EVENTS

Since 2019, senior industrial design students have had the opportunity to design and build a guitar as their final project. Taking cues from the Bauhaus school of design, this studio is referred to as Frethaus.

Early in the semester the FretHaus students met with Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian and the staff to learn more about the history and brand of Gibson. Students developed guitars through their own inspiration while keeping that "Gibson Nugget" in mind. Gibson hosted the students at the end of the semester at the Gibson Garage in Nashville to present their designs on the stage. Many thanks to the Gibson team for hosting the 2023 show!

Auburn University’s own fine art museum hosted the FretHaus 2022 exhibition. The show featured the new guitars designed and built by the current FretHaus students and included guitars from years past. The show began the semester before with a development wall that showed the current sketches and models from the students in real time. At the end of the semester there was an opening with live music and was crowded with family, friends, and the Auburn community. Thanks to the great staff at the Jule for helping us and hosting our event!

Coming out of the pandemic, FretHaus hit the road for a show in Mobile, AL that was hosted by the ACAC. There was approximately 3,500 square feet of display space that was filled with guitars from the current class, posters from the 2020 Covid class, and guitars from the 2019 show. The show was up through the summer and was extended at the end for several weeks. Great crowds came through the show including several wedding receptions that were held in the gallery. Thanks to the staff at the ACAC for taking a chance on a bunch of students!

There were no finished guitars for this year because the pandemic shut down all face-to-face meetings across campus. This included access to the shop, which made it impossible for the students to finish on campus. However, the students did all their CAD work and produced some nice renderings for their boards. Two students found a way to get their guitars done and they are now part of the collection.

This was the inaugural FretHaus event that started it all. There was more latitude on the scope of the project the first year, which allowed some guitar related peripherals to be designed. There was a total of nine guitars produced, one banjo, one violin, two learning aids and one guitar case. These guys coined the term FretHaus and set the bar for those who will follow them. In the following years, FretHaus would become electric, solid body guitars only that had to function as part of the assignment. Thanks to the Jan Dempsey Community Art Center for hosting the first FretHaus ever!