raspberrypi.org/magpi The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book 65
from an electric guitar, but finding
the sound to be “inconsistent and
weird”, he decided to instead take
the pre-existing sound files from
GarageBand. Still not content with
the prototype, the team moved on
to incorporating arcade buttons
linked to the GPIO pins, allowing
the user to select a specific
chord before strumming the
strings. The Python code
would then determine which
sounds to play, and for how
long, based on the user
interaction with the
strings and buttons.
Building the body
Turning to the design team for
help with the guitar body, the
team created an authentic-looking
set of stickers, each depicting
breweries and bands taking part inthe event. These were then printed
for inclusion on the MDF and steel
body of the instrument, all
put together in-house by the
awesome engineering team.
The final piece was
installed inside the entrance
to Boulevardia, and received
overwhelming reactions from
all attendees to the event. “This
project was without a doubt one of
the most exciting, challenging, and
rewarding projects I’ve been a part
of,” continues Chris on his blog
entry for the build. “From concept
to execution, the entire project took
only five weeks. The fact that we
pulled this off in so little time really
speaks to the talent and dedication
of the people I get to work with.”
If you happen to be in Kansas
City, you can visit the guitar at
the Dimensional Innovations shop,
where it sits proudly on display
for visitors to play – a constant
reminder of what can be achieved
with a little hard work and
a great team.>STEP-01
Strings
A Bare Conductive board recognises capacitive
touch via 16-gauge galvanised wires running down
the body of the guitar. Each touch triggers the
playback of a specific WAV file.>STEP-02
Sound
Arcade buttons connected to the GPIO pins allow
users to select different chords as they play. They
also allow the guitar chords to sound ‘dirty’ or
‘clean’, depending on how rock ‘n’ roll the user
wishes to sound.>STEP-03
Body
The body of the guitar is built from steel and MDF,
the latter shaped by the engineering team at
Dimensional Innovations using a CNC router. Stickers
representing performers and other participants in the
event adorn the completed orange body.A GIANT IN THE
MUSIC INDUSTRY
THE PLAYABLE 12-FOOT ELECTRIC GUITAR Projects
One of the most exciting,
challenging, and rewarding
projects I’ve been a part of
Everyone worked together to create a realistic-looking guitar,
utilising all the talents of the Dimensional Innovations team