Cambridge, MA (March 10, 2009) -- It seems like every few months, an instrument heralded as “the next
great technological advancement in guitars” is unveiled. From the Moog
Guitar and Gibson’s Dark Fire to more obscure concepts, like 3D
printing for tonal variety, there are a substantial number of builders
looking to advance the boundaries of the guitar. In many cases, this is
accomplished through digital technology and modeling, which many
players feel still falls short of being perfectly authentic. This is
why we were particularly interested in the concept known as the
Chameleon Guitar. It sticks to the basics of using different tonewoods
to achieve a variety of tones, but employs technology to make it
happen.
As you might imagine from the name, the Chameleon Guitar has the
ability to be everchanging and adapting. Created by MIT Media Lab
master’s student Amit Zoran, the Chameleon is an electric guitar with
an interchangeable central soundboard. Zoran’s idea was to be able to
“plug in” the acoustic qualities that are unique to each piece of wood
without changing the feel of the guitar.
Each interchangeable soundboard provides a unique tonal base due to its
composition and structure. From there, the signal is processed through
five pickups and can then be manipulated digitally in the guitar’s
built-in computer to simulate different sizes or shapes of the same
wood—allowing for sounds that would not otherwise be physically
possible. Zoran says that the nature of the Chameleon Guitar lends
itself to greater freedom to experiment. Instead of having to buy an
entire new guitar to experience different wood combinations, players
would be able to make a relatively small investment in a new
soundboard. It would also be possible to take advantage of the tonal
characteristics of pieces of wood that aren’t large enough to build a
full guitar. For example, Zoran used a wooden beam from a bridge in
Vermont to build a soundboard.
Zoran built the first proof-of-concept version with instrument builder
Marco Coppiardi last summer, and debuted a more polished version at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January ’09. He plans on
continuing the guitar’s development as his doctoral thesis project, and
hopes to eventually develop it commercially.
Watch a video of Zoran explaining and playing the Chameleon Guitar: