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Folding Guitar

 A Guitar that folds on a hinge at the 12th or 14th fret
  (+2, -1)
(+2, -1) 		  [vote for,
against]

Guitars are a pain to carry around due to their shape.What I propose is a hinge at either the 12th,14th or 16th fret depending on the type of Guitar and a strong clasp to hold the neck in place when it is straightened out.The clasp would be strong enough to hold the tension of the strings (I think it is about 100lbs for standard tuning) and sustain tuning stability.The strings could slackened off but left on the guitar.The truss rod would still do its job from the head up to the fret where the hinge is and from there the hinge,neck and body join would take the rest of the tension.
—sufc, Mar 29 2003

(?) Backpack Guitars http://www.geocitie...ienna/Strasse/2728/
Make a foldable version of this and you can practically fit it in your back pocket. [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Chrysalis Guitar http://www.chrysali...m_Overview_Pag.html
Mmm, fresh baked. Tried out one of these at a museum exhibit in Boston -- pretty fly. [n-pearson, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

URL, moved from [mlindros]'s anno http://patft.uspto....&Query=PN%2F4111093
[bristolz, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       Problems: the guitar is too large and unwieldy anyways for that too make a difference, the strings would suffer more wear and tear and have to be replaced sooner. but i (being a guitar player) appreciate the effort. This would alos destroy the romanticized image of a girl waiting for a train with her guitar case. do you really want to lose that?
—igirl, Mar 29 2003
   

       I too play the guitar and I have the unromantic image of me trying to get on a crowded train with a guitar and amp.Ive sorted the amp problem out by buying a line 6 pod but trying to cart a flight case with my guitar in is a pain.Strings are pretty cheap and I change mine quite often.Im not thinking of cutting up £$2000 guitars.I just want something cheap,cheerful and compact which can go anywhere with the least amout of fuss.
—sufc, Mar 29 2003
   

       fine then...+
—igirl, Mar 29 2003
   

       For some reason, Janis Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee" is stuck in my head now.
—half, Mar 29 2003
   

       I don't see how the truss rod can still do its job if it only goes part way through the neck. It's supposed to keep the string tension correct w/r/t the body *and* the neck, right?   

       [half]: Maybe it's it's because Big Brother and the Holding Company were so blazingly out of tune?
—snarfyguy, Mar 29 2003
   

       The truss rod gos from the head to a point just after where the clasp is.So the clasp and truss rod are both taking tension as well as neck join.As long as the clasp takes the same tension it should work as part of the truss rod.From what I know most of the tension taken by the truss rod is at the head up to the 7th fret.In this design the truss rod will go up to the 12th or 14th fret and then the clasp will do its job.My idea is for the strings to be totally loose as you fold the neck out straight and then tune up.Another idea I had was to have a detachable neck which just slotted into the body with the string tension compressing it into place.I hope you can make sense of this as it is difficult to explain
—sufc, Mar 29 2003
   

       I think I get what you're saying; I'm just perhaps a bit dense on guitar technology.
—snarfyguy, Mar 29 2003
   

       Look to the Steinberger GL-2T with locking nuts and Trans-Trem. It's hollow & resonates well. Addition of wooden face plate (they're interchangable) gives it a woodsier sound - phenomenal guitar.
—thumbwax, Mar 29 2003
   

       I didn't realise they were still around.Lou Reed used to play on of those I think.
—sufc, Mar 29 2003
   

       I prefer the ukulele. I just don't have these problems. 'course, I'm jelous of harmonica players.
—Worldgineer, Mar 29 2003
   

       I've loved the banjo ever since the first time I saw Deliverance.
—sambwiches, Mar 29 2003
   

       I've got a 60-year-old uke - it roars, baby
—thumbwax, Mar 29 2003
   

       All I gotta say is that if you want to travel with a multi-stringed instrument and NOT have the hassle of a guitar-sized entity, try a ukelele. It worked for Tiny Tim. Hmm, on second thought, that's just a weird visual. Mandolins? Dulcimers? Difficult to play while you're in business class, but less weildy.
—hillbilly, Mar 29 2003
   

       There would definitely be variations in the sound.
—Pericles, Mar 29 2003
   

       <URL moved to link area, above, by admin>   

       Existing patent by inventor, Roger Field. He actually pitched it to Paul McCartney, but couldn't develop a left handed version in time. He now has an American company taking a look at it.
—mlindros, Sep 07 2003
   

       // A Guitar that folds on a hinge at the 12th or 14th fret //   

       ? Do guitars not have a 13th fret? (e.g. due to superstitions about the number 13?)
—phundug, Sep 08 2003
   

       I believe there was one made in the 70's that had a rotating bridge that kept some tension as the guitar was folded and then returned to pitch as you folded it back to playing position. It was called the "Fold Axe" and Hoyt Axton had something to do with it (may have invented it)   

       Sounded cool to me, anybody ever see one?
—exu, Dec 06 2003
   

       i've been working on a folding guitar, but i've also come up with a concept for an acoustic guitar with a telescoping neck. anyone see something like that before?
—runstendt, Jan 26 2004
   

       once you fold the neck it would be a b*tch to straighten it again because the pressure of the strings.
—magic_ki, Feb 06 2004
   

       I don't think it would be much of a problem to keep the neck straight. The pressure on the clasp would only be around 100lbs.
Now for my next idea, A gig bag or flight case for a folding guitar.
—sufc, Feb 06 2004
   

       You could probably straighten it with a hard pull on the headstock and a knee in the back of the heel joint (which I guess is where the clasp would be).   

       Don't some frying pans have a hinged handle for storage where you let go and the handle flips inside the pan - but if you hold the pan by the handle and turn it upside down it stays rigid? You could maybe adapt something like that hinge so that by detuning the strings (slightly) the neck fold easily, but the clasp locks it into position once you tighten the strings...   

       [+] for this idea, it would certainly make my life easier.
—kmlabs, Jan 12 2005
   

       Not only that, but ukeleles are so small! You could easily lose one in a hotel room, and then a massive Uke Hunt would ensue...
—kmlabs, Jan 13 2005
   

       [sufc] - Tell you what, you build a decent folding guitar and I'll build a decent flight case for it. Ok?
—wagster, Jan 13 2005
   
      
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