Walk into any guitar shop in any city center and you'll be faced with rows and rows of "me-too" guitars, all built around the same few tried and trusted templates. Instrument designer and builder Hector Trevino has spent the last three years trying to break away from traditional electric guitar design and has now produced what he calls an open chamber guitar. The radical Sonic Wind guitar is said to offer players more resonance and natural sustain than more familiar solid-body electric guitar designs.
Trevino says that the Sonic Wind guitar is both well balanced and comfortable and he is currently taking his hand-built, limited edition creation to guitar shows and exhibitions around the U.S. - giving notoriously conservative players the chance to try it out.
The guitar features slightly curved maple body panels that come together to form an open chamber, and in addition to the much-touted resonance, the design is also said to negate any damping effect that the body might have on sustain and note clarity by keeping the through maple neck away from the player's body.
The neck has a 2-way adjustable truss rod and is topped with a 1.7-inch wide (at the nut) ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. All the electronics are shielded to keep down annoying hum, there's a Seymour Duncan Custom 5 pickup at the bridge position and a Jazz neck pickup. A 5-way switch offers either humbucker or single coil functionality. Strings are secured at the body end by a stainless steel tailpiece specially designed for the Sonic Wind Guitar, which then travel over a Tune-o-matic bridge on their way to the headstock.
Sadly, we've not been able to find an audio demo of the guitar in action. A video overview is currently being produced which will allow potential buyers to see (and hear) whether this new design lives up to expectations.
Trevino says that his first limited production run of 20 will be priced at US$3,000 a piece, including a custom hard case and limited lifetime warranty.
