Tag Archives: electric guitar

This Award-Winning Guitar Ditches the Strings, the Frets, and Most of the Body, and I Kind of Love It

Posted on by

Look at RIFFMATE for a second and try to name what is missing. No strings. No fretboard bristling with metal wire. No solid slab of tonewood. What remains is the silhouette of an electric guitar sketched in mid-air, a skeletal frame that holds the double-cutaway outline everyone recognizes while hollowing out almost everything inside it. Those sweeping arms curving off the body trace exactly where a guitar’s shoulders and horns would sit, and then they float, framing empty space instead of filling it.

It takes real confidence to design an instrument by subtraction, and the RiffmateGT01 pulls it off with a straight face. Built by Shanghai’s Wo Tan Ni Chang Technology with industrial design from LKK Design Beijing, it collapses the guitar into two pieces, a slim touch-strip neck and a central pod holding the speaker, electronics, and acoustic chamber. The neck wears Roman numerals from I to VII where frets used to sit, and you play it by touch rather than by plucking steel. An AI layer shapes the sound and flattens the brutal learning curve that sends most beginners quitting by their fourth barre chord.

Designers: LKK Design Beijing

One-key disassembly lets the neck separate from the body, so the whole instrument folds into a small carry-on bag and clicks back together in seconds. Anyone who has wrestled a guitar into an overhead bin understands why that matters more than it sounds. The shells pop off too, which is where the personality lives, with RIFFMATE rendering in matte black, crisp white, a purple gradient, sunshine yellow, a blue-to-silver fade, and a warm walnut finish. Swapping those panels lets owners recolor the instrument or replace a scuffed part, stretching its lifespan instead of sending it to landfill. Modularity turns the guitar from a fixed object into a system that grows and changes with the person holding it.

The transparent render exposes a properly engineered acoustic cavity inside that central pod, with dedicated internal channels feeding a front-firing driver. That makes RIFFMATE self-amplifying, able to fill a room without an external amp or a tangle of pedals. The body wears a matte frosted texture over soft, rounded contours, sitting closer to a well-resolved Bluetooth speaker than to a slab-bodied Stratocaster. Those friendly surfaces read as age-agnostic, pitched at a curious ten-year-old and a lapsed forty-year-old guitarist alike. The whole object invites handling, exactly what an instrument built to lower the stakes should do.

Smart guitars have inched toward this moment for years, and LAVA did much of the groundwork by wrapping carbon fiber around a built-in touchscreen and turning the instrument into a full software ecosystem. RIFFMATE pushes that lineage somewhere stranger, questioning whether a guitar needs strings or a body at all, and joining a small wave of stringless designs rethinking the form from scratch. The honest caveat is that this remains award-stage industrial design, so we are judging intent and renders rather than a shipping spec sheet. As a vision, it lands as one of the boldest reinterpretations of the guitar to cross my desk in a while. Whether Wo Tan Ni Chang can build the object as beautifully as LKK drew it is the question worth watching.

The post This Award-Winning Guitar Ditches the Strings, the Frets, and Most of the Body, and I Kind of Love It first appeared on Yanko Design.

CRKD Just Built a $135 Guitar Controller Around a Real Gibson Les Paul

Posted on by

Rhythm games went through a period where they were everywhere, then went quiet, and now they’re back in a way that feels more persistent than the last time. Fortnite Festival brought the genre back to a mainstream audience, Clone Hero and YARG kept a dedicated community alive through the lean years, and Rock Band 4 never really went away. The one thing that has lagged behind the revival is the hardware, with most players making do with aging instruments or basic alternatives that don’t feel particularly inspired.

The CRKD x Gibson Les Paul Olive Drab Pro Edition is a guitar controller that takes the instrument side of that equation seriously. Built on the silhouette of the actual Gibson Les Paul Olive Drab electric guitar and officially licensed by both Gibson and Xbox, it’s designed for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, with a finish that stands apart from the more conventional options the brand has previously released.

Designer: CRKD x Gibson

The two hardware decisions that define the playing experience are the EZ Glide mechanical fret buttons and the Hall Effect strum bar. The fret buttons use mechanical switches rather than the rubber membranes found in standard guitar controllers, giving each press a tactile click that registers precisely and consistently. The strum bar relies on Hall Effect technology rather than physical contacts, which means it doesn’t degrade with repeated use, and its sensitivity and actuation points can be dialed in through the CRKD app.

That companion app also handles everything the previous model’s physical 9-mode dial used to cover. CRKD removed that dial from the Olive Drab Pro Edition after extended playtesting found it added friction to getting started. Game presets, button remapping, custom profiles, and firmware updates now all live in the app. For players who want the depth, it’s all still there, and for those who just want to plug in and play, nothing stands in the way.

Connectivity covers three modes: wired via USB-C, low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless through the included USB dongle, and Bluetooth. The package also comes with a shoulder strap and a removable rechargeable battery. Rapid polling technology keeps response times tight across all connection methods, which matters considerably once you’re trying to hit precise timing windows in harder difficulty tiers.

The Olive Drab colorway is worth noting as more than just an aesthetic decision. CRKD has positioned this release as the first in an evolving line of Pro Edition controllers, setting up the platform for Stage Tour, its upcoming rhythm game, which the hardware will also support. It’s a calculated move to give players both a current controller that works across today’s library and a stake in whatever the next chapter of rhythm gaming looks like.

Production is limited to a single batch, priced at $134.99 USD, €149.99, or £129.99 depending on region. Compatible games include Fortnite Festival, Rock Band 4, Clone Hero, YARG, and the upcoming Stage Tour. CRKD has confirmed this is strictly a one-run release, shipping now while stock holds. For anyone who’s been waiting for a guitar controller worth taking seriously, this is about as deliberate a design statement as the category has produced.

The post CRKD Just Built a $135 Guitar Controller Around a Real Gibson Les Paul first appeared on Yanko Design.

This $3,500 Guitar Changes Colors via Bluetooth, No Repainting Needed

Posted on by

Guitarists obsess over finishes. Sunburst fades, metallic flakes, relic’d nitro that looks like it survived three decades of dive bars, all of it matters until you realize that once you pick a color, you are stuck unless you repaint. Stage rigs and LED walls morph through palettes every night while the guitar stays frozen, a static object carried by musicians who constantly reinvent their sound and visual identity.

Cream Guitars’ DaVinci wraps its entire body in an E Ink Prism 3 panel, turning the surface into a programmable skin that changes colors and patterns over Bluetooth. Instead of a single paint job, the guitar becomes a dynamic canvas. It is the first commercially available product to use Prism 3, which is usually reserved for architectural surfaces and product experiments, not instruments you plug into an amp and carry on tour.

Designer: Cream Guitars

Prism 3 is color changing ePaper, closer to a Kindle page than an LED screen. It does not emit light, just holds pigment using low power electrophoretic particles. DaVinci’s front divides into sixty four segments, each assigned one of seven colors, white, black, yellow, orange, blue, red, or green. That segmentation lets you build stripes, blocks, and faux pickguards, changing the visual structure without touching a spray can.

A guitarist could match the guitar to different projects without owning three instruments. One night, geometric patterns echo album art. Another, a minimalist scheme feels right. The ePaper only draws power when changing, so once set, it sits visible under stage lights without glowing like LEDs or draining the battery between songs or overnight in a case, ready to change again whenever the visual identity shifts.

Under the display sits a Voltage body with roasted maple neck, rosewood fretboard, extra jumbo frets, and Graphtech locking tuners. Fishman Fluence pickups offer three voices, single coil, traditional humbucker, and high output humbucker. The tech wraps around a serious guitar, not a prop with thin pickups that sound disappointing once the visual novelty wears off after the first show or when you need to track a real session.

Traditional refinishing is messy and permanent. Sand, spray, cure, repeat if you change your mind. DaVinci’s ePaper skin reprograms endlessly, with Prism 3’s low power profile positioning it as a more sustainable alternative to LED bodies or constantly changing finishes. The guitar becomes a long term canvas rather than a disposable fashion statement that needs repainting or ends up retired because the color fell out of style after one album cycle.

DaVinci hints at instruments as programmable surfaces that evolve with the player. It feels like a crossover between luthier craft and interface design, where the object in your hands can match your projected identity without needing backup guitars. Whether or not you want one at three thousand five hundred dollars, it is easy to imagine keyboards, drum shells, and amps following the same path, turning stage gear into surfaces that shift as often as setlists do.

The post This $3,500 Guitar Changes Colors via Bluetooth, No Repainting Needed first appeared on Yanko Design.

This $3,500 Guitar Changes Colors via Bluetooth, No Repainting Needed

Posted on by

Guitarists obsess over finishes. Sunburst fades, metallic flakes, relic’d nitro that looks like it survived three decades of dive bars, all of it matters until you realize that once you pick a color, you are stuck unless you repaint. Stage rigs and LED walls morph through palettes every night while the guitar stays frozen, a static object carried by musicians who constantly reinvent their sound and visual identity.

Cream Guitars’ DaVinci wraps its entire body in an E Ink Prism 3 panel, turning the surface into a programmable skin that changes colors and patterns over Bluetooth. Instead of a single paint job, the guitar becomes a dynamic canvas. It is the first commercially available product to use Prism 3, which is usually reserved for architectural surfaces and product experiments, not instruments you plug into an amp and carry on tour.

Designer: Cream Guitars

Prism 3 is color changing ePaper, closer to a Kindle page than an LED screen. It does not emit light, just holds pigment using low power electrophoretic particles. DaVinci’s front divides into sixty four segments, each assigned one of seven colors, white, black, yellow, orange, blue, red, or green. That segmentation lets you build stripes, blocks, and faux pickguards, changing the visual structure without touching a spray can.

A guitarist could match the guitar to different projects without owning three instruments. One night, geometric patterns echo album art. Another, a minimalist scheme feels right. The ePaper only draws power when changing, so once set, it sits visible under stage lights without glowing like LEDs or draining the battery between songs or overnight in a case, ready to change again whenever the visual identity shifts.

Under the display sits a Voltage body with roasted maple neck, rosewood fretboard, extra jumbo frets, and Graphtech locking tuners. Fishman Fluence pickups offer three voices, single coil, traditional humbucker, and high output humbucker. The tech wraps around a serious guitar, not a prop with thin pickups that sound disappointing once the visual novelty wears off after the first show or when you need to track a real session.

Traditional refinishing is messy and permanent. Sand, spray, cure, repeat if you change your mind. DaVinci’s ePaper skin reprograms endlessly, with Prism 3’s low power profile positioning it as a more sustainable alternative to LED bodies or constantly changing finishes. The guitar becomes a long term canvas rather than a disposable fashion statement that needs repainting or ends up retired because the color fell out of style after one album cycle.

DaVinci hints at instruments as programmable surfaces that evolve with the player. It feels like a crossover between luthier craft and interface design, where the object in your hands can match your projected identity without needing backup guitars. Whether or not you want one at three thousand five hundred dollars, it is easy to imagine keyboards, drum shells, and amps following the same path, turning stage gear into surfaces that shift as often as setlists do.

The post This $3,500 Guitar Changes Colors via Bluetooth, No Repainting Needed first appeared on Yanko Design.

Harley Benton Introduces DIY Kits To Personalize Your Guitars

Posted on by

In the realm of musical craftsmanship, Harley Benton has raised the bar with its recent unveiling of a captivating range of do-it-yourself guitar kits. This innovative lineup not only offers musicians the opportunity to assemble their own instruments but also encourages a unique and personalized approach to guitar building. The collection includes four distinct models, each designed to cater to the diverse preferences and styles of guitarists. Among them, the standout is the unconventional square guitar, accompanied by a thin-line T-style model and left-handed S- and T-style models.

Designer: Harley Benton

Guitars are not just instruments; they are extensions of a musician’s identity and style. Recognizing this, Harley Benton’s DIY guitar kits acknowledge the personal connection individuals have with their instruments. These kits provide a canvas for musicians to express themselves not just through their playing but also through the process of building a guitar tailored to their preferences.

Each DIY kit is meticulously curated to include all the essential components required to build a complete instrument. From strings to pickups, body, and more, these kits are designed to offer a seamless and satisfying building experience. The standard Rengas body, with variations in wood color, is accompanied by maple necks, providing a sturdy foundation for creativity. Musicians can choose to paint the body or leave it in its natural state, with the added convenience of pre-prepared routing for pickups, tuners, bridge, and electronics.

Harley Benton recognizes that true creativity lies in customization. The kits come with bodies and necks finished with a wood sealer, facilitating easy application of lacquer for those who wish to add a personal touch to the aesthetics. The square model, for instance, comes with 22 frets, one volume and one tone control, a three-way switch, a Tune-O-Matic bridge, and two humbuckers, offering versatility and the potential for musicians to craft their unique sound.

There’s a special connection that comes with creating something with your own hands. Building a guitar from scratch provides not only a sense of accomplishment but also a deeper understanding and appreciation for the instrument. When musicians invest time and effort into crafting their guitars, they naturally develop a stronger bond with their creations. This hands-on experience allows them to see every inch of their instrument, fostering a sense of pride and ownership.

As someone who has owned a guitar since the age of 15, I understand the evolving relationship one has with their instrument. The idea of having a DIY guitar resonates deeply with me. I believe that if I had embarked on the journey of building my own guitar, I would have treasured it even more. The process of creating something from scratch adds a layer of intimacy that goes beyond the joy of playing; it becomes a testament to one’s creativity and craftsmanship. However, it may also leave room for some errors.

While the kits provide a solid foundation, it is the individual touch and craftsmanship that will make each guitar truly one-of-a-kind. Whether it’s the choice of color, the style of finish, or the selection of pickups, the creative journey of building a DIY guitar allows players to develop a deeper connection with their instrument. Each scratch, mark, and detail tells a story, making the guitar a unique reflection of the musician behind it.

Harley Benton’s DIY guitar kits are more than just a collection of components; they are a gateway to a world of musical creativity and self-expression. By providing musicians with the tools and guidance to build their own instruments, Harley Benton encourages a hands-on approach to music that goes beyond playing notes on a fretboard. These kits represent a bridge between the technical and artistic aspects of music, allowing musicians to shape not only their sound but also the physical embodiment of their musical journey.

The post Harley Benton Introduces DIY Kits To Personalize Your Guitars first appeared on Yanko Design.