DeVillian's Centerfold guitar sees release

First designed by airline pilot Fredrik Johansson all the way back in 2004, the newly-named and self-descriptive Centerfold guitar is now finally seeing the light of day courtesy of DeVillian Guitar Co., with the company now accepting orders for the flip-and-fold axe. According to the company, that portability doesn't come at the expense of quality, with the guitar supposedly staying in tune throughout the whole contortion process, and high-end components used to ensure you'll get your money's worth. We certainly hope that's the case, as you'll have to drop a full $3,370 for the pleasure of tossing one of these in your backpack.

[Via Wired: Gadget Lab]

[michael @ Mar 31st 2007 8:15AM]

intonation?

[MikeTLive @ Mar 31st 2007 8:23AM]

wheres the flip and fold AMP?

[Mike Cerm @ Mar 31st 2007 10:21AM]

If you need something portable, you can get a Steinberger for far less money. They're much better for traveling, and they play and sound great. Whether you like the headless design or not is up to you.

[Zadillo @ Mar 31st 2007 11:19AM]

Absolutely; I've got a Steinberger Synapse Bass and it's an excellent instrument. The Steinbergers are definitely a good way to go if you want a nice guitar that can also travel well (even the Spirit guitars sold by musicyo.com aren't bad, although a lot of people will usually change out the pickups, etc.).

[franzbonus @ Mar 31st 2007 10:32AM]

This has to be the most retarded concept ever for a guitar. Anyone who plays guitar will know right away that folding in/out strings like that means that you'll be tuning it every 3 seconds when you play.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 11:30AM]

I agree with you, franzbonus. This is obviously not going to stay in tune as they say it will its simply not possible! My guitar is a squier strat and it goes slightly out of tune just from using the tremolo a lot so i can imagine how bad this would be after folding...

[Aaron @ Mar 31st 2007 12:12PM]

Sounds like your strings are catching on the nut. Take a small file and enlarge the grooves slightly (about 1/2mm.) Get some graphite powder lubricant and mix a small batch with Vaseline and put in just enough to cover the groove. Tighten up your strings then wipe off the excess and you are good to go. If you do this right you will never be able to tell anything is different.

Find an online guitar forum. There are lots of things you can do to help keep your guitar in tune.

[Aaron @ Mar 31st 2007 12:15PM]

One last thing:
Make sure your strings are properly stretched and keep in mind that weather changes will put your guitar out of tune.

[David @ Mar 31st 2007 2:21PM]

Better way, Get a real guitar, not a squier.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 3:49PM]

Yeah...I would "get a real guitar" if it werent for the fact I am a teenager and therefore have no money for one! And anyway, my squier very playable :D And its made by fender so thats gotta be a good thing *thumbs up* but back to the point, this whole folding guitar thing is still stupid in my book.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 3:51PM]

And quit being a guitar snob too. It reflects badly on you.

[Mike @ Mar 31st 2007 2:31PM]

It's not just the tuning, what about strings that get bent too much? Like a high E string with a kink in it. I bet that sounds lovely.

This is a dumb idea. Who's it for? Musicians who can't afford vans and have to travel in Steve Urkel cars?

[J Ozer @ Mar 31st 2007 4:45PM]

A couple of corrections:

Squier is OWNED by Fender, not built by Fender. Fenders are made in the USA (American Series) and in Mexico (Standard Series). Squiers are built in Asia. The only things they share with Fenders are the body and neck shape. The woods, construction methods, quality control, hardware, and electronics are all non-Fender.

That said, evidently newer Squiers are pretty decent guitars after they have been set up by a professional (fret, bridge, nut and neck adjustments, etc...).

On another note, this folding guitar idea is terrible. The fact that it folds means that the string/body contact and neck/body contact are only through a teeny cheap aluminum bolt. That is going to make the guitar sound like crap. The folding strings also virtually guarantee that this thing is going to go out of tune 10x faster than a guitar with a standard trem (which is pretty fast). I might consider paying $100 for a novelty guitar like this. Then I saw the price. For $3400, you can buy a custom shop Fender or Gibson. Or a custom shop anything. Pick you brand, for $3400 you can get anything you want. Fender sells a 20" scale travel/children Stratocaster for $120. Martin sells a backpack guitar for less than $400. Checking around musicians friend, there are half a dozen other travel guitars out there for under $500 bucks.

[MartinS @ Mar 31st 2007 4:55PM]

Fenders have been made in Japan for several decades; and are now also made in Korea.

[J Ozer @ Mar 31st 2007 4:56PM]

Yep, your right, my mistake, I thought they had shut down the Japanese factory in the late 80's for some reason.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 4:59PM]

Jeez i dunno how thay can put the fender name on it then! but anyway its an excellent guitar anyway so kids, buy a squier!

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 5:01PM]

damn, too many anyways *kicks self*

[J Ozer @ Mar 31st 2007 5:14PM]

They can put the name on it because Fender owns them.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 5:18PM]

well obviously. But if the guitar has none of the same component parts then its quite misleading isnt it.

[J Ozer @ Mar 31st 2007 5:20PM]

That's why its a Squier guitar! If it were designed and built by Fender, it would be a Fender! Notice that the guitar says something like "Designed by Fender" or "Authorized by Fender" or some such.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 7:00PM]

Actually it says "Squier by Fender" it dosent say authorised or designed or licensed or any other mumbo jumbo it says it is BY Fender... which could mean anything i suppose lol

[David @ Mar 31st 2007 5:34PM]

The problem here is, Why dont they say what "quality" wood and electronics they are using, It looks like its a rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck with an either basswood, alder, or agathis body. and if I had to guess, they probably are using duncan designed pickups, which are improperly potted, and have very low output.

And on the Squier note:
A Squier is no more a Fender than a Epiphone is a Gibson, and yes, it is misleading, that is how they get loads of money while selling what are really poor quality guitars. The problem is, both
Fender and Squier have made few guitars that are not the classic Strat or Tele style, meaning most of the body is hollowed out under a giant pickguard, this reduces the sustain and thins tone, Also, they use very weak pickups that have a bad Signal to noise ratio, and are bar few exceptions, Bolt on necks, which are ok if done right, but fender does not do them right. if you need a cheap guitar, epiphone uses better wood, construction techniques and is cheap, the biggest difference between a nice epiphone and a cheap gibson being the quality of the finish. Or, If you dont like Epiphones (which I am not fond of myself) look into Jackson, LTD or Ibanez, they actually make excellent quality guitars with good tone woods and the biggest differences being the neck joint (which the cheapest are going to be bolt on, like even the most expensive fender) and pickups. Bottom line, Squier is a poor quality knock off of a fender, which is a poor quality guitar to begin with.

[Simon @ Mar 31st 2007 7:10PM]

@David: Do you know where to get the best deal for an ibanez RGT42DX on the internet? Ive been thinking i should get one for a while but havent had the money (still dont have the money, but someday lol) Also, is it any good? obviously i dont seem to have a very good eye for these things ;)

[David @ Mar 31st 2007 5:42PM]

sorry, correction, they say it has DiMarzio pickups,which are quite good, But for that kind of money, it should have some EMG 89s and make me waffles. Also, if the string method works out like they say, it could work, since they rool instead of fold, there would be no bending and creasing in the string, however, given that it is rapidly and frequently changing tension like that they really should either put a locking trem, or sperzel tuners, or it will slip from the grover tuners they put on, also, the truss rod on that would have to be seriously beefy, and it would still need to be adjusted a lot.

[David @ Mar 31st 2007 7:23PM]

Musiciansfriend.com is always a pretty good choice, that or if you are on good terms with your local music store guys, they can usually get you a pretty good deal, especially with trade ins. As to the quality, definitely good, the only thing that would be a little iffy is the pickups, always be alittle wary of "designed by Xinsert name here" pickups, but ultimately the best thing to do is go down to the nearest ibanez dealer and ask if they have one or something similar, and play it for a while, or if you are just learning, bring someone along. After basic quality concerns, the biggest is how comfortable you are playing it. A guitar everyone else loves does you no good if it is awkward to play, or if the pickups do not sound good with your amp.

[Barney Leeson @ Jul 9th 2007 7:35PM]

There is a MUCH better guitar with this same concept coming out. www.voyageairguitar.com

Ive played one and it BLEW MY MIND. It is a REALLY nice acoustic but it folds in half - and then comes back together totally in tune!!!

It is designed by Harvey Leach. He is the guy who does the PRS Dragon inlays. www.leachguitars.com for more info about him.

Here is the kicker the Voyage Air entry level acoustic is gonna about about $499 RETAIL PRICE. With more expensive models to come! I would have paid that much even if it was just a nice guitar (which it is), but it fold in half too!

They have an electric & bass coming too.

BTW, the folding mechanism is much less intrusive to the guitar design & is VERY stable!

Anyway, wanted you all to know about an option to this guitar.

I've been told availability is gonna be January.