Fret Led Lights

[Grimzors]

Well heres another one for you guys, once again im new to this forum so hi all i was thinking about taking the fretboard off of the neck and putting LED lights in the position markers myself, now the thing is where can i buy the LED lights, how to wire them? i know a site that does it for you, but its in the damn UK, im in the US, FL. shipping my neck or guitar off would be alot of money, plus another $600 the ycharge you for the LED's and instalation, if anyone has any idea links etc, please post, thanks alot.

[Sambo]

Oi oi...

Enough with the 'damn uk'

LED's can be found pretty much anywhere. Wire them in series with a suitable resistor to a power source and voila.

S

[Batfink]

Errrr.....well you could have looked first

Pinned LED tutorial

Jem

[biliousfrog]

that link no longer works

[Batfink]

Sorry, i never checked the link as it worked when i read the tutorial earlier this year'ish.

Anyway, there's enough just reading the posts for him to get the jist of how it's done and to help him on his way and as Sambo said, LED's are available from any electrical hobby shop worldwide.

[Grimzors]

Hey, thanks for trying with that link man, but unfortunately it didnt work, i found this site that has a kit of fiber optics for the fret, which is amazing, and you can change the colors of it too, you get 4 colors, all you do is flip the switch around http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Guitar_frets.htm its pretty amazing but, it only shows the lights being put on the side markers and i want it on the face of the fretboard, that would be possible right? once again if any links or pics post e mup, thanks

[Batfink]

Oh it's more than possible, Hamer did it in the 80's as an option on various guitars i just don't know anybody apart from Martin (Sims) that majors on retro doing it although i know some people on here have done it on new builds.

Basically, and don't quote me on this as i've never done it, you install the face LED's much the same as position markers (from the back rather than the front) but i think the trick, so to speak, is how much of the top of the LED you can shave off to level it before it buggers it up. Sims site doesn't give a lot away as he always says that he doesn't take the fingerboard off and there have been various discussions about how he could actually do it without taking the board off.

Hopefully someone may have saved the tutorial that was up or now knows where it's gone to.

[biliousfrog]

This has got me all excited about LED's again so I've been looking at various bit's n' bobs that might work....here's what I was thinking:

install clear plastic position markers or inlays on the front of the board with reflective material behind them...then have fibre-optic cable carry light to the markers which should then bounce around within that material until it escapes out of the front (the only place that the light can go).

If that works, you could also have glowing inlays anywhere including the headstock logo.

[Grimzors]

This has got me all excited about LED's again so I've been looking at various bit's n' bobs that might work....here's what I was thinking:

install clear plastic position markers or inlays on the front of the board with reflective material behind them...then have fibre-optic cable carry light to the markers which should then bounce around within that material until it escapes out of the front (the only place that the light can go).

If that works, you could also have glowing inlays anywhere including the headstock logo.

Hmm, do you mean like line the fretboard underside with some metal reflective tape, that could work, the thing is idk if the fiberoptics give off that much light, but i mean if anyone thinks i can get the fiber optics to bend upwards let me know, i dont have any parts yet, but im working on getting my neck and the fiber optics soon.

[biliousfrog]

The fibre optics are just glass rods which carry the light...Use an ultra bright LED to supply the light & I'm fairly sure that it would be powerful enough. Some of the blue & white ones are really strong.

You wouldn't need to cover the whole of the fret board with reflective material, just the bottom of the markers would suffice. Then have a fibre-optic rod join the clear material from the side or bottom...side would be simpler as the rods are not very flexible.

[Grimzors]

Thing is i dont know how to get a whole LED setup, like wit hpower module, plus the fiber optics can change to a color if you want, what i think i can do is put relfective tape around the inlay hole on the very inside along the wall of the hole, then run the optic cable to the hole so it relfects off the sides and out...?

[Doeringer]

Grimz,

Did you notice that everyone that answerd was in the "Damn" UK.

Right helpful lads, wouldn't you say?

[Grimzors]

Hey dude, damn is not like a bad word or i was cursing them or something, i was just saying it because tis damn far, lol thats all, sorry if i caused any offense.

[Grimzors]

Any Tutorials??? please

[Grimzors]

K well, i think i will result to use LED lights, some that can maybe change color with the push of a button maybe? or just any LED lights, does anyone have any idea how i could wire them? and how i could attach the 9v battery to the wire...? please help thanks

[Grimzors]

Does anyone know how to wire LED lights, plus add the 9v battery as the power source? any tutorials, or pictures?

[lovekraft]

Any Tutorials??? please

Why, yes! Oddly enough, located in the Electronic Tutorials & Reference section. Pinned right up at the top so you can find it without even using the search engine!!!

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=10291

...i think i will result to use LED lights, some that can maybe change color with the push of a button maybe?

Read the tutorial, decide exactly what you want to do, and there are plenty of people who'll be happy to help you. This project is probably a bit more difficult than you imagine, and might not be the place to start, given your obvious lack of familiarity with general electronics, but if you decide you can handle it, best of luck!

[Grimzors]

Hey thanks alot lovekraft

[A different Brian.]

...um, excuse me. The tutorial link in that topic doesn't work. It's now an Earthlink error page. I'd love to see this tutorial, too. Does anyone have this copied somewhere?

[Bizzar_Guitars]

Hey Grimzors,

Here's how I did it on my last one:

My way of doing LED's

Here's a cool site that allows you to design your LED array:

LED series/parallel array wizard

Hope that helps.

Ciao,

Garth

[JTech]

how many leds??? if u use a 9v battery power source u could use 3 leds in series like so...

that is if each led uses 3v to light up.if it uses 3.3 its ok it will still light up.

now if u use more leds u will need higher power source. this circuit is a series circuit.

you can also make a parallel circuit. you could use more leds in that circuit with a 9v source.

if you want more info go to this site.Metkumods

i think it will really answer all your questions.

[Grimzors]

Hey, thanks for that, Bizzar_guitars the 1st link is a bit helpful, though i dont plan on replacing the fretboard, im going to try to keep that part simple, the pictures were good but idk if it was detailed enough, and some more pics would help too, also i didnt get in the 2nd link was, Source voltage, diode forward voltage, diode forward current , if someone could put that in english? thanks again for the help bizzare

[lovekraft]

If you're going to run LEDs (or strings of LEDs) in parallel, the only safe way to do so is to use a separate current limiting resistor for each LED to avoid cascading failure of the whole string.

It's probably also a good idea to use a pair of AA cells or similar, since they're smaller, and offer much longer battery life than 9 volts. You'll need to recalculate the resistor(s) for the voltage fo the battery/batteries you choose - Lithium Ion and other long-life cellular batteries could also be used. If nay of that's unclear, feel fre to ask for clarification.

[Grimzors]

damn dude what youre talking is like freaking algebra or something man, i plan to use 10 LED lights, probably 1 or 2 mm, what power source can i use to make all of them run, they dont have to like pop bright, but just that its noticable, and what do i have to attach the LED lights to exactly? can someone like name all the parts i need, so maybe i can head to home depot or some electric store and purchase all the things i need? thanks

[Batfink]

Grimzors, wander into your local Radio Shack ( i think that's the US equivalent of UK's Maplin's) and tell the guy at the parts counter what you want to do and how you want to power it and he'll be able to just give you what you want - and for probably around $10-20 all in - then go home and have a play. I'm saying this because i don't fully understand electronics but when i've done a couple of projects for my son for school or whatever i've found it easier to work out with the gear in front of me (basically by trial and error) than stare at internet posts and diagrams.

Jem

PS: do NOT try this approach with ANYTHING connected to mains electricity !