The Chrysalis Guitar began as an acoustics experiment rather than as an electric guitar - how could a full-size acoustic guitar structure produce music from a membrane under tension?
An early formative experiment revealed that when an acoustic guitar's soundhole was blocked by a thin piece of wood held on by artist's wax, if your back was turned, the perceived tone of the instrument really did not change very much. This was remarkable and totally unexpected.
A second insight came from the old game of "squeaking" a balloon with damp fingers behind someone's head to surprise them. The instantaneous reaction of the victim was invariably to close their eyes tight, bear their teeth, and hold their hands up in protective fists. SQUEAK!!! This experiment shows that a membrane under tension is capable of producing the sound frequencies involved in deeply-programmed emotional responses. This observation led to the hypothesis that, if an excited membrane could instead be excited with the vibrational spectrum produced by vibrating guitar strings, the result could be as pleasing to the ear as a regular guitar.
In 2001, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts hired a guitar composer and a professional musician to create purely acoustic music on a Chrysalis Guitar outfitted with an inflatable Mylar body covered with decorative fabric.
The result can be heard on the audio tour on the lower right of the MFA Chrysalis Guitar website
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/inflatable-knock-down-guitar-chrysalis-model--272174
The success of this scientific experiment in acoustical design led to the Chrysalis Guitar becoming known as the "Inflatable Guitar". While technically correct in the case of this experiment, this moniker became associated with the Chrysalis Guitar in general and created a cognitive dissonance in many observers.
It was only when the acoustic body was stripped away from the Chrysalis Guitar body that the "blank slate" nature of the instrument was revealed - the Chrysalis guitar could be anything that any player could imagine.
An early formative experiment revealed that when an acoustic guitar's soundhole was blocked by a thin piece of wood held on by artist's wax, if your back was turned, the perceived tone of the instrument really did not change very much. This was remarkable and totally unexpected.
A second insight came from the old game of "squeaking" a balloon with damp fingers behind someone's head to surprise them. The instantaneous reaction of the victim was invariably to close their eyes tight, bear their teeth, and hold their hands up in protective fists. SQUEAK!!! This experiment shows that a membrane under tension is capable of producing the sound frequencies involved in deeply-programmed emotional responses. This observation led to the hypothesis that, if an excited membrane could instead be excited with the vibrational spectrum produced by vibrating guitar strings, the result could be as pleasing to the ear as a regular guitar.
In 2001, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts hired a guitar composer and a professional musician to create purely acoustic music on a Chrysalis Guitar outfitted with an inflatable Mylar body covered with decorative fabric.
The result can be heard on the audio tour on the lower right of the MFA Chrysalis Guitar website
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/inflatable-knock-down-guitar-chrysalis-model--272174
The success of this scientific experiment in acoustical design led to the Chrysalis Guitar becoming known as the "Inflatable Guitar". While technically correct in the case of this experiment, this moniker became associated with the Chrysalis Guitar in general and created a cognitive dissonance in many observers.
It was only when the acoustic body was stripped away from the Chrysalis Guitar body that the "blank slate" nature of the instrument was revealed - the Chrysalis guitar could be anything that any player could imagine.
