guitar with built in effects

[karpathion]

so i'm sitting in from of a broken ts-808. i've pulled it apart, and i'm trying to fix it. well the funniest thing passed thruogh my mind. i don't think it's impossible to put this chip in my guitars signal path. i mean how cool would it be to have a guitar where you could push a button and have an awsome ovedrive built right in. now i know this has kinda been done before. i had a cort effector that had a **** ton of built in effects, but it's not the same. i'm talking about putting in a GOOD effect. you could use a good chourus pedel, overdrive, compressor, anything you wanted. i mean it's nothing to put in a battery cavity. and you could put the controls somewhere on the rear of the front of the body to keep them out of the way. i know by looking at the tech. that it's possible. why has noone cashed in on this yet. it may seem stupid but i have an old ds-1 i wouldn't mind trying this with. anyone have any idea where to start. i've got a cheap guitar and a whole lot of time on my hands. any help or advise on this venture would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Travis H]

Re: guitar with built in effects

been done my friend I think roland made an sg with all that stuff in it

 

[karpathion]

Re: guitar with built in effects

been done my friend I think roland made an sg with all that stuff in it

yes, but i'm talking about using tried and true stompbox chips here. not a digital processor. i'm thinking of a real 808 chip. it's one less pedal to worry about plus it would be one hell of a conversation starter. i mean come on. just say it with me. i have a gibson les paul custom with a built in o.c.d. that just sounds awsome.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: guitar with built in effects

originally done in the 60's...gibson built the maestro fuzz into a double-neck six string guitar / four-string bass SG whose exact model name escapes me at the moment.

yes, that does sound like something i would dream up.

no, i did not dream it up. it's real and it's fantastic.

 

[Frazer Stockton]

Re: guitar with built in effects

Makes me think of Matt Bellamy's guitar (from Muse) .... Some amazing modifications and built in effects controls that guy has. I think it was Manson who custom built his guitars.

 

[Pontiac Jack]

Re: guitar with built in effects

Burns did it in the 60's as well. The Effector???? or The Modulator???
Modules screwed into the front of the thing. It wasn't pretty !

A Japanese mob called MPC did it in the 70's. The modules snapped into the back of LP style axes.
They sponsored that stillborn project featuring Leslie West and Steve Marriott.

Cheers,PJ

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: guitar with built in effects

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: guitar with built in effects

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[sosomething]

Re: guitar with built in effects

ALso check out the Bilt Revelator guitar. I think PG reviewed it this month...

 

[karpathion]

Re: guitar with built in effects

wow i had no idea this was even an option. this new tech i found is gonna love me. i'm gonna keep him busy. i'll let you guys know how this comes out. i'm gonna try a cheaper pedal to start with but if it works out pretty well, i'll go over to something like a 808.

 

[Travis H]

Re: guitar with built in effects

yes, but i'm talking about using tried and true stompbox chips here. not a digital processor. i'm thinking of a real 808 chip. it's one less pedal to worry about plus it would be one hell of a conversation starter. i mean come on. just say it with me. i have a gibson les paul custom with a built in o.c.d. that just sounds awsome.

Oh i see what you mean now yeah dude thats going to be sick !!

 

[blueman335]

Re: guitar with built in effects

It's easier, and more seamless, to step on a pedal when you're playing, than to use your hand and interrupt your playing. That's why pedals are so popular. Do you want your gas pedal & brake on your car to be hand operated?

Plus, when you what to change effects, it's infinitely easier to unplug an old pedal and plug in a new one, than take all that stuff out of your guitar. You're reversing years of progress.

 

[karpathion]

Re: guitar with built in effects

It's easier, and more seamless, to step on a pedal when you're playing, than to use your hand and interrupt your playing. That's why pedals are so popular. Do you want your gas pedal & brake on your car to be hand operated?

Plus, when you what to change effects, it's infinitely easier to unplug an old pedal and plug in a new one, than take all that stuff out of your guitar. You're reversing years of progress.

well, i don't see it myself as reversing progress. i'm just looking at having a little more versitile guitar. overdrive is probably the most used effect out there. just say you have your guitar with you at a party, but no effects board. there just happens to be a p.a. system or something there. i've been in situations like this where everyone want's you play something. well it would have been nice and usefull to have a mod like this.

 

[ricc]

Re: guitar with built in effects

the other guitarist in my band has an Electra Outlaw that has those MPC circuits in. It has a treble booster and a phaser in it. Sounds good.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: guitar with built in effects

It's easier, and more seamless, to step on a pedal when you're playing, than to use your hand and interrupt your playing. That's why pedals are so popular. Do you want your gas pedal & brake on your car to be hand operated?

Plus, when you what to change effects, it's infinitely easier to unplug an old pedal and plug in a new one, than take all that stuff out of your guitar. You're reversing years of progress.

+2. I considered doing this kind of mod on a guitar once, but came to this same conclusion as Blueman...too inconvenient to use, to much work to change, probably more expensive (considering tech charges).

Stick with your feet to do effects. Your hands already have too much to do.

 

[blueman335]

Re: guitar with built in effects

well, i don't see it myself as reversing progress. i'm just looking at having a little more versitile guitar. overdrive is probably the most used effect out there. just say you have your guitar with you at a party, but no effects board. there just happens to be a p.a. system or something there. i've been in situations like this where everyone want's you play something. well it would have been nice and usefull to have a mod like this.

There are good overdrive pedals that are small and lightweight enough to fit in a guitar case. I have a SansAmp British pedal that I'll take anywhere that I might have to use someone else's amp. I know I can always get good overdrive tones from it. You've got a complicated solution to a simple problem.

 

[blueman335]

Re: guitar with built in effects

+1. Your hands are busy, and your feet aren't doing much of anything (except tapping off beat). Why give the hands more to do and the feet less?

How many of us have a few pedals or a pedal board? How many of those can you fit inside a guitar? Let's say you want to change your sounds and add a different or better pedal. Switching a pedal inside a pedal board takes seconds; if you have a pedal or two hard-wired inside your guitar, changes ain't so easy.

What if a pedal shorts out or has some other issue? That would put your guitar completely out of commission. Pedals & boards can be plugged into an outlet, so you always have a reliable power source. If they're built into a guitar, it's battery-city only baby, and they can crap out at the worst times.

I just can't see any tangible benefit to on-board effects, certainly not enough to justify giving up the flexibility of floor pedals.

 

[karpathion]

Re: guitar with built in effects

+1. Your hands are busy, and your feet aren't doing much of anything (except tapping off beat). Why give the hands more to do and the feet less?

How many of us have a few pedals or a pedal board? How many of those can you fit inside a guitar? Let's say you want to change your sounds and add a different or better pedal. Switching a pedal inside a pedal board takes seconds; if you have a pedal or two hard-wired inside your guitar, changes ain't so easy.

What if a pedal shorts out or has some other issue? That would put your guitar completely out of commission. Pedals & boards can be plugged into an outlet, so you always have a reliable power source. If they're built into a guitar, it's battery-city only baby, and they can crap out at the worst times.

I just can't see any tangible benefit to on-board effects, certainly not enough to justify giving up the flexibility of foor pedals.

i dunno, it seems like a cool thing to have on my guitar. seems fun. plus it keeps me busy for a little while. i've got a old jackson thats been tortured paint wise. seemed like a cool mod i could do myself. make a true custom guitar. and as long as its a true bypass if it goes bad i can just leave it, and buy a new pedal. buy them i'll probably come up with some other stupid idea to mod a guitar, and change it anyways. i'm just havin' fun.

 

[Warheart]

Re: guitar with built in effects

Could be good if you had certain knobs that you wanted control over.

EMG also does gain boosters and EQ's, active electronics are also a good way to prevent signal loss, by lowering the impedence. Jackson did this in the 80's as well.

I could see it being especially useful if you had all true bypass effects, but, then, your distortion/gain is at the start of the chain.

For full blown time based effects, I dunno, they are usually bigger than a regular control cavity, and I you probably wouldn't want them at the start of the chain either.

I like the idea... get a tube OD and put that in your guitar.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: guitar with built in effects

I think it's an ok idea...stomps are great, but if you're on the other side of the stage, and need the boost, it would be nice to hit it with a switch...just make sure the other throw of the switch is true bypass.