"Stringless" Guitar
A laser-cut and 3D printed instrument that plays by sensing hand distance — no strings required
Overview
The "stringless guitar" plays by moving your hand in front of SR04 ultrasonic distance sensors rather than interacting with a physical string. All components and machining were sourced from Virginia Tech's Engineering Lab Frith.
How It Works
Each lane of the guitar contains: an Arduino Nano, a large piezo speaker, an amplifying cone, a power switch, a volume potentiometer, a tone potentiometer, and an SR04 distance sensor — all sharing a breadboard inside a hinged cover housing.
The code blends the tone potentiometer reading and the distance sensed to determine pitch. The volume potentiometer routes signal in three states: off (voltage cut), low (through a resistor), or high (direct to speaker).
Build Progression
Skills Learned
- Laser cutting (wood)
- Dimensioning, CAD modeling, and 3D printing
- Voltage control
- C++ / Arduino coding
- Circuit and Arduino Nano simulation, testing, and design
- Soldering
- Practical knowledge of sound and sound geometry
- Braiding (for the guitar strap)
