Technology Review
The Ave BMT-6
created by Rudy Delgado
Imagine picking up an electric guitar and finding it light as an acoustic. Imagine getting the full-bodied sound of a Gibson or Fender but without all the weight. And imagine never having to find a guitar stand again to place your precious axe upon. Well imagine no further, for this coming June 8th at 8 pm, inspired inventor Rudy Delgado will debut the prototype for his new Ave (pronounced as in Ave Maria) BMT-6 (body mounted tuning six string) at Your Big Picture Café (4900 S. Univ. Dr., Davie).
Now I had the privilege of seeing and playing this quantum-step-forward design that has taken Rudy some three years to create. With his current prototype weighing in at 5 and ½ pounds, it’s much lighter than your standard 7-8 pound electric and their heftier, fully-loaded 12 pound cousins (you know, the ones that make you reach for the Motrin after a night of playing). Rudy has accomplished this by putting full-formed wood only where it matters: in the central, acoustic resonating body. All remaining components are made from lighter weight materials, with just a minimal, exoskeleton frame to hold everything together. What results is that beautiful, full-wood sound we all grew up loving which graphite composites have never quite achieved, but without the neck-straining burden of the standard electric’s Lincoln-log construction. Plans for future improvements will let Rudy reach the under-four-pound mark, allowing the Ave BMT-6 to rival both the sound and weight of its acoustic counterparts.
Beyond weight and sound, Rudy has also improved the instrument’s tuning. Building upon state-of-the-art body mounted tuning, he has advanced the technology by recessing the machine heads in a reclined, staggered v-pattern with increased inter-tuning-button spacing. Unlike the standard upright, in-line, close-grouped BMT buttons, you’ll never smash your hand against Rudy’s machine heads when you do a Peter Townshend windmill. Also, unlike the cramped positioning of standard BMT equipped axes, the Ave’s increased inter-tuning-button spacing means you can more easily tune on-the-go with its widely spaced buttons close to your picking/strumming hand instead of your chord hand.
Now there are loads of other refinements Rudy has packed into the Ave BMT-6, including removable pickup modules with up to 20 unique onboard settings including humbucking, phase shift, serial-parallel bias and more. But that’s not what catches your eyes the most when first seeing this wonderment. Most astoundingly is what’s behind the guitar (other than the man who invented it) that will immediately catch your attention. Built into the guitar’s posterior exoskeleton is an amazing self-locking guitar stand that pops into position with just a flick of your wrist. Based upon the same lock-joint technology that allows birds to stand on just one leg and airplane landing gear to withstand the shock of touch down, you will truly thank Rudy the next time you have one less piece of gear to lug around.
In the final analysis, what does one great mind and three years of hard work add up to? An amazingly light weight, true-wood sounding instrument that can literally stand on its own. Not so sure that’s possible to achieve for under six pounds (and under four in the not too distant future)? Then be sure to attend the upcoming “Patent Pending” release party for Rudy Delgado’s amazing Ave BMT-6. You’ll have the opportunity to see a power-point presentation by the inventor himself, as well as get the chance to play this next-generation masterpiece.
So, I’ll see you there on June 8th @YBPC. And remember… if it’s cutting edge… it must be a Delgado.
Dr. Bob