Dec 1, 2015 | By Andre

Throughout the greater part of the 20th century and onward into today, guitar music has been a driving force in popular culture and beyond. Whether its heavy or soft or somewhere in between, the familiar sound of guitar strings vibrating to the strum of a musicians fingers or pick has survived the test of time.

To be sure, music has evolved and thrives independent of the time tested formula of singer, guitarist, drummer and maybe bass up on stage. The death of rock and roll has even been touted over and over throughout the years. But just take a short stroll along some local pubs on a quiet weekend anywhere in the world and you might find a live act plucking away at the strings of this magical instrument.

Canadian rock legend Neil Young once sang that Rock and roll is here to stay; Rock and roll can never die. While I agree with his sentiments, I would feel more assured by saying guitar music can never die.

Of course, there’s no reason to limit how said guitar music is played and ultimately sounds.

A recently funded Kickstarter is introducing the world to a product they call the Guitar Triller. The Triller is a guitar accessory designed to give the guitarist another way to play beyond doing so with their fingers, picks, slides and the like.

The inspiration behind the device originated when life-long musician Alex Bodnar caught a performance by legendary guitarist Steve Vai. He says, “I was at the Steve Vai concert when I was a teenager and in the middle of one of his crazy solos, he unscrewed his whammy bar and started bouncing it on his strings. I was blown away!

After giving it his all to replicate this sound or find a product out the market that could do so, he quickly realized nothing existed out there that would get the job done.

So he and his long-time friend Jeremy spent the last few years prototyping the weight, look and feel of exactly what they were after in an effort to replicate the sounds he was so inspired by all those years ago.

While they admit they didn’t come up with the striking tool for a guitar, they write that, “many early harps, zithers, and dulcimers could be played with any combination of fingers, picks or striking hammers. Somewhere along the way, guitars lost this important way of playing, leaving us with just picks and fingers and leaving out a whole category of amazing sounds!

They consider the Triller the perfect striking tool for playing guitar and bass and if their fully funded campaign is any indication, there is a market for their creation. Take a look at the design feature and specs taken below from their Kickstarter page.

Just like so many other product development stories out there today, 3D printing was used extensively for testing the form factor of the Triller. Additionally, they’ve teamed up with Shapeways to have a 3D printed version of the Triller out and ready to early-backers by Christmas time (with the final production version shipped out when production completes early 2016).

Beyond the Triller itself, backer rewards include video conference lessons, bulk discounts and and even a chance to jam out for a two-hour jam session with the creators.

If you’re wondering if your playing style is suited for the Triller, take another look at their Kickstarter for more instrument specific demo videos.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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