3D printed "Strat"!

[Don]

My son printed a Strat body for me for Christmas! I supplied the neck and tuners. It sounds and plays great! The multi-piece plastic body doesn't appear to have any negative impact on tone.

It only weighs 5 pounds, 12 ounces. I feared neck dive, but it's not an issue. The colored parts are 15% infill (85% air) and the black section is 50% infill with metal rods added for strength. It's kind of a semi-hollow and responds like one.

The pickups are low output ceramics that came with the low price pickguard. They actually don't sound bad, though I may try some alnico pickups in the near future. He printed the pickup covers and knobs as well.

I used a Mighty Mite neck. It's pretty good. I had the clean up the fret ends, polish the frets, and set the nut height.

I played this guitar at a jam session on Thursday night. It's really nice. Super resonant. I like that in a guitar. It really messes with some long held beliefs, though...

This is my first hardtail Strat.

[phantomman]

A LEGO STRAT!!!

[Michael Smith]

Looks great Don! I bet you really like the light weight of it. I have never believed the composition of the body had much effect on the tone of an electric guitar.

[Don]

A LEGO STRAT!!!

It does have a Lego vibe!

[Don]

Looks great Don! I bet you really like the light weight of it. I have never believed the composition of the body had much effect on the tone of an electric guitar.

I've always believed that the body of an electric guitar has an impact on tone, but not the impact that we expect- i.e. each different species of wood doesn't necessarily have a signature sound. I've also found that I like semi-hollow and chambered guitars a lot more than I realized.

[gibsonjunkie]

I think it looks cool!

[Bill Moore]

Heck, I like the colors too!

[Don]

Heck, I like the colors too!

Thanks! I like that he mostly kept to primary colors. I also like that he didn't paint it, smooth it over, or make it look like a wooden guitar. I like its 3D printed/Lego look.

[Don]

A LEGO STRAT!!!

Speaking of Lego, my wife gave me this Lego '69 Camaro Z/28. I finished it tonight after taking this pic. I built it as an RS Z/28 convertible with white stripes.

[phantomman]

Z/28's only came as coupes in 1969.

Two demerits!

[Don]

Z/28's only came as coupes in 1969.

Two demerits!

Ha! You caught me! If anyone was gonna bust me on that, it'd be you!

[OldStrummer]

I've always believed that the body of an electric guitar has an impact on tone, but not the impact that we expect- i.e. each different species of wood doesn't necessarily have a signature sound. I've also found that I like semi-hollow and chambered guitars a lot more than I realized.

+1

Here is a "family gathering" of my Strats (minus my G&L and my Stratocaster XII). Wanna guess what the body on the guy on the right is? Aluminum!

It's a 1994 40th Anniversary aluminum-bodied Strat. And in a "blind taste test," I can't tell the difference between it and its wood-bodied siblings.

[Tele-Bob]

Lego my eggo! Strat...

[Offshore Angler]

My name is Chuck and I approve this Strat body!

[ArnoldGilson]

3D printed guitars are on the rise, albeit slowly. Some famous guitarists have played 3D guitars in their concerts.
Yngwie Malmsteen: The Swedish guitarist used a 3D printed guitar designed by Sandvik in 2019 during his live show in Sweden.
Olaf Diegel: Guitar designer and musician from New Zealand has created several 3D printed guitars that have been used by various artists including Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones and Steve Vai.

[ch willie]

Don, are you still enjoying it?

[Don]

Don, are you still enjoying it?

I am! It's a nice "Strat"! The Mighty Mite neck is fine, but my USACG neck was way better. The Bootstrap pickups are great!

[ch willie]

I am! It's a nice "Strat"! The Mighty Mite neck is fine, but my USACG neck was way better. The Bootstrap pickups are great!

That’s great. Guitars can be fun too in a whacky way. I’m probably among few who dug the spin art Splattercasters. If guitars sound good, there’s an occasion for every configuration. I’m glad to have my beautiful Les Paul burst, but I’d dig one with something like children’s drawings or my dogs’ paw prints on a second LP.

[phantomman]

That’s great. Guitars can be fun too in a whacky way. I’m probably among few who dug the spin art Splattercasters. If guitars sound good, there’s an occasion for every configuration. I’m glad to have my beautiful Les Paul burst, but I’d dig one with something like children’s drawings or my dogs’ paw prints on a second LP.

Try a Hello Kitty Strat......its the cats meow!

[ch willie]

Try a Hello Kitty Strat......its the cats meow!

lol

[photoweborama]

Thats really cool. My wife wants me to print one too. Not sure if my printer is big enough, though.

Man, I'd love to get my hands on that for a couple days and do a photoshoot on it!

[Don]

Thats really cool. My wife wants me to print one too. Not sure if my printer is big enough, though.

Man, I'd love to get my hands on that for a couple days and do a photoshoot on it!

This is made of more pieces than you'd think- most of the different colored sections are each more than one part.

[Offshore Angler]

Idea: Resin fill the hexagons with colored resins. Tinted UV resins would look kewl, especially if you imbed some LEDs.

Chuck

[Bill Moore]

Aren't the holes necessary to be able to carry it on your shoulders?
A solid chunk of plastic that size would really be heavy!

[Don]

Aren't the holes necessary to be able to carry it on your shoulders?
A solid chunk of plastic that size would really be heavy!

Not really. The brightly colored parts have 15% infill, so they're mostly hollow. This saves printing time and material. The black parts are 50% infill. I think the hex shapes are there to lower the amount of material and time even more, and also to hide the limitations of home printing.
I do think that filling the hex shapes with colored resin might get heavy, though.