What is a Line? Guitar Research.

I thought it sensible to start my research process by looking at some images of iconic guitar shapes and their innards. See what's lurking around the internet firstly.

Fender Stratocaster:

Possibly the most iconic guitar of all time, it's shape is recognised and has been copied countless times. This would make it a prime subject for the idea I have for this brief.

In terms of wiring it's fairly simple and would work well as a simplified graphic.

Gibson Les Paul:

The les paul is probably equally iconic and another one of the most copied guitar shapes of all time. Again the wiring looks simple which is good but this time it seems to involve more chambers. I don't mind this, it gives me more visual elements to work with.

Fender Telecaster:

  

Another famous model from fender. Not as much as the strat but it's widely known and respected. This is a bit of a mix between the strat and les paul in structure mixing chambers and solid body.

What I'm getting from this is the wiring basically connects the pick ups which transmit the sound from the strings, to the volume and tone switches, that is then connected to the jack output which sends the sound to the amplifier.

Gibson 355:

A Gibson 355 like the ones John Lennon and Chuck Berry played are definitely iconic guitars and will cost you a fortune these days. The difference with this guitar is that it's semi-acoustic so the body is partially hollow but it still uses electrics so it can be amplified.

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Evaluation: 

There's definitely visually interesting elements I can work with so that's a relief. I wasn't sure what was lurking beneath a guitars surface to be honest and whether it would be substantial enough for me to be able to design to. Luckily it has enough bits and bobs to be able to create something interesting.

I need to keep in mind that wiring can be an extremely dull subject to most but hopefully with visual interest added and aimed at the right audience, guitar enthusiasts, I believe it has enough merit to carry the project forward.

Initial thoughts:

The shapes of the guitars are well known enough to my target audience not to need to add detail of the outer elements unless they are visually striking or relevant. This leaves me the whole body of the guitar to map out wiring and chambers with a mind for experimentation in colour.