Illuminated pickguard

[sztriki]

Hi all, apologies if this is not in the right section of the forum, but wasn’t sure...

I’m planning to add some lights to a strat pickguard as I like to mess around with LEDs. I found a photo of a lit pickguard that is exactly what I’d like:

 

This was apparently made by a company called aurora project but their website seems to be down and all info on them is ages old, safe to assume they’re no longer around. Any ideas how a similar effect can be achieved? I basically want the outline of the pg to glow, I saw a tutorial using EL wire but that’s not bright enough and it can’t run on batteries. I was thinking of ising a clear pg, then putting LEDs in the cavities and adding a layer of reflective tape on top of the pg facing downwards so that the pg surface is basically masked and the tape would disperse the light to the clear edges but there’s hardly any space in the cavities of an SSS strat body. Doubt that would give the desired effect. Anyone knows how this aurora project pg works?

Thanks!

[Bizman62]

I don't know about the electronics involved, but I know something about transfering light inside clear plastic.

The light wants to follow the shape and come out where the shape is cut. You can take a clear plastic rod and tie it to a knot, still if you have a lamp at one end the light will mostly come out from the other end! Same goes with flat pieces, illuminate one spot and the entire edge will light up.

That fretboard looks like a laminate of a clear and solid coloured plastic, the latter being on top. It's hard to tell how many light sources there is and how they're positioned, but even one single LED placed in a drilled hole in the middle can do a lot in the darkness. Notice that if you drill a hole on a flat board, the walls of that hole (or gap) will be parallel to the outer rim so the light can flow between the large flat surfaces. Most likely there's a few more there as the pickups may cast a shadow.

Also note that LED's don't actually glow sideways! So you'll have to place the LED's so that they face the edge rather than the top, either at locations on the edge or in a cavity drilled somewhere in the middle of the plate.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Bizman62

[Bizman62]

See how a single LED glows all around the edge of a CD disk!

Edited November 14, 2019 by Bizman62

[sztriki]

Thanks, that's really helpful! I managed to find some blurb from a 2008 post on another forum:

"Made from 3mm acrylic which is 1 mm thicker than a standard scrachplate with a full metal backing to prevent any interference, it is easy to change them over, powered by a 9 volt pp3 battery (which is included in the price) and can be hidden in the control cavity under the plate in most Strat type guitars. These plates are not back lit , all the components are in the plate (except the switch) , giving you a light all around the plate and screw holes . The plates come in a variety of colours , Blue , Green , Red , White , Amber or a combination of 2 or more . And if that's not enough we even do one that flashes ( click the pictures to see our full range). No need to cut or route your prize axe , no need to solder any wires (this only applies to most strats and P basses), simple to install . The light shines out from the edges and can be clearly seen from all angles."

I imagine that the edges are outlines and the actual opaque pickuard is a top veneer so the lights are in a sort of hollow area. I'll play with some perspex pieces and LEDs to see if it's feasable at home.

 

[mistermikev]

if you go look at "led light base" for pedals... sm concept will work.  I've done this a number of time (for pedals).  Take an led and sand the top of it flat and right up to the contacts.  Then use a clear pickguard, put some design/sticker on the back side of it... everywhere but where the led will be glued to it.  This will make the light only go out the sides. 

Leds go thru batteries fast... so you'll want to use the biggest resistor possible - just test it out.  with a water clear led you could probably go 12k.  also, might want to put in a push/pull switch so you can turn it off. 

(probably place the led right under the knobs so it doesn't shine right where the led is)

[Bizman62]

If memory serves me right the simple LED strips can be cut in series of three. The fancy inexpensive "party light" LED strips can even have a remote control for changing the colour and flashing modes! Modifying one of those might work well enough. Then again the actual LED panels are very small  so attaching a couple of them on the side of the plate requires minimal fitting.

Note that LED's work with 5 Volts or rather below. The CD in my image was illuminated by the signal LED of my headphone amplifier so supposedly you wouldn't need more than a couple of LED's to light a scratchplate to the level shown in your example. As for battery drain choose ones that don't use much power. You're not illuminating, just accentuating. My battery powered amp has a signal LED and the six AA's last for half a year of my playing. And I guess the amp section is more power hungry there!