Designing and 3D Printing an Electric Guitar: A Creative Journey

A few years ago, probably around 5 or 6, I decided it was time to build something. Here's my little journey.

Ideation - Dreaming Up a Custom Electric Guitar

Every great project starts with an idea, a spark of creativity that ignites the imagination.

In this case, no grand idea, just the desire to build something a bit out of the ordinary, while always maintaining utility. As a fan of music and technology, building a guitar seemed like a natural progression.

As a fan of the classic Telecaster design, I knew I wanted to start with this iconic shape as the foundation for my custom creation (let's face it, it's also the electric guitar with the simplest design ;)). However, I also wanted to push the boundaries and incorporate modern elements and personal touches into the design. This project was not just about replicating what already existed but about innovating and bringing something unique to life.

Design - Crafting the Perfect Blueprint

With a not so clear vision in mind, it was time to bring my ideas into the digital realm. Armed with Solidworks and a plethora of reference materials, I tried to find a design that balanced aesthetics, mechanical characteristics, and feasibility with the 3D printer (my poor Ender3 couldn't handle too many hours of printing).

Choosing the Parts - Selecting the Finest Components

One of the advantages of building a custom guitar is the ability to handpick every component to suit your preferences and playing style. From the pickups to the tuning pegs, each part plays a crucial role in shaping the instrument's sound and performance. At least in theory, I encountered budget constraints (very low) for this project. So, I purchased an affordable kit from Thomann as a starting point for the hardware.

Printing - Bringing the Design to Life

With the design finalized and the parts selected, it was time to turn digital dreams into physical reality. Armed with my trusty Ender3 printer and a stockpile of filament, I embarked on the printing process with a mix of excitement and anticipation.

Printing the various components of the guitar was a time-consuming endeavor, requiring patience and attention to detail.

Assembly - Putting It All Together

After days of printing and countless hours of post-processing, the moment of truth had finally arrived. With a collection of 3D-printed parts in hand and a sense of excitement building, I set about assembling my custom electric guitar. Obviously, not everything could go well on the first attempt, the neck of the kit was not of high quality (to tell the truth, it didn't have any quality at all), Amazon came to the rescue, without exceeding the budget too much, I found a maple neck much better than the previous one. Piece by piece, I carefully assembled the instrument, following the blueprint laid out during the design phase. From soldering the electronics to setting up the bridge and tuning the strings, every step was executed with precision and care.

Testing - Striking the First Chords

With the guitar fully assembled and tuned to perfection (or maybe not), it was time for the ultimate test: playing the first notes. As I plugged in the instrument and strummed the strings, I was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

The sound that emanated from the amplifier was nothing short of breathtaking, a testament to the countless hours of design, printing, and assembly that had gone into creating this custom masterpiece. It remains a plastic guitar, not so sought-after hardware, but it doesn't matter!

In the end, designing and 3D printing my own electric guitar was not just a technical challenge but a deeply rewarding creative endeavor. And as I strummed the final chord, I knew that this was only the beginning of many more musical adventures to come.

If you've made it this far reading, perhaps you'd like to know how this guitar sounds; on my Instagram profile, you can find three videos where I test it. Let me know what you think in the comments below.