The Rosetta Line
Timeline: Sept 2022 - May 2023
"What does a guitar that empowers a woman look like?"
The Rosetta Line is a collection of lightweight guitars designed with the aim of accommodating women, non-binary individuals, and transgender individuals with the physical attributes of smaller hands and breasts, providing them with enhanced comfort. Each guitar is inspired by a different female guitarist from a diverse range of musical genres, with the guitar design matching the musician's signature sound. The line's diverse range of aesthetics and sounds offers positive representation of women who play the guitar.
This initiative is the result of extensive primary, qualitative, quantitative, secondary, and applied research alongside my own experience as a female guitarist with over a decade of experience. My research findings have indicated that for many women, standard guitars are too heavy, the neck width and fret sizes are too large, and the lack of accommodation for breasts in guitars leads to discomfort. Moreover, despite women constituting half of all beginner guitarists, there is a significant lack of representation of female guitarists and guitarists belonging to marginalized communities.
The Rosetta Line offers a comprehensive solution to these issues by incorporating comfort, sound, representation, inclusivity, and more.
Research
Women who play guitar are forced to adapt to an instrument not designed for their bodies. They don’t realize how uncomfortable their instruments are until they are presented with an instrument actually designed for them.
Pain Points
Initial Concepts
Prototypes
Final Design
Dimensions & Weight
2.5" x 12.75 x 38.75 "
7 lbs.
Neck Specs.
Scalelength: 24.5”
# of Frets: 24 (4 octave range)
Fretboard Radius: 16”
Neck Shape: C/D type
Nut Width: 1 ⅝”
Electronics
Pickups: Ibanez Humbuckers
Controls: Volume, tone, pickups
Bridge: Chrome Fender hardtail
Frets: Fender Jumbo Frets
Tuning pegs: Chrome 3+3
Materials
Body: Basswood
Neck: Hard maple
Fretboard: Indian Rosewood
Pickguard: Acrylic
Inlays: White mother of pearl dots
Building Process
Final Product
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following individuals for their help in the design and fabrication of this guitar line:
Meredith Coloma of Coloma Guitars