The Chrysalis and Ridgewing guitars represent a bold re-imagining of what an instrument could be—portable, modular, and radically innovative in both concept and execution. What began as a dream of creating a guitar that could be disassembled for travel yet retain the character of a fine acoustic soon grew into a multi-decade journey of prototypes, breakthroughs, and bold experiments. This page brings together the most important milestones: from crude beginnings to playable designs, from rare hybrids to visionary renderings, and even to instruments that blurred the line between music and spectacle.

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The story opens with “Big Ugly,” an ungainly but essential first prototype. Built around an epoxy grille framework with a removable bridge, it proved a failure sonically. Yet this crude experiment marked the very first attempt at a frame-based, modular guitar. “Big Ugly” may never have been a performer’s instrument, but it was the indispensable starting point that made every later step possible.

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From those humble origins emerged the original Chrysalis guitar, a revolutionary concept that could be broken down in under a minute and reassembled without losing tuning. It demonstrated that portability and musicality could coexist, and it became the true foundation for what followed.

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The design advanced with the carbon-fiber Ridgewing, which harnessed the strength, lightness, and resonance of composites. More durable and responsive than its predecessor, this version solidified the Ridgewing as a serious instrument rather than just an experimental curiosity.

Exploration continued with the aluminum Ridgewing, whose rigid frame introduced a distinctive voice and a striking industrial look. From there, experimentation blended tradition with technology in the rosewood/aluminum/maple hybrid Ridgewing, marrying natural tonewoods to metal architecture for a unique balance of warmth and projection.

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Not every innovation made it into musicians’ hands. The Ridgewing Rev 2 lived only in CAD renderings. This design streamlined the grille structure for injection molding rather than hand-laid carbon fiber, and it re-imagined nearly every component—body frames, neck, bridges, and headstock—for manufacturability. Though never realized, Rev 2 showed how the Ridgewing could evolve from handcrafted prototypes into a scalable production model.

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Pushing the concept into new creative territory was the “Light Show” Ridgewing. Outfitted with over a hundred individually addressable LEDs hidden inside its treble and bass side frames, the guitar produced mesmerizing animated color patterns controlled by a smartphone app. Never intended for sale, it was a singular showcase of how the Ridgewing design could embrace technology, performance, and spectacle in ways traditional guitars could not.

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Taken together—prototype, working models, hybrids, renderings, and art pieces—these instruments embody the bold creativity, restless curiosity, and inventive spirit of their makers. Each is not only a guitar but also a statement: that music’s tools can be rethought, rebuilt, and reimagined for a new era.