3D printed musical instruments are not just novelties. They allows for designs impossible to produce using traditional methods, with endless customisation options allowing musicians to tailor instruments to their exact preferences.
In this guide, I will share 8 of my favourite 3D printed instruments, from the rock-ready Black Widow Guitar to wind instruments like flutes and ocarinas – with direct links to the STL files you’ll need to print them at home for yourself.
Whether you’re a musician seeking a unique sound or a hobbyist eager to experiment, I’ll share my own experience and expert insights to help you find the right project for your skill level.
Best 3D Printed Instruments – Full Round-Up
- Black Widow 3D Printed Guitar – A New Take on an Old Favorite
- Croaking Frog – Cute Instrument for Beginners
- Ocarina – A Nostalgic Tribute to Gaming Culture
- Twist-Off Maracas – Twist and Shake this 3D Printed Musical Instrument!
- Soprano Ukulele – Find the Right Chord
- Recorder Flute – an Ancient Classic reimagined as a 3D printed instrument
- Kazzoo – A Telescoping Design for Music on the Go
- Bongo Drums – 3D Printed Percussion
- Customizable Music Box – Design and Play Your Own Tunes
My Top 3D Printed Musical Instruments
The Black Widow 3D Printed Guitar
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: TechSupportGo
- Price: Free
Guitars are often the first thing that comes to mind when we think of musical instruments, and the same goes for 3D printed instruments.
Whether you play or not, you’ll know that guitars come in many different forms. While there are plenty of acoustic and mini guitar models out there to try out, one of the coolest designs for a 3D printed guitar is easily the Black Widow.
Not only does it look cool, the Black Widow has found a good following from many different 3D printing enthusiasts willing to share their advice with others, and yes, it has an awesome sound too.
This following is thanks to its sound as well as its design. Whether it’s your first guitar or a new addition to your collection, the Black Widow is a great 3D printed guitar for anyone interested in picking up a new axe.
With a printing time of 100+ hours, and plenty of opportunities to change the design to your liking, the Black Widow is customizable and fully open to tweaks and touches. This makes it a great choice for anyone looking for a 3D printed musical instrument project with a little extra challenge.
Because it’s an electric guitar, it will need strings, tuners, and various other parts to function alongside the print. Fortunately, the creator has also linked these along with the files.
3D Printed Croaking Frog
- Download: 3DShook
- Designer: Unknown
- Price: $3.00
Essentially a cross between a washboard and a singing bowl, guiros are neat instruments that anyone can play. Commonly depicted as a frog, this 3D printed musical instrument doubles as a cute decorative piece and can produce a relaxing sound to chill to.
The frog shape comes from being both the ideal shape, and the fact that the noise produced sounds like croaking. Because it’s an easy-to-play percussion instrument with no extra parts, this is a great go-to for a 3D printed instrument for beginners to both music and 3D printing.
The croaking frog is satisfying, even soothing, to play, and the design includes a stick that can be held in the frog’s mouth for both convenience and cuteness. The designer has even included links to separate model hats to decorate your new instruments.
While you likely won’t be able to play a tune on this simple design, it’s nonetheless an amazing little instrument that anyone can play.
3D Printed Ocarina
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: seggybop
- Price: Free
Because of the varieties in density, materials like PLA filament lend themselves well to fully playable 3D printed wind instruments. In general, flute-style instruments are great, simple projects to enjoy and show off. The ocarina is particularly cool because it’s both exotic and recognizable, and it makes a nice sound too.
Despite being around for centuries and coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, the ocarina is best known these days for its prominence in Nintendo’s famous Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64.
Unsurprisingly, 3D designers have been preparing and tweaking designs for their very own playable 3D printed ocarina at home.
Even if you’re not a gamer, the simple yet elegant design should appeal to anyone who wants to make their own wind instrument. Made in only a handful of parts and requiring little to no engineering, this fully playable ocarina models come in two forms.
The other is the updated 12-hole ocarina, which is aesthetically closer to the Nintendo design we all know and love today.
Simplicity and style aside, these are still fully playable 3D printed instruments, so whether you’re playing a tune you’ve created yourself, or your favorite of the magical song from OOT, this is an excellent 3D printing project for any gamer in the market for a new instrument to create.
Both designs are easy to make and customize. Find the free files for the small 3D printed ocarina here and the slightly more complicated 12-hole updated version here.
Twist-Off Maracas
- Download: Cults3D
- Designer: EMILIANO_BRIGNITO
- Price: Free
Maracas may seem like one of the most basic instruments available, but the variety of sounds they can make depends on what’s in them.
This design for 3D printed maracas includes a twist-off top that you can fill with anything from buttons to paper clips for example, for different sound varieties as you shake.
Testing out which materials and fillings make the best sounds can be a fun and educational activity for kids and adults alike.
The model can be made with any material and only takes around 2 hours to make, so it won’t be too long before you’re free to fill it with different things to produce a new sound every time its played, helping you to really get into the rhythm!
Soprano 3D Printed Ukulele
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: 3DGuy
- Price: Free
While ukuleles may seem like more of a CNC router project, they’re also available as a 3D printed instrument. So you don’t need any additional technology to make something as cool as a ukelele, but it can help.
This design model for a full-sized and playable for a 3D printed ukulele has seen great popularity across the internet, with many people making and sharing their own tweaks to make the design more affordable, easier to print, or even just sound better.
Ukuleles require extra parts, like soundboards and tuners, which can also be 3D printed for your convenience.
While the initial design was made with an industrial grade 3D printer in mind, the design has been tweaked so more affordable 3D printers can manage it.
Recorder Flute
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: ArturoV
- Price: Free
The recorder was many people’s first instrument, largely due to its age and relative simplicity to learn. So it’s not surprising that it’s a very popular 3D printed instrument project for many people today.
Recorder flutes look sleek, sound nice, are fun to play, and also look great as a bookshelf or mantlepiece ornament.
Much like the ocarina, there are many varieties and shapes of flute available that can be created from almost any 3D printing material. Make sure the edges are smooth and sanded down before you play for both comfort and safety, especially if you’re using wood.
Flautists may not be the rock stars of the music world, but after printing your own from the files found here, you’ll soon see why this centuries-old instrument is still a popular choice for modern musicians.
3D Printed Kazzoo
- Download: MyMiniFactory
- Designer: Dr. T
- Price: $1.99
Claiming to revolutionize the compact music industry, this 3D printed kazoo design is a cute and cheap instrument you can create and play with ease. The compact part doesn’t just come from the kazoo’s traditional size, but also that this design is telescoping, meaning it’s collapsible for easy transport and can even fit in your pocket!
Playing a tune on a kazoo is also fairly simple, as they don’t need the kind of finger work the likes of an ocarina would need. While not known for having a particularly pleasant sound, kazoos are a fun and easy example of a 3D printed instrument for anyone to enjoy.
3D Printed Bongo Drums
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: RylanMark
- Price: Free
Drums are more slightly more complicated than they appear, as a standard set needs to be of an exact size and assembled carefully to ensure the right sounds are produced without risking breakage.
Bongo drums, however, don’t necessarily need to be quite so accurate, making them the ideal drum type for 3D printing.
This bongo drum set can be printed easily and modified to look how you like, from traditional to even futuristic with the addition of lights. There are also more possibilities for songs to play too, as their sound can be soothing or energetic depending on the tone, making them a versatile as well as simple print that even kids can enjoy if you’re interested in beginning their musical education.
Customizable Music Box
- Download: Thingiverse
- Designer: wizard23
- Price: Free
Calling a music box an instrument may not sound quite right, but your mind may be quickly changed when you try out this fully customizable design using built-in combs and music cylinders to play any kind of tune.
Entirely 3D printed, this instrument earns a spot on this list because its design incorporates a click-in slot for changeable cylinders. This means that, with enough know-how and practice, you’ll be able to design and create your own music to play whenever you want.
From Happy Birthday and Mary Had a Little Lamb, to your favorite TV show themes, and even custom tracks, there are plenty opportunities to let your creativity fly.
This 3D printed instrument also makes for a great educational tool to teach youngsters how toothed instruments work, as well as inspire them to see if they can design their own tunes using a melody generator like the one found here.
The original design found above can be altered for different materials, or to play longer pieces as you learn, grow, and test the designs you’ve created or modified.
Can you 3D print a sax?
While it is theoretically possible to 3D print a working saxophone, they’re very complicated instruments that will take a lot of time, technique, planning, assembly, and test trials to get right. While relatively simple projects like the mini saxophone are achievable, for example, 3D printing a working sax is something only dedicated professionals have so far successfully accomplished.
Unfortunately, even musical instruments have their limitations, and projects like saxophones aren’t counted among the possibilities for amateur creators.
Can I 3D print a trumpet?
Trumpets are a challenging print due to their hollow nature and complex design. Making a 3D printed trumpet that can actually be played from scratch is almost impossible for amateurs.
However, professional musicians have managed to design and create smaller, less complex 3D printed trumpets that even amateurs should be able to create with a bit of effort.
Can you make a 3D printed violin?
Yes, 3D printing a violin is very possible, much like printing guitars. There are a lot of designers and even entire companies that offer or sell their 3D printed violin designs and even completed models with the world, though often for a price.
For more information, you can check out our full article on 3D printed violins here.
Can you 3D print a harp?
Harps are relatively simple instruments to make with a 3D printer with just about any material from plastic to wood. If you’ve got the measurements right to fit the different string sizes, then you’ll find it fairly simple to make any harp body shape provided you have the right technique.
If you’re not confident in your design skills, then you can find plenty of options for pre-designed 3D printed harps like this classic Irish design one, for example, available online.
