Building your own guitar or synthesizer is impressive enough. But when you decide to smash the two music makers together -- and throw some lasers in for kicks -- the end result is the jaw-droppingly awesome "Prism."

This synth-guitar uses the lasers as "strings," allowing the player to select octaves, and a fretboard equipped with infrared rangefinders, to electronically detect your fingers' positions and modify the pitch of the instrument.

Unlike a DIY Guitar Hero Controller, it requires no special software, and plugs into any amp, making setup a breeze.

Aside from the lasers, the heart of the beast consists of a voltage-controlled oscillator, a low-frequency oscillator, and three selectable synth waves (sine, square, and triangle). And for something that's been Frankensteined together, it doesn't look too shabby either.

[via Instructables via Make]