#NTUDI Product Design Student Showcase Spotlight: Nico Andika Sunandar

This latest Spotlight piece features BSc (Hons) Product Design student Nico Andika Sunandar.

ALTAR by Nico Andika Sunandar, BSc (Hons) Product Design

ALTAR - Alternative Guitar by Nico Andika Sunandar, BSc (Hons) Product Design

While we are deeply disappointed that the summer degree show is unable to go ahead as planned, we are excited that the NTU Design Industries' (NTUDI) Product Design Online Student Showcase will launch on Friday 19 June 2020.

In the run up to the launch of the virtual event, will be sharing a series of student projects from across our BA (Hons) Product Design, BSc (Hons) Product Design and BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design courses through #NTUDI Spotlights.

ALTAR - Alternative Guitar

Modular guitars are not a new concept. They allow users to have interchangeable components and the ability to transform a guitar into different types. They reduce waste, save space, and are customisable. The main feature of a modular guitar is the ability to swap between pickup configurations (pickups are transducers that detect the vibrations of the strings and converts them to sound). Existing modular guitars already have that ability, but they rely on proprietary components and have pre-set layouts.

ALTAR is an alternative guitar for experienced players. They can buy a pickup from any manufacturer they like and install it easily in the chassis. The user can alter the location of the pickups to have better control of the sounds produced. In addition, it is possible to switch the bridge, body, and neck to whatever they desire – because musicians should not be limited by their instruments.

ALTAR paves the way for experienced guitarists, who push boundaries, innovate, and invent – who want to experiment with sound at a higher level.

Speaking about ALTAR, Nico explained, “I wanted to create a modular guitar that takes up very little space. Currently, people purchase multiple electric guitars to be able to play different kinds of music – but it’s not always possible for them to bring their collection wherever they go. Having multiple guitars is not sustainable too. Having one guitar that does it all saves space, reduces potential negative environmental impact, and allows for limitless customisability.”

Nico Andika Sunandar

Find out more about the NTU Design Industries' Virtual Student Showcase on our website and follow @NTUDI on Instagram for all the latest updates.