2008 Woodie Awards
The changing sound of rock
Chris Yu
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News
Electrical engineering majors Chris Monaghan and Franklin DeHart have their futures all planned out: They'll wake up every morning, play a riff on their guitars, then hop into Lamborghinis and squander away the rest of the day.
At least that is what they hope will happen if the guitar technology they recently developed becomes successful.
The senior and sophomore, respectively, created a new type of tone circuit for electric guitars, one they say is far superior to anything else on the market. The device is able to change the tone of guitars with greater range and better sound quality than any of today's models.
"Hopefully, this will end up in every guitar from now on," DeHart said. "It'll be the industry standard."
Whether the user wants a low, mellow tone such as Black Sabbath or a brighter sound such as the Eagles, DeHart said the new tone circuit will deliver exactly what people ask for. The device is controlled by a small knob on the outside of the guitar, but the main device is just a few inches long and is placed inside the guitar. Monaghan said it is able to produce crisper and clearer sounds than the standard tone circuits found in most guitars.
"Normal tone circuits just muffle the sound," Monaghan said. "It makes it sound like a cheap guitar. It just sounds trashy."
Monaghan was reluctant to explain how his contraption works because the pair is still obtaining a patent. But he did offer this analogy: If a standard tone circuit is a regular coffee filter with holes that are of a fixed size, the new device is a filter that can change the size of its openings to offer wider and richer tone choices.
DeHart and Monaghan said they began working on the tone circuit last spring as a class project for electrical engineering professor Bruce Jacob. Impressed by his students' work, Jacob asked them to join Coil Guitars, a company he founded that sells guitars to local retailers.
By working in Jacob's company, Monaghan said he and DeHart can better market their device and make more money. Plus, he said, the collaboration helps generate new ideas.
At least that is what they hope will happen if the guitar technology they recently developed becomes successful.
The senior and sophomore, respectively, created a new type of tone circuit for electric guitars, one they say is far superior to anything else on the market. The device is able to change the tone of guitars with greater range and better sound quality than any of today's models.
"Hopefully, this will end up in every guitar from now on," DeHart said. "It'll be the industry standard."
Whether the user wants a low, mellow tone such as Black Sabbath or a brighter sound such as the Eagles, DeHart said the new tone circuit will deliver exactly what people ask for. The device is controlled by a small knob on the outside of the guitar, but the main device is just a few inches long and is placed inside the guitar. Monaghan said it is able to produce crisper and clearer sounds than the standard tone circuits found in most guitars.
"Normal tone circuits just muffle the sound," Monaghan said. "It makes it sound like a cheap guitar. It just sounds trashy."
Monaghan was reluctant to explain how his contraption works because the pair is still obtaining a patent. But he did offer this analogy: If a standard tone circuit is a regular coffee filter with holes that are of a fixed size, the new device is a filter that can change the size of its openings to offer wider and richer tone choices.
DeHart and Monaghan said they began working on the tone circuit last spring as a class project for electrical engineering professor Bruce Jacob. Impressed by his students' work, Jacob asked them to join Coil Guitars, a company he founded that sells guitars to local retailers.
By working in Jacob's company, Monaghan said he and DeHart can better market their device and make more money. Plus, he said, the collaboration helps generate new ideas.
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