moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 k, everyone got started talking about LED's and crazy things to do with 'em, and it inspired me. this would probably really freaking hard to do, then again, maybe not. but think of a mackie sound board. on the right side (or middle for big boards) they have all the group controls, master volume, etc, and the little LED strip for how many dB's you're pushing. maybe not in dB's, but have that same little LED meter happening on the guitar somewhere, the louder it is, the higher up the meter it goes. when natural gain starts to bite, have it go into the red, so it distorts, which is what happens on the mackies. overload = distortion. OK, i did the research, and this is the component you need: http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM3915.html im not an electronics whiz, so if someone could whip out a wiring diagram of how to set this up with a 9v battery, i would be much obliged. thanks for the idea StratDudeDan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 also, could i just wire this as a branch off of the output lead in my guitar? and what would i do if i need to increase the sensitivity of the device (if the guitar doesn't have strong enough output) I appreciate all your help. thanks a lot guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Ok, this is close, buy i dont understand exactly how a 9v battery could fit into the circuit. where would you wire it in? Thanks! Level indicator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Finally found the right one. i read that a 9v battery can be hacked. just one thing, im still not sure if i can just hook it up to the output in my guitar. it seems like you should be able to, since it has a built in preamp. http://www.hobbytron.net/CK324.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 what a great conversation im having with myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v210/ansil/bargraph.bmp it won't let me post that type of file.. even though its from a remote server.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 So will this work in the guitars internal circuitry even with passive pickups? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 I might have missed something, but are you using a distortion unit in the guitar as well? If you're just going for it as a cool effect (which I agree, it would be sweet!!) there won't actually be any 'clipping' going on when it goes into the red...? Or am I just missing something? Either way, it WOULD look pretty damn awesome on certain types of guitars to see some LED Volume indicators right on the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Thats correct. it wont do JACK except look really sweet. theyll be like "what are those for" and ill be like "just watch" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 yes it will work with passive pickups. the transistor is based around an lpb1 booster[linear primary booster] with the pot there being the drive pot to adjust the overall boost.. around 1.5 is unity.. so adjust so you get maximum sensitivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Wow that seems like a cool little mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted June 8, 2004 Report Share Posted June 8, 2004 question: would this work if one were to use different colored LED's, i.e. green for the bottom 5, yellow for 3, then the top two being red? this would just make it look like a "normal" dB meter. would there be a need to put resistors on them? if so, ~ what impedance on what color. if i did need resistors, would i need a power supply, then? or is this just one of those magical circuits i could never figure out in freshman electronics 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted June 8, 2004 Report Share Posted June 8, 2004 question: would this work if one were to use different colored LED's, i.e. green for the bottom 5, yellow for 3, then the top two being red? this would just make it look like a "normal" dB meter. would there be a need to put resistors on them? if so, ~ what impedance on what color. if i did need resistors, would i need a power supply, then? or is this just one of those magical circuits i could never figure out in freshman electronics 2? One pin changes the display from a bar graph to a moving dot display. LED current drive is regulated and programmable, eliminating the need for current limiting resistors. taken from the datasheet of the lm3915 http://cache.national.com/ds/LM/LM3915.pdf and yes you can use them although i would recomend keeping all leds the same size.. as the current is internally limited that will keep the leds looking aprodimately the same brightness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Yeah, i ordered some green and some yellow LEDs to replace some of those. Most of the other meters available are already colored, but i bought this one because of the preamp. thanks for the help ansil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hey, is there any particular way I should wire this to ensure that it doesn't disrupt the guitar's sound? Like, should the guitar output run through it, or should it be a separate branch of the output? Also, if i add a 2PDT will I need to add any resistors to prevent popping? Could I just use a regular toggle switch instead? Is there a way I can wire it so it doesn't effect the guitar's sound, and doesn't need shielding?? Thanks s lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 The way I see it (and i could be wrong, and I could even have misunderstood your post) but you'd have to run the guitar output through it, otherwise how would the meter work? Thats how I see it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Thanks. Well,, I know the output has to run to the in of the unit, but i wasn't sure if the unit's out has to run to the phono jack. Of course this could very well sound completely stupid to someone who knows what they're doing. So anyway, any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Right, i'm only guessing, here, but the output of this indicator is the LED's, so I would just say you'd have to ground it to the jack, but thats just a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 Im hoping itl be that simple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 10, 2004 Report Share Posted June 10, 2004 t's that simple! Just wire your hot wire from the output jack to the input of Ansil's circuit, and yer in bizniz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 A kit like this might be a quick way to get started. http://www.hobbytron.net/vk4304.html Or any of these: http://www.hobbytron.net/audiosub.html They've also got some cool "light organs" that respond to audio input (which don't have to be connected to the audio circuit). Now the next trick is to build the VU meter LEDs into your fretboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 That's what i just bought! Funny you mention the fretboard. I never would have thought of it, but that's the first thing my friend came up with when i told him the VU idea. Thanks for the input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted June 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 get it- input ill shut up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.