L.e.d - Help For You ( Sound Reactant Leds )

[Sir_Lex]

Hey guys , i've heard several people inquiring as to how they could make leds blink or flash in time to their playing , its as simple as some leds, a transistor and a 3way switch, Some basic knowledge on circuits such as parallel and series would help you greatly - I found this on a website that gives a simple circuit :-

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/...ve_blinkin.html

To use this circuit it needs to be modified , i've written how and drawn a diagram.

Where the p2 connector is you merely connect to the 2 wires going to your jack and where it says 12vdc you can use any power you like such as 9v as long as you remember to change the leds you have connected where it says - The 3 way switch means you can choose between on, off or blinking.

Here is a simplified version drawn by myself - I in no way claim to have designed this circuit.

I accept no liability for you building this circuit and damaging stuffs, this is a freely available document I found on the internet and merely provided some info on how you could change it slightly to meet your needs, In theory I believe this should work but I suggest you try it yourself using temporary joins etc before installing into a guitar. ( I HAVE NOT DONE THIS MYSELF, AND CANNOT CONFIRM IT WILL WORK)

P.S- Make sure you have those leds wired up right, you may fry one if not - or they may not light if you do not know how to wire your leds correctly, remember if you plan on using leds that require less voltage/current than your power is providing then use a resistor( It's advisable to use a current limiting resistor anyway )

Edited June 3, 2006 by Sir_Lex

[lovekraft]

( I HAVE NOT DONE THIS MYSELF, AND CANNOT CONFIRM IT WILL WORK)

I'm fairly convinced it won't, at least as shown. The TIP31 is an NPN power transistor, and the P2 connector signal used to drive it in the article linked above is at line level, so I doubt seriously that even the strongest pickup(s) are going to be able to drive it satisfactorily. I haven't tried it either, nor will I, but a quick simulation run shows that even a 1 volt P-P signal will just barely turn the LEDs on, so builder beware - like most things, if it were that easy, everybody would already be doing it. Just my $.02 - as always, YMMV.

[Ben]

Some electronics supply sites sell 'sound to light' kits so maybe it would be possible to adapt one of them?

For example

[Pr3Va1L]

Well, you could have a preamp in front of it to make it line level, no?