Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have seen one ...and it is good

I'm imagining a 330 LS on a guitar with a white finish.

Having a TRC that matches the guards is a nice touch Paul!

squid wrote:Is it true that certain lights only ignite if certain frequencies are played? I've got the impression that blue lights flash for bass, yellow for mid, and red for treble, but I don't know if that's real or just some myth I've picked up somewhere.

John, if you watch the video above, you'll see that it's exactly the case.

Paul, that TRC idea was Kenny's (and possibly JH's) as that's how he has his original LS tricked out.

George, you saw it before I had the sensitivity control installed. Now, it's possible to really dial it in!

Paul, what's the resistance value of the sensitivity potentiometer?

Another thing I noticed was that the "light panels" aren't very "thick" ... could a solidbody like a 620 be routed shallow to accommodate the lights without compromising structural integrity? (Yes, I know a wiring channel or tunnel would be needed between top and bottom routs.)

Gary, it's 1 megohm, audio taper. The sensitivity pot on an original 331LS is 25Kohm, audio taper. But it works differently.

I don't know what you mean by "panels aren't very thick". They are the same thickness as an original LS, .125" acrylic with the swirly lens adding another .025" to the thickness. They go on on top of the body, as do those on an original. The limiting factor in the whole shebang is the thickness of the stuffed circuit board, which won't clear the pot bottoms on a solid body Rick--it's a smidge too thin. But I'm working on a solution to this.

That is really sweet!!

jingle_jangle wrote:Gary, it's 1 megohm, audio taper. The sensitivity pot on an original 331LS is 25Kohm, audio taper ...

Is the value the same for both the Type I and Type II LS circuits? The one on my Type I is only 4.6 kOhm, so I'm thinking that it's a replacement.

jingle_jangle wrote:... I don't know what you mean by "panels aren't very thick" ...

I meant that with the lights attached to the plastic (instead of being mounted on separate circuit boards on the body), they take up less room than the LS original configuration (panels + circuit board) does.

jingle_jangle wrote:... the stuffed circuit board, which won't clear the pot bottoms on a solid body Rick--it's a smidge too thin. But I'm working on a solution to this ...

Could the circuit board be located under the upper-horn panel where there would be no pots interfering?

doctorwho wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote:Gary, it's 1 megohm, audio taper. The sensitivity pot on an original 331LS is 25Kohm, audio taper ...

Is the value the same for both the Type I and Type II LS circuits? The one on my Type I is only 4.6 kOhm, so I'm thinking that it's a replacement.

jingle_jangle wrote:... I don't know what you mean by "panels aren't very thick" ...

I meant that with the lights attached to the plastic (instead of being mounted on separate circuit boards on the body), they take up less room than the LS original configuration (panels + circuit board) does.

jingle_jangle wrote:... the stuffed circuit board, which won't clear the pot bottoms on a solid body Rick--it's a smidge too thin. But I'm working on a solution to this ...

Could the circuit board be located under the upper-horn panel where there would be no pots interfering?

I'll re-check the values on BOTH the Type 2s I have in right now...one could be a replacement. But the circuits on the two Types do differ.

The issue with lamps clearing the underside of the plastic is different with my SS than it is with an original. At least on a Type 2, the bulbs sit high on PC board sockets which themselves waste almost 1/4" of space under each bulb. Add the height of the original, lozenge-shaped bulb, and you're nearly touching the plastic Rowlux. The circuit boards on the Type 2 are 2mm thick glass fiber, screwed to the back of the guitar body.

With my SS version, the 5mm hi-intensity LEDs are only 6mm high, added to the 3mm thick mirrored acrylic backing. Total about .375" high. The circuit boards, stuffed, are about 12mm tall, plus 1.5mm for the board and .5 mm for solder clearance on the back. On a 330 there is about 1" clear space inside the guitar to the underside of the Rowlux. There's not a clearance problem except at the board. I have a much more elegant solution devised for the board clearance problem. With this solution, I can now place LEDs around the pots to eliminate the dead spot in the prototype guitar (seen in my avatar and video).

Thanks, Paul!

Any chance of getting a bulb or two under that custom TRC???

Working on it.

jingle_jangle wrote:Working on it.

No f'ing way.

OK, I'm not working on it.

Phew! That's a load off...

I'd do a light-up fret board except for two things...

1. I'd have to get rid of all that beautiful and unique varnished wood.

2. It's bad taste...

Now, if Doctor No would just get on the stick and invent light-up wood...

jingle_jangle wrote:OK, I'm not working on it.

Phew! That's a load off...

Obviously it would require some wiring leads being fished through the TR tunnel, and possible some slight hollowing out of the headstock under the TRC(but not to the extent that the headstock is weakened, of course) to make room for the LEDs under the TRC. How one would effectively execute this is another matter entirely!

Figure out how to use the voltage-activated glowing sheet plastic behind the sparklie inlays....