Here are a couple of 3D renderings of the CAD model. Solid modeling is fun as soon as you get the hang of it. It becomes so gratifying when you see the rendering taking shape. Ah yeah… the artist in me. The model is dimension-accurate (down to the screws). I do have a couple of unfinished actual prototypes as well as some actual parts (tuners, pickups, etc.) that I reverse-modeled.

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Full view of the guitar

Full view (head POV)

The Body

The top is 4 layer carbon fiber (See Black Steel) with polished stainless steel binding (typically, luthiers use plastic). I am all for non-traditional designs, but this time, I’d like to start with a more conventional Strat-ish body design. I’d love to have more electronics installed (more on this later), but the basics must be set in place. For this design, that means 3 DiMarzio Area 69 pickups, standard 5 position lever switch, passive volume and tone controls, Schaller roller bridge and Grover locking tuners. Electronics fail and easily become obsolete. I want this creation to be alive and kicking, and still retain its value, 50 years or more into the future for the generations to come.

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Body Top	Body Top (Alternate POV)
Body Top (Guitarist POV)	Back View Showing Top Curve

The top has a slight curvature (717 mm radius) as shown in the 4th image above. The bottom is aggressively contoured for ergonomics and for easy access to the higher frets. The image below shows the guitar’s back. The neck-thru construction eliminates the neck-body joint so we can be as radical as we can in sculpting the back.

Contoured Bottom with Smooth Neck to Body Transition

Neck-thru construction

The neck runs through the full length of the strings up to the bridge and string ferrules. The string goes through the body (2nd picture below). It is constructed using bamboo-epoxy laminate (See The Mystical Plant) wrapped in 3 to 4 layers of carbon fiber. The truss-rod is also constructed from carbon fiber (unlike traditional guitars using steel rods). Like the body, the neck-thru sports polished stainless steel bindings around the fretboard and head.

This middle neck-thru piece is the most crucial part of the guitar. Like the classic Steinberger, the premise is that this middle section should sound good by itself. Unlike the Steinberger however, we will still have a head and a body. Like the Les Paul, the carbon fiber body top will enhance and project the guitar’s sound.

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Neck-Thru Middle Section

String through Body

The Head and Fretboard

The logo and truss-rod cover are stainless steel inlaid into the 6-layer carbon fiber top. The fretboard has the same sandwiched carbon fiber-bamboo-carbon fiber construction. The fret position markers are back-lit with white LEDs with brightness adjustment.

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14 degree Head Angle	Head Front View
Head with more of fretboard with backlit markers	Head Back View
Head (Alternate view)	Head Close-up

Next: Perfect Switching (part 1)

Neck

• Thru-Neck construction (No body and neck joints)
• Material:
  • Bamboo-epoxy laminate thru-neck core
  • 3 Layer carbon fiber skin neck bottom
  • 4 Layer carbon fiber head top
  • Carbon fiber fretboard wrap (3 layer top, 3 layer bottom)
  • Bamboo-epoxy laminate fretboard core
  • Stainless steel binding
• Carbon fiber / glass truss-rod
• Full-scale length: 644 mm
• 24 frets
• Head thickness: 18 mm
• Head angle: 14 degrees
• Neck thickness
  • 0th fret: 18 mm
  • 12th fret: 21.375 mm
  • 24th fret: 22.5 mm
• Nut width: 43 mm
• 24th fret width: 57 mm

Body

• Material:
  • Top: 4 layer carbon fiber
  • Bottom: aluminum / fiber glass
  • Stainless steel binding
• Body thickness: 40 mm
• Body top radius: 717 mm
• Saddle to saddle spacing: 10.16 mm

Hardware

• Pickups: DiMarzio Area 69 (bridge, middle, neck)
• Bridge: Schaller roller bridge
• Tuners: Grover locking tuners

Total weight: No more than 2 kilos (4.5 lbs.)

Notes

1. I like non-traditional designs. I usually prefer my own body styles, but this time, I’ll start with a more traditional Strat-influenced body design. The body will be more aggressively contoured though (more on that later).
2. The “scale length” is the total length the string travels from the edge of the nut up to the center of the 12^th fret multiplied by 2. The scale length (among other things) affects the overall sound of the guitar. That is one reason why you can’t just install single coil pickups in a short-scale guitar and expect it to sound like a Strat. The scale length (644 mm, 25.35″) falls somewhere in between a Strat (647.7 mm, 25.5″) and a Les Paul (628.65 mm, 24.75″).

Next: Design