Solid modeling files for a fully defined neck and fully defined machine heads were acquired from grabcad.com [2] [3]. The original parts can be seen in figures 6 and 7, below. These models could not directly be used in the finite element analysis because they include details which are unnecessary or cause errors in Ansys. For the files to be used, they must first be simplified. Figure 6: Fully defined Fender Stratocaster neck mode! (2) Figure 2: Fully defined machine head model [3] The simplified guitar neck can be seen in Figure 8, on the following page. The neck was simplified by suppressing a number of features. One such feature is a large cavity located on the back of the neck model. In a functional modern guitar, this space would house the truss 41