Weeks 12 and 13: First Concept

As the end of the semester approached I needed to select one of my ideas to take forward into the prototyping stage so that I could plan my next steps when I come back next year. Ultimately the choice was not particularly difficult as over the course of the sketch prototyping stage I have become fixated on one particular idea: a small string instrument with an interchangeable resonator.

The concept is fairly simple. The product will sit in the luthier’s workshop or office and will be close to hand when the luthier and their customer are discussing the kind of guitar they want. When discussing the issue of tone woods the luthier will hand the customer the product and allow them to play it. The instrument will be fairly small with only one or two strings and will come with multiple resonators that can be fixed to it: each one made of a different tone wood. While playing it the customer can change the resonator to hear the difference each wood makes, and in doing so find out which combination is ideal for them.

As I take this idea forward for further prototyping there are a few thing I want to do to improve upon it. For starters I want to pitch the concept to both luthiers and customers to receive feedback, as I want this product to be as closely tailored to their needs as possible. In addition as the next semester I will need to do some research into how to go about actually making the product: elements such as how to make the resonator interchangeable and how the string tension across the soundboard will change as the length of the string changes will be crucial information. I think it is inevitable that my idea will see some changes as I experiment with it and I am excited to see how things will progress in the next stage!