Blog #4 | August and September 2020 Update

First and foremost, I apologize for the delay in updates on the Phoenix. I’ve been working hard on finishing the body, which leads us to the meat of this update—our first hardwood prototype.

This is something that’s been in the works for a while, and it also signifies that we’re nearing the end of the prototyping process.

The picture above is Fern Guitars’ first prototype that’s indicative of the final product. For this iteration, I went with an ash body and a cherry module. Up until now, I’ve been refining the modules through many, many plywood bodies—five to be exact. While there are still a couple kinks to iron out, this is a major step forward.

In short, I’m finished with plywood. The last couple prototypes will be made from the materials I plan to use in production.

The reason I’d been creating so many plywood bodies was to refine the modular mechanism and concept in a cost-effective way. Ensuring the edges of the module lined up perfectly with the bottom of the guitar was perhaps the most challenging hurdle I had to overcome. However, as you’ll see in the photo below, this is no longer an issue.

While there is still a bit more work to be done before the Phoenix is ready for production, I feel that this prototype is very close to the final product.

I consider this body design finalized, and I’m confident that once the manufacturing process is perfected, I’ll be ready to start taking pre-orders.
 
Pre-orders will be immensely important in helping me get guitars out on time due to the way COVID has affected suppliers for guitar parts. Most manufacturers are experiencing greatly increased lead times due to the virus. This means it will take much longer than usual to receive the parts I need.

Starting pre-orders some months prior to initial production will likely solve this issue in its entirety, as that would give me enough time to assess demand and manufacture the requisite number of guitars accordingly.
 
All in all, I’m very happy with the progress so far on the Phoenix. A majority of the hurdles have been cleared and in terms of development, and I feel that the finish line is close.

Please make sure to keep an eye on our website and our blog for some major updates in the next month or two, and don’t forget to subscribe to the mailing list for exclusive content!
 
I want to thank you all for your patience, and I look forward to providing more updates in the near future!