From Angus Young to Tobin Abasi, I’ve tried to add as many guitarists as possible, so next time you’re wondering what guitar so and so plays, you’ll know where to look. Once a detailed model was built, a virtual “set” was constructed and lit in Blender, and various finish options could be explored. Here’s a breakdown of some of the world’s most well-known guitarists, of old and modern times, and the guitars they were (or are) most famous for using. But for full-size, detailed renders, every detail was needed, including 3D models of the frets, strings, pickups, electronics, and hardware, much of which had to be drawn from scratch, or from 2D drawings sourced from suppliers such as Fishman. Up until this point, the CAD files were only used for cutting the wooden body and neck of the guitar, and only conceptual renderings were needed. With only a few hand-made prototypes completed in time for the trade show, Tosin and his partners asked for detailed, life-size renderings for display in the booth, on banners and/or screens, to show some configuration and finish options. (The National Association of Music Merchants show is one of the largest musical instrument trade shows in the world.) They began ramping up to début the production-ready design at the NAMM show in January 2018. Driven by a passion to explore new sonic frontiers with guitar in hand, Abasi and his team have been working tirelessly to research new instrument designs and explore new effects circuitry. Tosin’s vision was spot on, and he was extremely pleased with the ergonomics of the guitar he had designed, and it fit his body and his unorthodox playing styles perfectly.įast-forward to late 2017, and Tosin felt it was time to put this design into production himself, with his own partner (and another a long-time friend of mine), instrument designer and luthier Frank Falbo. Abasi Guitars is the brainchild of prolific guitarist, composer, and ‘Animals as Leaders' founder Tosin Abasi. Initial CAD drawings were sent to the manufacturer, who did some refinement of their own, and a few prototypes were made. The refined “beveled” design, showing the full-width bevel across the top edge of the guitar, the “tachometer” fretboard dots, and a refined pickguard shape. I stayed fairly true to Tosin’s original sketch, but refined the shape considerably, adding distinctive design features such as the elliptical bevel edge all the way across the top of the guitar body, the dot inlay arc pattern, and a couple of pickguard shape options.