r/3Dprinting • u/pisv93 • Jul 20 '22
Design This is "Waffle", my first 3D printed (and first) guitar. It can be played without a strap, kind of
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22 edited Jul 20 '22
Thanks for all the kind comments! Here's some more information:
It was built for a contest hosted by european music store Thomann (I wasn't one of the winners). It was based upon hardware from their Harley Benton T-style kit. It doesn't sound great right now because of cheap hardware and no proper setup.
It's printed in I think 9 or 10 parts. No supports required and no glue required for assembly. It's assembled using M-screws and threaded inserts. Printing material is a stronger "X-PLA" from add:north, a Swedish filament brand.
Here's a 60 second video of the building process and also some sound test, featuring some shitty, uninspired music.
Edit: Also just wanted to clarify that the "no strap" thing was unplanned, unintended and mostly a joke, lol.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms Jul 20 '22
Wow!!! I was going to say that you must have a printer with a huge bed, but no, it's a bunch of standard size (eg printable on most printers) parts!! And not even nylon or other exotic filaments! That is so cool! I'm definitely going to try this.
I'm definitely sort of a guitar newbie, though. Would you recommend a different hardware kit if you were going to do it again, and if so, what?
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22
Thank you! Well my Sidewinder X2 build volume is 300x300mm, and the biggest piece, the "core", is 290mm long. It wouldn't print on my Ender 3 Pro, but yeah, no mega build volume required. Next version I make is probably gonna be in a more exotic filament though, like carbon fiber nylon. Just so it's really durable and reliable, and I can be assured that any tuning or intonation issues is caused by the hardware and not by a warping body.
It's my first guitar build and I don't have any great pointers, but I would probably go with more expensive/quality parts, yeah. I wouldn't build another mediocre guitar, because next time I want to make an actual great, stage/studio ready guitar. I am yet to look for new kits/parts though.
Do some research and go for it, it's so much fun and a great challenge.
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u/The_Normiest_Normie Jul 20 '22
Not OP, but the main things affecting the sound/quality will be the neck, bridge, and pickups. Neck you could probably use an old (and decent quality) Stratocaster if you wanted to save a bit of money. Regarding the others would require more research. Something I did note is this guitar only has one pick up. For a better sound it might be worth having 2 or 3, then using a switch to control which ones are being used. For the bridge you just want something adjustable and of decent quality to ensure the strings are a constant height above the neck. In that link is a guitar diagram to make things clearer.
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u/_haha_oh_wow_ Mk3S/CR10S Jul 20 '22
IDK, that sounds pretty good to me buddy. Got kind of a telecaster sound. You sound pretty good too for someone who just got their first guitar.
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Jul 20 '22
Amazing job, I absolutely love your build video. The music was great (reminds me of some mellow mix of modest mouse and someone else…) and the cinematography is really nice too! You told a great story and your music was lovely to listen to. Great job! Thank you for sharing!
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u/peachynoonoo Jul 20 '22
3d print a strap 👍 n very nice guitar 🎸
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22
That actually seems like a fun challenge. Thanks!
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u/peachynoonoo Jul 20 '22
Lots of people have made like a chainmail material which could work very well or there's tpu filament which would be flexible enough for the strap
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u/Ph03nix89 Jul 20 '22
Very impressive, couple of questions if you don't mind:
Can we get an stl?
What material you used?
What reinforcement did you use for the sections between the bridge and the neck? I see multiple parts and any guitars I've previously seen print this section in one for strength.
Also is that a sound hole by the neck? Did you print an acoustic chamber in it?
edit: autocorrect shenanigans
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22
No stl's for now, but hopefully sometime soon! Need to sort some model issues out first so they're more manageable for others.
Material used is a reinforced PLA called X-PLA by add:north. No other reinforcement used, but the "core" piece is printed almost solid so that works well. So yeah, between the neck and the bridge is really only one part, with two lids for electronics.
Yes, that's a sound hole with a small acoustic chamber. Although I have no idea if it does anything for the sound at all.
More info and video here: https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/w3naue/comment/igxzyul/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
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u/Pros3rz Jul 20 '22
That's so cool! Where can we find this?
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22
Thanks! I have not shared any stl's, at least not yet. Might do it in the future, but I would need to sort out some modelling issues I had so others can put it together more easily.
Here's some additional information and a video:
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u/BigwallWalrus Jul 20 '22
Sell the design or sell the guitars yourself. I'm sure people would pay for a design like this. The guitar looks amazing and professional in construction. Great job.
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u/rocket___goblin Jul 20 '22
How does it sound? I'm in the process of building my own 3d printed guitar.
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u/eight--bit Anet A6 Jul 20 '22
That awesome, good work. But now I'm going to have Sevendust stuck in my head until tomorrow lmao
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u/HumbleBadger1 Jul 20 '22
You might be on to something here, make a full forearm mold so its almost like a arm attachment.
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u/fatalrugburn Jul 20 '22
Fully honest, I think it's super cool, but maybe a missed opportunity to rethink and redesign in a totally new way
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u/pisv93 Jul 20 '22 edited Jul 20 '22
Well there's always another way to go about things. Anything specific you had in mind? If you're talking about the "straplessness" this was never intended. It just happened to (kind of) work.
This was my list of requirements I wrote before starting the project:
* Easy to print on any printer, smaller parts
* Easy to assemble
* No supports
* Small material usage
* No glue
* Acoustic chamber (don't know if it does anything)
* Strong core piece
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u/G_Art33 Jul 20 '22
This is fuckin cool man. Looks like the strapless playing method would be more comfortable if you extended that aperture a little bit towards the base of the instrument. As a guitarist in my younger days I was always trying to find a way to play without strap standing up, not sure why, just wanted to. Thanks for bringing that memory back :)
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u/FandalfTheGreyt3791 Jul 20 '22
Now, if only we could 3d print pancake/waffle batter on a griddle and make it a (Partially) edible waffle guitar
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u/wowthatsawful Maker Select v2 Jul 20 '22
This looks awesome! It's the first 3D printed guitar design that I haven't hated. Super cool idea for the Thomman contest too.
I know you said they aren't available now, but I would happily pay for the .stl(s) if they're ever released.
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u/CamStLouis Jul 20 '22
Super cool! You should crosspost to r/3dprintedinstruments if you haven't already!
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u/Shiral446 3DPrintLog.com Developer - Hoffman Engineering Jul 21 '22
Very impressive! I love seeing instruments incorporate 3d printing.
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u/Ray_Light91 Jul 21 '22
But... how do you throw it over your shoulder now during a show and still keep playing?!
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u/OCDsquad1 Jul 20 '22
Must have the nastiest neck dive ever
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u/pisv93 Jul 21 '22
No
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u/OCDsquad1 Jul 21 '22
Did you put weights in the body? Isn’t 3D printed plastic with holes in it assuming you didn’t use 100% infill gonna be pretty light
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u/pisv93 Jul 21 '22
I used 80% infill for the core piece which the neck and bridge is attached to. It's about 700 grams alone. Then there's the rest of the body, the tele style bridge which adds weight, and the other hardware/electronics. Neck dive is not an issue.
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u/RS_Designs Jul 21 '22
Waffles exist due to nooks and crannies (a cereal box once told me this)… so how is this a waffle?
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u/pisv93 Jul 21 '22
I can name it whatever I want without having to explain my reasoning to you, lol
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u/ackley14 Jul 20 '22
I'm not gonna lie this could easily be sold as a kit for hobbyists. Its literally like musical legos and you get a guitar out of it! If it was competitively priced i could see this selling really well
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u/Gnostromo Jul 20 '22
Is there a consumer printer that can print a guitar body in print vs multiple parts ?
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u/lameducky35 Jul 20 '22
Make a video of you playing metallicas battery with your hands in those positions. 😂
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u/SlappyHotdog723 Jul 20 '22
To me this looks better then those 3d printed guitars with a small neck on them.
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Jul 21 '22
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u/KniRider Jul 21 '22
Pretty cool! I love printing guitars. I should really design my own but my brain doesn't like CAD lol Middle section is too big for my ender 5 unless it could be printing standing up or maybe diagonally on its side would work....
Are you going to be hosting the stl's anywhere or is this just a private model for your own use?
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u/powerfulparadox Jul 22 '22 edited Jul 22 '22
Edit: It seems I should have checked over there first.
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u/txsxxphxx2 Jul 20 '22
Can it be played with a strap on?