Master’s Project: Design Considerations for the Playability of Guitars

My master’s project focused on improving our understanding of guitar playability, the factors that affect it, and overall outcomes for the playability of future guitars. Through user research, prototyping, and user testing, I developed a functional definition of guitar playability and gained insights into consumer preferences regarding playability of various guitar neck shapes.

Problem statement & Initial Research

The experience of playing a guitar is complex and informed by many interwoven factors; one of these, known as “playability”, is both an integral part of the instrument-playing experience and a concept that is not consistently defined in either academic or practical spheres.

With this project I aimed to consolidate research and user perspective on playability into a holistic, cohesive, and functional definition of the word itself; determine how playability is affected by different factors in practice; and experimentally test an aspect of playability in order to better understand and guide design improvements to guitar playability for all users.

Following my review of the relevant literature I organized my findings into two segments: categories of definitions of instrument playability and factors which affect guitar playability specifically.

User Research: Online Surveys & Interviews

After aggregating and categorizing the results of my research, I engaged in a survey and interview process to help narrow down which playability definitions and factors were most relevant in practice to guitarists and other key user groups.

My two key takeaways from this process were as follows:

• The majority of respondents identified “ease of playing” and “ease/speed of playing a note clearly” as their preferred functional definition of guitar playability. Consequently, I chose to set my definition of guitar playability as “the relative ease with which one can play an intended sound on a guitar.”

• Meanwhile, neck shape (the cross-sectional shape on the back of a guitar neck) was identified as the most common factor affecting guitar playability across all participants.

Having identified the guitar neck as the most common factor in guitar playability among survey participants and narrowing down from other factors, I chose to narrow my focus to neck shape for the second half of this project. Neck shape was easier to control as a discrete experimental variable than string action (the distance between the guitar strings and the neck) or fret height. Additionally, neck shape – as a two-dimensional tactile factor – held the promise of eliciting richer feedback from study participants than something more one-dimensional such as fret height or neck thickness.

Design Proposal

After conducting a review of the common and experimental neck shapes available in the market today (examples shown above), I developed a plan to test and compare the playability of various neck shapes.

I underwent a sketching and ideation phase to select a testing set of neck shapes that would 1) showcase a variety of options and 2) exaggerate physical and geometrical differences to highlight potential differences in playability. The final set of neck shapes I chose for my user testing phase ranged from commercially common (C) to relatively unknown (TA) and fully experimental (W).

I went through a similar research and ideation process to determine how to test each shape in a time- and cost-efficient manner, and decided upon developing a custom modular guitar neck switching system that would allow me to test out different neck shape profiles on a single guitar body.

Physical Prototyping

To create the modular system, I modified the neck of a Squier Bullet Stratocaster, installed magnets into the now-exposed neck, and cut the accompanying replaceable neck shape add-ons using 3D modeling software and a CNC machine.

User Testing

With the prototype of the modular neck switching system complete, I conducted a set of user tests to determine the efficacy of the modular guitar neck system and improve understanding of players’ preferences for the different neck shapes presented.

Results

In general, players preferred the thinner, rounder neck shapes with softer curves to their blockier counterparts. However, they also noted that a slight divot or asymmetry on the finger side of the neck shape may support proper technique and relieve stress on the left hand, while flatter neck shapes may reduce the effort needed to play barre chord shapes.

Additionally, study participants agreed that the modular neck shape switching system provided an easy way to try out different neck shapes without needing to change guitars or modify any other components of the existing guitar.

To learn more about the process, read the full project book, or ask any questions, please contact me here and I’ll be happy to fill you in!