About Session Buddy
Hi, I'm Julian!
IT consultant by day and aspiring guitarist by night.
Always curious and a problem solver by nature, my job is all about helping clients eliminate inefficiencies by using the right tools to solve problems. I took the same approach to playing the guitar and an idea was born.Â
I wanted to be able to raise or lower my guitar quickly and easily without interrupting my session. But we all know how tedious and annoying adjusting the strap can be.
Because of that, I tend to play without the strap but it was starting to hurt my hands and back. Trying to play and hold the guitar steady at the same time was costing me strength, accuracy, and good posture.
So I decided to solve the problem for all guitar/bass players like me. To do that, I engaged a team of product designers to create a solution - the Session Buddy.
This is for all the guitar and bass players out there, and for every session you're playing for. Session Buddy is the missing piece you didn't know you need.Â
Vert Design
Throughout the design process, Mitchell and Vincent from Vert Design talked about how context in design is important and to speak the language of guitar. We continuously worked towards a design that is both aesthetically pleasing and highly functional, and they have definitely delivered on both fronts. They did that by putting the user at the center of the design process, and with simplicity and ease of use as the ultimate design goal.Â
The Design Process
Once we had a clear direction on what the product should look like, we used 3D printing to do rapid prototyping and testing. At the same time, we did some in depth market research and in the end decided to serve the most common strap pins on the market. This allowed us to create a highly specialized product that would deliver the best user experience possible. The catch and release mechanism has a satisfying tactile "click" when the strap pin latches on. The motion is quick and easy and unlatching is even quicker! This means that the user can transition playing positions seamlessly, even during a performance.Â