The Alas Guitar is a nylon-string instrument developed for classical guitarists and experimental e-guitar performers.
Experience the Alas guitar sound (we recommend the use of headphones):
Alas guitars deliver a balanced tonal response that merges brilliance and sound depth. The instrument is feedback-free and produces a natural tone that can be directly monitored/recorded digitally via a mobile phone, or connected into a variety of amplifiers and PA systems for extended sound projection. Unplugged, the Alas has a quiet harp tone especially functional for practice. It is also a highly portable instrument (< 2 kg), which disassembled neatly fits into a slim bag (90 x 10 x 10) suitable as carry-on hand luggage.
Alas guitars are handcrafted in Germany and build entirely from sustainable wood, carbon fiber and composite materials. The Alas guitar was developed by Fernando Bravo in collaboration with Jost von Huene and Malte Siems.
Live streaming performance for the OpenGuitar project during Kurzfilmtag 2020. Experimental version of the shortfilm DISSONANCE by Till Nowak. Permission to use the visual content of the shortfilm has been generously granted by Till Nowak [the original version can be accessed here].
Neck wood: Platane or Maple (limited series)
Truss rod: Dual-action
Scale Length: 650 mm
Frets: 21 (fretboard ends at: 467.6 mm)
Nut Width: 52 mm
Neck Thickness at Nut : 22 mm
Neck Thickness at 10th fret: 23 mm
Distance between E strings at Nut: 43 mm
Distance between E strings at Saddle: 58 mm
Nut and saddle material: bone
Machine Head Ratio: 16:1
Bridge: free-standing
Pickup: Custom-made flexible transducer with active preamp (included 9V Rechargeable Battery)
Digital/Mobile Connectivity: micro ADC Converter enabling mobile recording at 16bit, 48kHZ.
String Set: Nylon (medium or hard tension)
Weight: 1.9Kg
Click here to see the Alas guitar in 3D space. It is possible to zoom, to rotate in any direction, or to disassemble the
Alas guitar into its components
(the link works best in Firefox browser).
To faithfully reproduce the sound of an acoustic guitar “without having an acoustic resonance box and a microphone pointing at it” remains one of the core challenges of modern music technology. This is desirable for several important reasons: Firstly, when performers play in a live setting with acoustic guitars and microphones, the amplification of the audio signal incurs problems linked to feedback (i.e. positive sound loop gain that occurs between the audio input-output systems) and separation (i.e. sound spill/interference that results from microphones capturing other instruments or noise sources located in the same environment). Secondly, in recording settings, using a pickup (magnetic or piezo) instead of a microphone enables isolation from the surrounding noise and independence from the room acoustics (e.g. untreated rooms exert an uneven frequency response that will be transferred into the mix), as well as the possibility to perform the instrument using speakers rather than headphones, which musicians consistently prefer when overdubbing (i.e. also referred to as tracking: technique used in audio recording where a musical passage has been pre-recorded, and during replay, another part is recorded to accompany the original).
Currently, the most popular approach for tackling this challenge in nylon-string guitars are the so-called acoustic pickups and, particularly, the piezo crystal under-saddle transducers (UST). Piezo pickups almost exclusively sense (“hear”) the string vibration alone, conveying few or no information from soundboard or body cavity resonances. Moreover, one great disadvantage of piezo UST is their nonlinear output (i.e. doubling the input energy, results in four times the sonic output), which causes an overemphasised note attack (i.e. spiky sound) and a characteristic brittle harshness often referred to as 'piezo quack' or 'metallic sound', which many guitarists and listeners strongly dislike. This tone is often emphasised by the fact that piezo pickups sense the sound directly from under fixed bridges that also act as string holders. To counteract this limitation, Alas guitars feature freestanding wood bridges with independent aluminium-string-holders.
The metallic tone of under-saddle transducers is often exaggerated by the fact that standard piezo pickups sense the sound directly from under fixed (i.e. glued) bridges. Alas guitars employ freestanding wood bridges (with independent aluminium string holders) that make it possible to capture a more even sound envelope over time. These small bridges can be manufactured from different woods, which in turn influences the timbre of the Alas guitar by highlighting distinctive overtones depending on the wood characteristics.
Alas guitars feature a 21-fret neck-through design in which both ends of the strings rest within a single, solid piece of wood. Neck-through construction is primarily found on high-end guitars. It provides stability and controlled reaction to string tension. A noticeable consequence is that the instrument stays in tune for longer.
The vibration of the strings is converted into an electrical signal through a piezo transducer and strengthened via a low-noise Active Preamp. The Preamp provides a buffer with a very high input impedance that corrects the cut-off frequency of the piezo transducer, allowing more bass frequencies to be passed on. The Preamp also provides additional current to drive the signal, which in turn improves the transfer of higher frequencies. The signal coming from the preamp system is further shaped by a capacitor, which is wired to a tone potentiometer. We equip Alas guitars with low capacitance value capacitors that deliver a specific frequency response. Combined with the neck-through design and the free-standing bridges, the Preamps of the Alas guitars provide a controlled and consistent sound signal.
The core concept behind the Alas guitars approach is that, provided that one has systematic control over the frequency response delivered by a specific electronic system, it is possible to reconstruct the missing body resonance (i.e. the “acoustic” sound) by means of advanced modelling through zero-latency mathematical convolution.
No acoustic box but real acoustic sound.
Alas guitars come with custom-made software that uses mathematical convolution to transform, in real-time, the frequency response captured by Alas free-standing bridges into that of a specific microphone pointed at a “real” guitar's resonance chamber. The result is a natural sound, with a warm acoustic tone that brings back soundboard and body cavity resonances to the string vibration.
Plug and Play/Record ALAS on your Phone or Computer.
The instrument includes a specialized micro analogue-to-digital Sound Interface, which fits easily in your pocket and connects directly to USB devices (Mac or PC) and Lightning peripherals (iPad, iPhone) enabling mobile recording at at 16-bit 48kHZ.
In spite of its modern and very slim form, which resembles typical electric solid-body guitars, the Alas guitar is equipped with a carefully designed frame in which the bass (top part) and treble (bottom part) sides are positioned at an angle (of 10 degrees and 5 degrees, respectively) to the neck (this wing-like structure is where the name “Alas” comes from, ‘Alas’ meaning ‘wings’ in Spanish). This structure achieves the purpose of leaving a free space between the fretboard and the torso of the performer, which is also present when playing a conventional classical guitar.
The frame is further designed according to state-of-the-art research in ergonomics. A double cutaway configuration enables a free positioning of the guitar and provides an optimum balance to support the instrument, which greatly reduces discomfort and musculoskeletal injuries during long practice sessions.
Portability and universal usage.
The Alas guitar elevates the guitar playing to a whole new level of performance, anytime and anywhere. The guitar can be easily disassembled into a compact package that weights below 2 kg and can be transported in a a slim bag (90 x 10 x 10). The quiet harp tone of the unplugged guitar enables considerate practice in any environment; even at night, during quiet hours, or in shared accommodations.
The music industry sells millions of acoustic guitars a year, the majority of which are built from slow-growing hard woods, which are needed for the construction of necks and resonance boxes. Generally, the trees from which this wood is obtained are harvested at a minimum age of 55 years, often older. These old trees are part of slowly growing forests, which act as one of the most essential natural brake-barriers for global heating. In contrast to faster growing tree species, old-growth forests are particularly important for long-term accumulation and storage of carbon (see: Luyssaert et al. 2011; Büntgen et al. 2019).
Although awareness is increasing, the efforts to preserve these ecosystems have made minimal progress. A considerable number of tree species used for guitar making have become endangered by overharvesting and trafficking:
Ebony (frequently used for guitar fretboards) has been depleted to the extent that it is only commercially available from one country: Cameroon (formerly available from throughout the Congo Basin and Madagascar).
Known as the “holy grail” of tonewoods, rosewood is also employed for fretboards, but also for the back and sides of acoustic guitars' chamber boxes. As a consequence, it has been so overharvested that Brazil banned its export in the late 1960s. To date, rosewood makes up 35% of global wildlife trafficking -nearly double that of ivory for elephants-, and since 2nd of January 2017 requires CITES certification for international trading (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
A third endangered tree species is mahogany, a reddish-brown timber with interlocking straight-grain that makes it especially resilient to changes in humidity and temperature. It is a core material for guitar necks due to its capacity to withstand shifts and bends. Highly sought for instrument and furniture building, between 1950 and 2003, over 70 percent of the world’s genuine mahogany was cut.
We believe that science and innovative design can help lead the way towards a more sustainable guitar. Although based upon the traditional classical guitar hand-making construction, Alas guitars are developed using modern computer aided design (CAD) computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM), which allow the experimentation with new materials and design strategies. We apply advanced models to assess which mechanical properties of wood density, stiffness and elasticity, are required for each part of the guitar. We then use the results as a guide in order to find suitable alternative woods and composite materials that are lightweight, strong and which can match traditional tone wood acoustically. By using sustainable wood, and by greatly reducing material usage due to the neck-through design (i.e. no acoustic-resonance box), we are committed to preventing further deforestation and clearing of endangered forests. [The Alas guitar received a pre-seed funding prize for its sustainable features].
Alas guitars aims to directly support the "OpenGuitar", a social project with focus on STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) for children and teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds. The OpenGuitar is an experimental guitar (an entry-level version of the Alas guitar) that can be assembled in small workshops. The instrument building process is designed as an engaging and creative activity, which teaches a broad spectrum of skills, from 3D design and hands-on woodworking to computer aided manufacturing (CAM), sensor robotics and computer programming with a focus on the elemental math behind digital signal processing.
Alas guitars are handcrafted in small batches and currently sold to support the OpenGuitar project (see Cambridge University article here).
Please, contact us for further information.