogether. This will prove that something will “be in the way” for everything else. say, guitar stands end will be more prone to bump into something. You just move back the whole scale towards the picking hand thats right.
I wonder why this is so on headless instruments, that the 12th fret seems to be pushed far left instead. That would be more natural to me on a standard instrument where the body takes up more place than the scale. I e behind the bridge there’s much more wood and so on. I think you could have equal access to the upper frets by moving it slightly towards the picking hand. You MIGHT throw the balance off, but that can be counterweighted in the horns or heavier wood on other places on the guitar. I do not know how MUCH it will move the 12th fret towards the body though, if it’s of any significance.
If possible, on can take a seat and first have a regular guitar, then take a headless too right sitting in front of it. Like to guitars “on top” of each other. Care must be take so no scratches are made. And the just LOOK at the different place of the 12th
fret and scale.
Hanoi rocks, BTW. Little too much SMOG for my taste but everything else is fine.
Nice work! The guitar looks great!