“An aquarium first and a guitar second”: Luthier builds electric guitar that doubles as a fish tank – and it plays surprisingly well
What do roasted coffee beans, aluminium cans, copper wires and ocean plastic waste have in common? Well, they’ve all been gloriously repurposed by YouTuber and luthier Burls Art into perfectly functional and playable electric guitars that often resemble something pulled from the depths of a fever dream.
Now, inspired by a wave of AI-generated designs circulating online, Burls Art has taken on the ambitious challenge of constructing a six-string that doubles as an aquarium.
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As you’d expect, creating a guitar that’s part fish tank, part musical instrument presented significant engineering challenges. Burls Art had to ensure that the structure was watertight while still being playable. He opted for an ultra-thick body – molded from foam and shaped like a hybrid between a Gibson Explorer and an Ibanez Iceman – for durability.
The use of epoxy instead of acrylic helped mitigate concerns about leaks, allowing him to house approximately 1.5 gallons of water safely within the guitar. The build also features a sole humbucker in the bridge, protected from the water by 16” of acrylic and silicone.
Great care was required during the installation of the electronics and hardware to ensure that the watertight aquarium remained intact. In particular, epoxy was applied once more to reinforce the walls of the guitar.
The luthier also crafted a wall-mount out of stained birch, and used a 2K urethane primer to help create a clear finish. A classic maple neck and rosewood fretboard were then bolted to the body. And finally, to complete his ‘guitar-quarium’, Burls Art funnelled substrate to the instrument’s bottom and arranged plants to flourish in their new home.
“I’ll say this thing’s an aquarium first and a guitar second,” he says. “And with that, I didn’t put too much emphasis on the playability. It’s pretty heavy and awkward to hold and you have to make sure water doesn’t spill out when you’re playing it but it’s definitely playable.”
Check out the full build below.
See more from Burls Art via his official YouTube channel.
The post “An aquarium first and a guitar second”: Luthier builds electric guitar that doubles as a fish tank – and it plays surprisingly well appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
