Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

jingle_jangle wrote:Said like a true crazy inventor!!! I like this out of the box thinking, and it almost seems like it would work, too... except I think that using the strings as a ground is possibly not doable. But I'm going to mock this up and if it works, it'll turn up on my prototype next!

All you need is a brass nut for the ground.

-cj

...which is what makes me hesitate. I do not like brass nuts. There are other ways (a bit more complex) of achieving the same, though...

jingle_jangle wrote: I do not like brass nuts.

Thats easy for you to say living in Scotland's freezing! and Brass nuts are a plenty here

jingle_jangle wrote:...which is what makes me hesitate. I do not like brass nuts. There are other ways (a bit more complex) of achieving the same, though...

I figured you'd say that, it would work, but there are other issues.

Another thought, which might be of no value as I've never had truss rods out of a Rick, is there any extra room in the channels for the truss rods? If so, it might be possible to run some fine wire in the same channel, something like 30ga wire wrap wire. It's got a pretty tough insulation and would handle the current for a couple of LEDs.

-cj

jingle_jangle wrote:...which is what makes me hesitate. I do not like brass nuts. There are other ways (a bit more complex) of achieving the same, though...

Grounding one of the tuner collars in the same way a Les Paul tailpiece stud is done would be simple and effective - unless that particular string broke! I would probably use the low E tuner anyway since it's closest to the cavity, and it's the least likely to break. You could always do more than one if playing on with lights after a low E string break is a serious consideration though!

I like the idea of running very fine wires up the truss rod channels too - that way you could have as many connections as you need within reason. Will #44 pickup coil wire handle a couple of mA? I would think so although I've never tried it. The difficulty is leading the wires out from the tunnels at each end without getting them trapped under the pressure of the rods, which would almost certainly damage the wire insulation even if it didn't actually cut the wire.

cjj wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote:...which is what makes me hesitate. I do not like brass nuts. There are other ways (a bit more complex) of achieving the same, though...

I figured you'd say that, it would work, but there are other issues.

Another thought, which might be of no value as I've never had truss rods out of a Rick, is there any extra room in the channels for the truss rods? If so, it might be possible to run some fine wire in the same channel, something like 30ga wire wrap wire. It's got a pretty tough insulation and would handle the current for a couple of LEDs.

-cj

The idea of running thin wire in the truss rod channels has been discussed in a previous LS thread in this Forum.

I use 30 gauge stranded, Teflon-jacketed wire, color-coded, already, for the LED wiring in the body. Much more durable than wire wrap wiring (which is solid-core). And, yes, there is a problem with a pinch point at both ends of the channel, but the problem is most severe at the body end. Not insurmountable, though.

Scotty, I made the "brass nuts" comment and let it stand because I knew you wouldn't be able to resist.

Actually, we've been discussing what's essentially a brute-force approach to lighting the name plate. It you go to the trouble of isolating the 2 truss rods, then all you really need are these 2 "wires" and you can light any number of LEDs in whatever patterns you'd like. It just takes a bit of extra circuitry at each end. It's amazing what you can do when you only have 2 wires to work with.

Another interesting mod for light shows (perhaps this too has been discussed elsewhere) would be to use single package RGB LEDs instead of individual colors. Then, essentially, the whole guitar would shift colors instead of separate areas lighting up.

-cj

CJ, I was thinking about the same thing, using multi-color LEDs in the array. The visual possibilities would increase dramatically.