I created a new kind of guitar that y鈥檃ll may be interested in. The photonic guitar uses the resonance of electricity and light to create music in the same way an acoustic guitar uses the resonance of vibration and acoustic waves. I started research on this instrument as a physics undergrad and focused on the topic for my Ph.D. After graduating, I spent time doing space science research for government agencies like NASA and the DoD. I quit being a professor a few years ago so I could resume research on my photonic guitar. We can鈥檛 hear this instrument directly, for a variety of reasons, so I鈥檝e created a plugin that utilizes measurements of these instruments to recreate their musical output as an effect for electric guitars. While the photonic guitar shares the same kind of physical foundation as an acoustic guitar, the photonic guitar is capable of a broader array of musical effects. I鈥檝e linked to a demo of an electric guitar, played through the photonic guitar plugin, and connected to the drive channel on a fender amp. The photonic guitar pushes the existing distortion into a new regime. https://cosmicstudio.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Demo-2-Master_1.mp3
This seems awesome, glad to hear your chasing your interests!
thats a really nice sounding recording, well done
Thank you!
Cool sound. I鈥檓 curious about the instrument version of it and why that isn鈥檛 a pursuit. Is it weird to play? Are you just trying to target a larger market?
Thanks! I鈥檝e started with the plugin version of the photonic guitar as it provides the greatest flexibility for musicians and requires the least development resources. The instrument version itself is also a pursuit but there are challenges. First, we can鈥檛 directly hear the results. On top of that the instrument operates roughly a million times faster than an acoustic guitar. We just can鈥檛 play fast enough. It is possible to overcome the time difference and plug an electric guitar into a photonic guitar and play it that way but that requires some fancy equipment. The required fancy equipment needs to be designed and built first, but it is possible.
Naturally the photonic guitar uses coaxial cables for strings that resonate electrically based upon cable length. In principle we could build a guitar neck to physically play but that leaves the time difference and hearing issues.
Thanks for the question.
Can you elaborate a little more on the instrument. It鈥檚 electricity resonating in a coaxial cable and length changes the note? Why does that affect the speed of playing? We also can鈥檛 move at the speed of sound (I know it鈥檚 much slower than electricity but still much faster than humans) but we鈥檙e able to play a guitar that works on sound principles.
Cool.
Thanks!