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OliSam
22-11-2018, 05:40 AM
Hi guys. I was just scouring the jaycar site and noticed these pedal kits and thought it would be pretty groovy to slot something like this under the pick guard of a build.
What do you think of having a sustain unit on the pick guard?
Has anyone done anything like this before???

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181121/7eb6db23770d7af60b2acf5c95be79a1.jpg


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FrankenWashie
22-11-2018, 06:31 AM
Kooky!
There's some cool stuff out there to fiddle with at the moment. It would be very cool to mount one but the orientation of things on that board may make it challenging. Possible a strip and rebuild it job to make it work?

OliSam
22-11-2018, 06:37 AM
Yep FW.
That’s what I was thinking. You know- mounting the switches to the pick guard and extending the wiring so the board could be screwed to the body underneath.



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Marcel
22-11-2018, 11:51 AM
The first one is a basic compressor circuit, the second is almost tube screamer-ish type overdrive... It's a buggar that the boards are sized for Jaycar plastic boxes instead of the die cast boxes or small enough to hide inside a build...

I suppose some could Frankenstein it and mount a modified board where it could be seen...

OliSam
22-11-2018, 12:24 PM
The first one is a basic compressor circuit, the second is almost tube screamer-ish type overdrive... It's a buggar that the boards are sized for Jaycar plastic boxes instead of the die cast boxes or small enough to hide inside a build...

I suppose some could Frankenstein it and mount a modified board where it could be seen...

Don’t you mean FrankenWashie it?[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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FrankenWashie
22-11-2018, 12:30 PM
Don’t you mean FrankenWashie it?[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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Oh please don't tempt Igor, it's hard enough keeping him at bay (or away from eBay) now.

corsair
22-11-2018, 01:44 PM
You know, Electra had the MPC - Modular Powered Circuit - circuits in some of their guitars in the late 70s/early 80s with a selection of effects like a compressor and distortion plus others.

http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/modules.php

I find the concept interesting, but not interesting enough to actually buy one!!

dave.king1
22-11-2018, 02:22 PM
Shergold had swappable modules in their rather brilliantly named Modulator guitars

dave.king1
22-11-2018, 02:23 PM
To add, the Shergolds were also in the 70s.

Andyxlh
22-11-2018, 05:10 PM
I have a 'final build' planned with a Pandora multi-effects unit, 20W amp and speakers all built into a scratchplate strat travel guitar project. I have all of the bits except the guitar kit, I'd not bother with the small effects unless you know they are really good sounding, the matchbox sized multi effects give a lot more bang for your buck, and a lot more to play with.

Fretworn
22-11-2018, 05:14 PM
Frank Zappa had effects built into his SG. Matt Bellamy has ZVex Fuzz Factorys built into some of his guitars. It’s definitely been done before. And I’m pretty sure Guitar Fetish sells effects especially designed to fit into guitars.

Simon Barden
22-11-2018, 05:21 PM
It's probably worth buying and making any unit you might want to try and fit into a guitar as a pedal first, just to see if you like it and its not too noisy etc. Just because it exists doesn't mean that it's going to be a great sounding effect unit. There are thousands of compressor effects boxes out there.

Note that both of those units are designed for a +12v DC supply, so a 9v battery won't do. You could probably change some of the components to allow for for 9v operation, but you'd need to feel confident about doing so or get some help from the electronics wizards around the forum. You'd also need to modify the power switching circuit so that the 0V line from the battery was switched using a TRS jack socket.

On the compressor, I'd be temped to bring VR3 out (threshold control) as a separate front-mounted pot.

On both units, the effect's electronics would also be permanently in circuit, so your guitar would have a buffered output with the effect switched off. There is nothing wrong with that provided the buffer is audibly neutral, but some circuits do knock-off some treble ('tone suck'), so again, a good reason for making a standard kit first. A clean buffer with a low impedance output will make the guitar almost immune from the effects of long guitar cables.

If you didn't like the sound when in bypass, then you have the option of fitting a true bypass switch which will cut out the circuit altogether. To do this you really need a triple pole double throw switch; something like this: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1341144/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Switches-_-Toggle_Switches_And_Accessories%7CToggle_Switches-_-PRODUCT_GROUP&matchtype=&pla-431787831057&s_kwcid=AL!7457!3!243856896383!!!g!431787831057!&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxNnfBRDwARIsAJlH29Cv8P__46QJD1an3e9r djv0Ut5mpEb675L3E9nwuQcrlazIWgUjjx8aAushEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds (https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/1341144/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Switches-_-Toggle_Switches_And_Accessories%7CToggle_Switches-_-PRODUCT_GROUP&matchtype=&pla-431787831057&s_kwcid=AL!7457!3!243856896383!!!g!431787831057!&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxNnfBRDwARIsAJlH29Cv8P__46QJD1an3e9r djv0Ut5mpEb675L3E9nwuQcrlazIWgUjjx8aAushEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)

Guitars with built-in effects have popped up from time to time since the mid-1960s. Here's an article covering 5 of them: https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/5-classic-electric-guitars-with-built-in-effects-616185

JohnH
22-11-2018, 05:34 PM
I've been thinking about onboard effects for my WL, though I mostly just want fuzz. I looked at some of the guitarfetish ones but I think I'll probably try to make my own based on a couple of the fuzz pedals I built.

Andy40
02-12-2018, 04:36 PM
Hi Oli, I actually built this compressor from Jaycar. It was a good learning project.:cool:
Drawbacks:-:eek:
1.the PCB is massive and wont fit in an enclosure easily; and
2. It needs 12v to run the circuit, not 9v

actually all of the Short Circuit Guitar pedal clones need 12v to run.