This Guitar Combines Raspberry Pi Synthesis with Good Ol’ Humbuckers

There is something beautiful about the simplicity of an electric guitar. If they were invented today, electric guitars would probably use something needlessly complex like a laser sensor to pick up the vibrations of a string. Thankfully, the simple magnetic properties of a guitar pickup’s transducer have worked perfectly for several decades. However, some music calls for a mix of the old and new, which is the idea behind Lucem Custom Instruments’ Spirit Animal concept guitar.

The Spirit Animal is the result of a collaboration between Lucem Custom Instruments and synthesizer software developer Tracktion Corporation. It looks like any other elegant, dual-cutaway electric guitar, but with the addition of a 5" touchscreen module positioned right behind the hardtail bridge. That touchscreen is used to operate Tracktion’s BioTek 2 synthesizer software, and its output can be mixed with the pickups’ output to create complex music.

Essentially, this is an electric guitar with a built-in synthesizer. The pickups are standard humbuckers that we all know and love, and work as usual. If the player wants, they can play with just those like they would with a normal guitar. But, they also have the option to mix in the synthesizer that has the BioTek 2 software running on a Raspberry Pi fitted inside the hollow body. The two signals can be blended with a pan pot, so the musician can select and emphasize whichever signal they choose. It may not have the simple, timeless appeal of a standard electric guitar, but it’s a stunning merger of the old and new.