
MUUT Electric Violin
Product Design / Luthierie

This personal design project started because of the experience gained from the MUUT electric violin, which was displayed at the 2010 Madrid design biennale. although a semi-functional prototype, MUUT lacked several things that made a violin playable and usable. It was too heavy and its geometry was inadequate for extended playing. It lacked adequate shoulder support and its manufacture method was painstaking.Several elements were kept, such as the relocation of the tuning machines from the head to the butt of the instrument for weight transfer. After design iteration, a concept was chosen and the prototype was developed from scratch. It was built by Juan Carlos himself and is fully functional down to the electronics.

Building off MUUTs basic shape, a new shoulder/chinrest setup was designed. The idea for hollowing out the body was then born. This is intended to lighten the entire outer section of the instrument, making it easier to hold it upright during playing. A basic profile is drawn, and its shapes are made coherent by the use of curve radiuses in size multiples of 2, going counter- clockwise. This keeps the organic shape of the instrument somewhat "geometric".

As with previous attempts at "electrification" of classical instruments, it is vital to maintain the basic contact points of the instrument on the player. This will provide a smooth transition for experienced musicians. The instrument will also have an adjustable shoulder rest, stabilizing it and preventing unwanted rotation.The idea for the structure comes from a truss bridge, evenly distributing forces when the neck is stressed by the tension of the strings. The final profile shape was drawn in CAD and laser cut onto red cedar planks using a laser cutter. Red cedar is a local wood that is abundant, beautiful, lightweight and highly resonant for body-less instruments like these.

These planks were then stacked and bonded together with traditional adhesive. What we get from this process is a highly precise block that is ready for hand contouring, shaping and sanding. By doing this process, we eliminate some of the trial and error, as well as alot of raw material waste. However, carving this block is done entirely by hand, which keeps this product from becoming strictly industrial. This is important because of how much "hand made" is valued in this market.

The completed prototype is finished with a high-gloss coat of catalyzed urethane, which gives us a hard and precise playing surface that will not become scratched or worn by the strings over time. The bridge is cut out of red cedar and the string nut is carved out of bone. Standard electric guitar tuning machines are used because of their high precision and great availability.

This is the adjustable shoulder rest. By varying its angle, it suits any size or gender of user. all with just a twist. Both the chinrest and shoulder rest are carved out of Rosewood. This allows us to leave the wood unfinished, because of its natural oils it will neither become stained by use, or sticky for the user because of a high-gloss finish.



Note the "truss-bridge" like structure. Although frail in appearance for the spectator, is fully capable of resisting the great tension of the strings and the playing. The width of the neck lets us taper the edge even further, making it seem thinner.
