Welcome to the CNC Guitar Site!
This is a site dedicated to the 3D modeling and ultimately, construction of guitars. Most of the 3D modeling is done in Solidworks and Fusion 360, and then through the process of CNC machining with Mastercam (Fusion 360), guitars are constructed. You will find a wealth of information here about this process, as well as a series of instructional videos on how all of this is done. I hope you enjoy your stay, and I hope to hear from you!
One of my favorite Guitars is the PRS McCarty, which as you can see I have also modeled. Here are a few of the renders which I have done, to see how different colors, and different figured woods would look like. Wood like this, is getting almost impossible to find (eBay is your friend), but as you can see, it can certainly produce a VERY stunning instrument, especially when coupled with the right stain to really bring out the figure.
CNC GUITAR
I have created a series of Instructional Videos that detail the process of Machining and the 3D modeling of Guitars. The machining videos detail the process of creating tool paths in MasterCam, for machining Guitar Bodies and Guitar Necks. The Archtop video details the process of 3D Modeling an Archtop Acoustic Guitar, from Benedetto plans. As such, the entire series allows one to learn 3D modeling and CNC machining (specifically as it pertains to guitars). Obviously the methods here can be applied to anything. Rendering the created models integrates extremely well into this process. This allows one to get a real-world perspective if you will, on how the finished instrument will look like. As such, I have also taken the time to model many guitar parts, like tuners, bridges and humbuckers. Using the integrated Solidworks renderer, I then create many wood textures, which I use to render my models. These are derived from images manipulated in Photoshop, to bring out certain wood grains, and to simulate wood stains and colors. The renders could simply be images, or as you can see throughout this site, I create animated sequences as well.
This is the newest video in the series, and it details the construction of an Archtop Acoustic Guitar model, in Fusion 360! Please follow the link above for more details, as well as short introductory video about this instructional video set.
In this video, the details of modeling an Archtop guitar in Solidworks are provided. Every aspect of the guitar is created, through a simple step by step process that is easy to follow. Using the methods here, basically any type of carved top guitar (or for that matter any guitar) can be modeled.
This instructional video contains over 2 hours of content. It details the machining of a Guitar Neck with MasterCam. It also includes a video on the machining of the FretBoard, including the tool paths of machining fret slots and inlays. Every step of the process is detailed, and explained.
This instructional video contains well over 2.5 hours of instruction, broken into 10 lessons. These take you through a step by step process on how to completely machine a guitar body, both the front and back. It also details how to properly orient the stock onto a machine bed, as well as to how to properly post G-Code.
The Les-Paul, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful guitars ever designed! Les (RIP) was a genius to say the least. Coupled with the right wood, and the right stain, it can absolutely become a very stunning instrument! As you can see, this is another guitar which I have modeled and also build. I also have experimented with carving out the body, to make it hollow, and hence also lighter. Again, the possibilities are endless! The ’59 top carved will always remain one of the most beautiful carved top instruments in the face of the earth!
CNC Machine
The CNC I use to machine my guitars was designed by me, and started off as a model in Solidworks. It has a 42×35 working area, which easily allows me to machine Necks, Guitar bodies etc. Originally I started with a wood router mounted as my spindle, but eventually moved on to a VFD, which gives me greater flexibility over speeds and feeds. The machine can machine light metals like Aluminum, Brass, Bronze etc. as well. For more Information, as well as a picture gallery of this machine, please head over to the CNC machine pages. Navigate this site also for additional videos of the machine cutting out the Archtop guitar, as well as other videos (on my Youtube Channel).
Customer Feedback