What one feature would you want the guitar of the future to have?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Ya got me, Steve! Looks like we already have that technology ... now it just needs to be less expensive.

Not that expensive, relatively speaking - if you can afford a D-18, J-45 or Taylor 327e you can afford a Rainsong, CA, or Emerald...

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

Cup holder.

I'm kinda mad it hasn't happened already.

It's called a sound port.



Though it could also be good for those that double on "glass harp".

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

2) “Smart wood” that maintains its condition regardless of environmental humidity and temperature but yet still sounds like wood.

That would be called carbon fiber. My Rainsong and Emerald are distinct but share some tonal similarities to all of the wood guitars I own.

[3notes]

Closed tuning machines. They seem to have gone to the wayside.

[darylcrisp]

adjustable intonation for each string, akin to what an electric has, without a heavy complicated bridge system.

and the one post about interchangeable necks, thats an excellent thought as well. in the banjo world there are two kinds, Nechville and all others. Tom Nechville has designed a sliding neck joint using one allen bolt where you can adjust the action height-and by removing that one allen bolt, remove the neck totally. takes like 1 min to remove or replace the neck on a Nechville.

His manufacture skills are "Taylor" precise, so you can order mult necks, different scale lengths, widths,etc, and they all fit perfect and work within a min or three of installing. He has made many technical advancements of this sort for banjos(tone ring exchange ability, his helical mount system, intonated bridges, and more)

[BluesKing777]

What about an opening back?

Airtight seal and a latch?

Open the back and save putting the hands in the soundhole for all those little and large internal jobs! ( braces, bridge plate, pickups, batteries!! etc, etc. )

BluesKing777.

[Bain]

O this one is easy A guitar that plays better than I do. 😎

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by TBman

Not a guitar feature (maybe a midi) but real time notation of what I'm playing, including timing, multiple notes, etc.

Yes, Yes, Yes!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

adjustable intonation for each string, akin to what an electric has, without a heavy complicated bridge system.

Hi dc

But the adjustable bridge systems on electrics are both heavy and complicated.

The conversations on forums like these would be even more interesting.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

What about an opening back?

Airtight seal and a latch?

Open the back and save putting the hands in the soundhole for all those little and large internal jobs! ( braces, bridge plate, pickups, batteries!! etc, etc. )

BluesKing777.

BK777

Harry Fleishman builds an access port in the bodies of his guitars.

[EZYPIKINS]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

1) The instrument automatically keeps itself in tune, making micro adjustments on the fly and without the player or audience ever noticing. I predict this one actually comes about.

2) “Smart wood” that maintains its condition regardless of environmental humidity and temperature but yet still sounds like wood.

Gibson tried the automatic tuning thing on their electrics. It didn't go over so well.

[J Patrick]

...built in beer cozy...

[M Sarad]

Cup holder.

[tadol]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

adjustable intonation for each string, akin to what an electric has, without a heavy complicated bridge system.

There are already a few builders who use individual saddle pieces for each string, so it’s considerably easier to adjust intonation and action for a single string without having to make a full saddle -

[Erithon]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

As a consequence of the increasing technical/harmonic sophistication of jazz players, particularly in the mid-/post-Bop era where extended chord voicings and 64th-note solos were the order of the day (although Epiphone offered a 1-9/16" neck in the late '30s, and Martin's prewar F-Series archtops specified 1-5/8"); I had the privilege of playing Wes Montgomery's personal L-5CES when MandoBros was handling the sale, and the flat-C early-60's profile would cause apoplexy among the AGF neck police. What I find most interesting is that many of those who seek out the fattest guitar neck possible have no problem doubling on fiddle/mandolin (and playing cleanly to boot), which IME comes from early cultivation of certain bad fingering habits as well as compartmentalization - "fingertips for mando/fiddle, flat-finger for guitar"; in contrast, the jazzers - as well as many rock players playing in cleaner styles - adopted the orchestral-string "fingertip" technique which, for an experienced player, allows for cleaner articulation as well as faster execution. FWIW Epiphone's Harry Volpe Model (the last new design to come out of the original New York operation) was produced with a 1-3/4" neck for the specific purpose, as their period literature expressly stated, of facilitating beginners' undeveloped technique - in an age where archtops were considered virtuoso instruments, the narrower necks were reserved for the professional/semi-pro models...

I'm not sure I understand this. You are saying, in your experience, that folks who play with "flat-finger" technique prefer a fatter neck because it allows them to play cleaner?

This is exactly the opposite of my experience: I am a classical double bassist. I play with the tips of my fingers. And I definitely prefer a chunkier neck because it allows me to arch my hand more comfortably and maintain that fingertip technique.