Blog #2 | The Road to Completion

With great news comes great responsibility. I’m honored that my guitar got featured in Guitar World, but now it’s clear that there are many questions that need to be addressed. 

First and foremost, the Fern Phoenix is still very much a prototype. It’s unpainted, unfinished and unabashed in what it is—the beginning, the first playable model that people almost never see. In fact, v2 had already been in the works by the time the news story ran. 

You may ask yourself why I’d release information so early in the development cycle when most companies prefer to hold their cards close to their chest until they have an almost entirely finished product. 

My approach is to use these updates to create a map from start to finish. I’m just a one-man operation, and I want to share every step of the development to create a tangible timeline for the production model. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets, and I firmly believe that making information publicly available is the best approach.

Here’s where we’re at right now: v2 is actively being developed, and with each iteration I can move closer toward a finished guitar. While updates on v2 will be available soon, ultimately I envision the Fern Phoenix as being a kind of open source instrument in that nothing about the modular hardware is set in stone.

While I’ll certainly have stock configurations, the modules are designed to be a blank canvas. Anything that can fit on the plate is a possibility. Want a touchscreen, extra knobs or midi integration? I’ll work with you to try and make that happen. My philosophy is that if we can fit it on the module in a way that keeps the guitar playable, nothing is off the table. And of course, the blank plates will be available for people to work on at home, should you be so inclined. 

I want to work with people to create guitars that fit their specific needs, as well as create a guitar that’s accessible to anyone. That’s something other companies aren’t able to offer, and it’s something that I feel needs to be shared. 

The first version is rough around the edges, but that’s the point. It’s the alpha version. The module works as intended, and because of this I’m confident that development will be able to rapidly move forward. 

Hopefully I’ve addressed some of the comments that arose from my first debut. Don’t look at this as a finalized product, come into this with the mindset of joining me on my journey to create the perfect modular guitar. We’re moving full steam ahead on our development process and plan to keep you updated every step of the way. 

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