The Next Generation of 3D-Printed Musical Instruments Are Worthy of a Star Trek Movie

It was only a matter of time until some brilliant designers out there started using the new 3D printing technology to make musical instruments. A few have boldly gone beyond mere reproductions of existing musical instruments into promising new realms of creativity, sound and design.

Innovative 3D electric guitar designs have flooded the web, courtesy of makers like Olaf Diegel of Sweden, whose intricate designs are available at cubify.com, or Mahdi Hosseini of Customuse, a British company offering custom 3D-printed guitars. The architects of MONAD Studio in Florida have gone a step further, designing bizarre, otherworldly instruments, including the piezoelectric violin that was announced on Classicalite earlier this spring.

MONAD'S instruments, which look like ceremonial Klingon weapons, represent the very apex of this new craft:

1. MONAD Studio: Piezoelectric Violin, Electric Bass and Cello