28 January, 2004

Radical guitar design

Ulrich Teuffel, German luthier (guitar-maker) discusses the evolution of the electric guitar at his website.  Some fascinating observations.

I can't say I really like his own guitar designs, though. The 'Birdfish' is seriously odd, and looks too much like a gun for my taste. The 'Coco' is closer to a standard guitar shape, but somehow seems out of proportion, dominated by an over-large body (according to my preferences and possibly over-conservative expectations, anyway). The 'Tesla' reminds me of a mediaeval instrument in its overall shape, yet the detailing strikes me as rather 1980s.

That said, I'm speaking as a non-musician, solely in terms of visual design; it's clear that Teuffel has concentrated on function at least as much as form, and in terms of build quality, materials, ergonomics, playability and sound quality, they're highly rated guitars.