Small travel Guitar playable / Guitarlele

My Own Design: Guitarlele

The Guitarlele is essentially a small classical guitar with the size of a ukulele. My goal was to create a guitar that could be tuned the same way as a full-sized guitar.

The tuning is as follows: e, b, g, D, A, E.

As a musician, I wanted a compact guitar for my living room—a versatile instrument for practicing well-known songs by favorite bands, fingerpicking, and playing classic tunes. While it’s not very loud, it’s perfect for practice. It’s in tune across all frets and octaves (although you’ll need to adjust the nut and saddle).

The design of the guitarlele was based on a real model, including bracing, soundboard dimensions, and other details.

If you decide to build your own Guitarlele, you can follow the video tutorial on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/C3Jtwnow8T0?feature=shared

Here’s the Bill of Materials (BOM) you’ll need for the construction:

PLA filament (approximately 0.5 kg)

Instant glue with activator

AL profile (aluminum), 2x15 mm

Purchased frets (19 pieces, size 2.2 mm, available on AliExpress)
19 Pcs Brass Classical Guitar Frets Acoustic Guitar Fret Wire Set Width 2.2 mm
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EyZZZG1

Nylon strings
6pcs Classical Guitar Strings Set Plating Super Light Classic Guitar Clear Nylon Silver Strings Silver Plated Copper
https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ez4cWih

Tuning machine heads
6Pcs Open Gear Vintage Tuning Peg Tuners 3R3L for Classic Guitar Instrument
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJnFnPn

Real bone for making the nut and saddle (optional)
Saddle Real Blank Bone Nut for Acoustic Guitar
https://a.aliexpress.com/_ExlkopJ

M5 screws and nuts
- M5x40 (3x)
-M5x8 (2x)
-M5 nuts (5x)

You’ll also need some tools:

Sandpaper (grits 100 and 400)
Small files
Pliers and an iron file
The total cost for building this guitar should be under $30.

This project made sense to me because I could showcase a fully functional product from my 3D printer, have it readily available for playing, and derive joy from it.

If you’re curious about how my Guitarlele sounds, you can listen to it in this YouTube video.
Real sound:
https://youtu.be/l4AXoMMiYdI?si=w8czfmCBKPKYnm9Y

0.4 nozzle / 220x220 print bed
5 top
5 bottom
6 perimeters
0.25 all layers

20% Adaptive cubic infill