Jugtones

Thanks Cain! I do intend to do a video for this but it will take some time for me to get used to the playing style... I'll definitely post to this thread when the video is posted.

OSI, yep.. the LEDs are connected to a "light organ", with the controlling microphone in the tap mouth. You can get a beginner's "sound to light" kit from Vellman (i think Radio Shack carries them) for $7 that comes with a printed circuit board and all the parts, including the mic. I needed a more customized version to fit into the control box so I built my own on perfboard using the Vellman schematic.

Oh, and cool guitar... awesome finish!

Presenting 7D9887 (Timer Slider):

Description:

7D9887, aka "Time Slider", is a lap slide guitar with a few unique features. The most obvious of these is the autonomous bass string. It is off-set, has a slightly shorter scale-length, and considerably lower action than the other strings. The purpose of this setup is to allow the player to comfortably fret the bass string with his or her thumb while using a slide at the same location on the other strings.

Another unique feature is the mobile pickup, giving the player to an additional way to control tone. Turning the tap handle moves the pickup.

Finally, a much less less obvious feature of 7D9887 is its naïve application of general relativity to quantum mechanics -- the ability to send sound waves very slightly back in time. At the core of the instrument a heavy atomic nucleus rests inside a strong magnetic field, causing it to elongate it into a cylinder. Sound waves generated by the strings are then projected across this exceptionally dense spinning cylinder, effectively sending the signal approximately 687 milliseconds back in time. By amplifying this time distorted signal along with the signal at its creation we achieve a sort of reversed echo effect. This can be a bit disconcerting at first as the player hears each note just before he or she plays it, followed immediately by the same note as it is actually played. Under most interpretations of quantum mechanics this does not violate causality and is therefore safe for use by anyone with more than 687 milliseconds of time to kill.

For more pictures, a full materials list, and a PDF containing 30 or so progress shots taken during the building of the instrument:

7D9887 on Jugtones.com

Video sample coming soon... or soon-ish

My first try at electrolytic brass etching:

Control Box Complete:

3 ultraviolet LEDs respond to the music via a color organ. Everything inside the bulb is part of the circuit except the coil in the center. The bulb can be unscrewed and removed like any other light bulb.

Volume & Tone knobs:

I've been using this brass aging solution on all the brass. I wonder if it will work on the copper pipe? hmm...

Awesome! I love steampunk. Need some patina on the brass pipe.

Thanks guys. Jarvey, love the Dead!

That is some seriously beautiful lumber mate, & the result is fantastic.

Hello friends, fellow players & builders. I am currently running a Facebook promotion/competition for my Jugtones page. The premise is simple: get your friends to "like" the Jugtones Facebook page. The person with the most referrals by Feb 28th will win a free Heineken Beer Keg Amplifier!

View full contest details by clicking the "Contest" tab on the Jugtones Facebook page, or by clicking the link below:

Jugtones Facebook Contest

Thanks folks,

-Scott

Pickup... on wheeels!

Control box started. The candelabra socket happened to thread perfectly on the plumbing connector so i've let this coincidence decide its placement. The socket has been hollowed out to allow the light organ wires to run up into a hollowed out S6 light bulb that will contain the LEDs

Control box progress. Controls are series/parallel toggle, volume, tone, and light organ on/off.

Ouput Jack:

Fretboards installed:

This microphone will control the light organ, allowing the LEDs to respond to the music being played on the instrument:

Light organ built & control box started:

Some gear mojo:

These will carry the pickup wires and light organ wires to the control box:

Dual Fretboards:

The tuner knobs are made from skeleton keys:

Turning the tap knob will move the pickups forward and back:

Hi guys... new guy here. This is my newest project... a steampunk themed invention of my own. It's basically a 3-string lap slide guitar with a 4th string on its own, off-set scale length. The idea is to fret the bass string with your thumb while you use the slide on the other 3 strings.

The starting lumber is an old mahogany casting form:

Man... LOTS of progress shots, i LOVE it. This thing is going to be gorgeous!

wow.. i am REALLY digging this build!