Week 26: The Final Prototype

After many months of research, prototyping and experimentation my final prototype for Attune is finished. My past week of work on the model has involved some of the more precise and difficult aspects of guitar design: perfecting the neck joint, adding the frets and preparing the nut and saddle all required very precise and slight adjustment to avoid ruining the whole instrument. It took a lot of patience and I had to go back and amend some small mistakes but ultimately I think that the piece has turned out very well.

The ash and walnut look fantastic together in this version of the product, providing a nice contrast which distinguishes the different parts of the construction very well. The guide also looks much better to me in this version; the small changes made to the layout and the addition of paint to fill the etched holes makes the whole thing very clear and organised. There are some small tweaks that I would like to make to the design if I had the time: it may have been nice to experiment with other woods to see if anything would look or function better that the one I selected.

In hindsight it may have also been nice to go out and speak to some more guitar makers and a few more musicians in my research, just to get a broader scope of opinions. On the other hand with the research I gathered I was able to gain a number of interesting insights into guitar manufacture and maintenance so perhaps I would have arrived at the same product even if I had done a few additional interviews. As it stands I am very happy with the product and how it turned out.

Following this post I will put up a quick synopsis of the product detailing its

purpose, along with an image of it in use and a video demonstrating how it works.