Experimental luthier

[citation needed] In the early 1980s, Glenn Branca started building his own electric string instruments, called "mallet guitars," based on the harmonic canons of Harry Partch.

These instruments are supposed to offer an advantage over the classical fixed-scale guitars and basses by providing more freedom in setting the tension of each string at the design and manufacturing phases.

[further explanation needed] In 2006, Yuri Landman built his Moodswinger for the band Liars and afterward made a large series of alternative string instruments, such as the Moonlander for Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, the Springtime for Blood Red Shoes, and the Tafelberg drum guitar for The Dodos and others.

The Japanese multiinstrumentalist and experimental musical instrument builder Yuichi Onoue developed a hurdy-gurdy, similar to a fretless violin but with only two strings, called the kaisatsuko, and a deeply scalloped electric guitar for microtonal playing techniques.

[citation needed] The Warr Guitar and the Kelstone (from Belgium) are alternative instruments that also function on the same playing technique; that is, tapping on the strings with both hands.