Aluminium guitars, carved by computer

Also not forgetting the Tokai Talbo, aka the Devo guitar. They look cast rather than CNCed though.
 

My kramer aluminum neck bass stays in tune pretty well.. are the guitars worse?
 

actually, when i think of aluminum guitars, i think of travis bean :

http://www.travisbeanguitars.com/

http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=13
 

Wow. That's gorgeous.
 

I remember those Kramer guitars. I have a tape of a show I did in an unheated club in the middle of winter (it was snowing outside). It took me a while to realize that I was better off not retuning the guitar every 5 minutes. To make matters more interesting, I tore a 2-inch gash in my left ring finger that day, and had to play with an open cut.
 

When I think of aluminum and guitars, I remember the Ovation with an aluminum neck my girlfriend's uncle was so proud of. I never saw the charm myself. Three cheers for making a guitar from aviation industry materials - but guys, how about a design that stays in your lap if you just happen to play it sitting down?

I LOVE the Fouke lap steels - they're gorgeous - and I would love a chance to play one, but it's not like Guitar Center carries them. I've come close to ordering one a number of times, but I feel like I need to hear/see/feel it myself first, having had no experience with an aluminum body guitar.
 

electrical guitar company also makes full aluminium guitars, in the vein of travis bean:
http://electricalguitarcompany.com/
 

There is no reason why you can't do the same thing with wood. First off, wood would look better (especially if you laminated different types of wood). Second, I think wood would sound better and probably not have thermal problems associated with dissimilar materials. Consider that Aluminums thermal rate of expansion is probably a hundred times greater than wood, this thing could go out of tune when the breeze blows.
 

There is no reason why you can't do the same thing with wood. First off, wood would look better (especially if you laminated different types of wood). Second, I think wood would sound better and probably not have thermal problems associated with dissimilar materials. Consider that Aluminums thermal rate of expansion is probably a hundred times greater than wood, this thing could go out of tune when the breeze blows.
 

Gee, now I just need my own 10,000 CNC router and I'm all set.

Cool idea, but as mentioned, the thermal expansion of Aluminum has generally made it a poor choice in guitar materials. I have a Kramer "Big Duke" and that thing cannot stay in tune.

Plus, what ever happened to just plain enjoying the wood? Keep the Aluminum, give me Koa.

I assume his comment about "Ecologically responsible" was a swipe at the wood builders... Does he know what goes into making his Aluminum? Also, the high end market for Tropical Hardwoods is one of the few things that has kept them from going under. Luthiers provide the financial incentive to grow more trees.

And why in gods name would someone in Alaska want an Aluminum guitar? That stuff never warms up in your hands in Florida. I can only imagine trying to play a guitar that was -20 deg.

90% of a good guitar guitar is the part you play on, the neck. I notice he isn't exactly talking about the quality of his, and they don't look great in the photos.

Mad props to the guy for some wicked designs, and I wouldn't mind trying one in actual wood. For that matter.... Graphite. Far more stable. I think it's great that he's going to offer the CNC plans, but there aren't many folks that have a CNC machine sitting around doing nothing. (Does it need to be 3 axis?) Realistically, If I had a CNC machine, I'd want to design my own body. It's not hard.
 

Very interesting looking but I'd be afraid to take one out to a gig...
 

uh guys Kramer guitars don't stay in tune not because they're aluminum, but because they're an aluminum neck bolted onto a wooden body. a completely pointless design.

to have any real tonal advantages the guitar must be aluminum from nut to bridge.

and before you flame me let me point out that Travis Bean guitars are very popular with associates of the STGB. i speak from observational experience.
 

I'm not sure about how great an aluminum guitar would feel or sound, but about the whole thermal expansion issue, yes, this is true, but aluminum doesn't warp due to moisture or humidity changes, which might make up for it a bit, not that i'd trade my graphite reinforced maple neck for an aluminum one.
 

Electrical Guitar Company
You guys can check these out too.
 

Interesting stuff! Thanks for including all the links!!!
 

I am currently building a small cnc machine to do pcb's. I can only hope that down the road I will have a bigger machine capable of handling aluminum and other materials on this scale.
 

A place that has a lot of discussion and information about aluminum guitars like the ones mentioned above (Travis Bean, EGC, etc) is MetalNecks.com.

They're a portal site where multiple manufacturers are discussed, as well as a place for users to rate their guitars/basses.

MN
 

Hey guys,I'm Franco from Italy.

I'm the builder of ThreeGuitars,

http://www.3guitars.com/

My guitars have aluminium CNC body and carbon fiber neck,they always stay in tune and sound very well.

If you want to know more, please contact me.
 

If you are into Aluminum guitars, check out Alumisonic's guitars. They are really nice-they have an archtop that is spectacular.
 

James Trussart makes electric semi-hollowbodied guitars from steel.
 

you can add BORN TO ROCK to your list of metal neck guitars. neck is made from T-profile aluminum with 2 wooden quarter-round inserts on the back. frets are stainless rod. body is also aluminum, made from hollow aluminum pipe bent and welded. total weight is 6.5 pounds. the balance is the same as a conventional guitar because the tuners are on the body, not the headstock. see www.BornToRock.com. they stay in tune perfectly. you can travel to hong kong, open the case, and it is still in tune. it is a fallacy to say that thermal expansion causes a tuning problem for aluminum necks. in fact, the thermal expansion of steel guitar strings is more like that of aluminum than wood, so it is the >>wooden<< guitar neck that has tuning issues, especially under hot stage lights -- unless you are using nylon strings on it.