When I introduced the Bardo ukulele, the idea was quite simple: build an instrument around the things that matter most for sound, while simplifying everything else as much as possible.
Over the last year, that project has become a sort of experimental playground.

The first Bardo was a soprano ukulele. Then came the tenor version, and later an octave ukulele. The octave size turned out particularly well and taught me a lot about how this construction method behaves when scaled up.
At some point I started wondering: how far can I push this concept?
The obvious answer was to try building a guitar.

So I made two small guitars, roughly a Size 0. One is a steel-string model and the other a nylon-string version.

Like the ukulele, these instruments follow the same Bardo philosophy. The construction method is intentionally simplified compared to a traditional guitar. The goal is not to cut corners, but to reduce many complexities, speed up production, and ultimately make the instrument more affordable.

They are still prototypes, and that’s exactly what makes them interesting.

One thing I learned from the ukulele versions is that the shallow body depth is much less problematic than many people would expect. On small ukuleles, it doesn’t seem to hurt the sound at all. In fact, when the soundboard is designed and voiced accordingly, the result can be surprisingly responsive and project very well.

Guitars, however, are a different story.
The low body depth inevitably reduces the available air volume inside the instrument, and the effect becomes noticeable on the lower frequencies. Unlike an ukulele, a guitar has bass notes that need more support from the body. The first prototypes made this very clear.

Rather than fighting against that limitation, I decided to rethink the project.
The current versions are designed as electro-acoustic instruments from the beginning. They still produce a pleasant acoustic sound, but they are primarily intended to be played amplified. Once I accepted that, many design choices became much more logical.

The steel-string model is equipped with a magnetic soundhole pickup, while the nylon-string version uses a MiSi undersaddle piezo system.

As often happens, these instruments have raised almost as many questions as answers. But that is exactly why I enjoy building prototypes. Even when a project doesn’t end where I initially expected, it usually teaches me something useful for the next one.
We’ll see where the next experiment leads!