Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

J

joegore

Tone Fiend in Residence
Anyone else a fan of this particular poison? Or is only for weirdos with too much time on their hands?

Either way, I've posted a new tutorial walking you through the process. It explains how to do things like . . . putting a ferocious fuzz inside a Hello Kitty guitar. Or more normal stuff, like a nice clean boost for single-coil guitars.

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Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

I've thought about it with one of my old MIJ cheapo basses. I wanted a fuzz tone at the push of a button. I decided in the end that it wasn't a good idea to have an effect that was dedicated to just one instrument, plus the annoyance of having multiple knobs added to the instrument.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

The only effect I'd ever put inside a guitar would be some kind of active EQ (mid boost, etc.)

I prefer to be able to use my effects with any of my guitars, rather than limit them to one.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

Fwiw, Brian May put a Vox Distortion Booster in the RS in the early days - you can hear it used on the Smile stuff and even the first Queen album (songs like 'Jesus'). You can also see in early photos the red slider switch used to activate it. After he got into AC30s and treble boosters, he ditched it.

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Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

MetalManiac said:
how was it? I could probably get ti for 200 bucks.
Click to expand...

It had a fat neck. I didn't know anything about guitars back then. I traded it for a Hondo II lester copy, after about 3 months. I do remember that the chorus button didn't work. That's the most I could tell you about it.

I gave $75 for mine in 1993.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

IRRC, Schecter built a custom Tempest guitar for the guitarist that plays in nine inch nails and it had a wah circuit in it with a knob for adjustment.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

Matt Bellamy from Muse has built in effect on most of his guitars. Usually a ZVEX Fuzz Factory or MXR Phase 90. May want to check out some vids on youtube.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

I had one of those Effectors for a brief time. It was so old the board was pretty much shot, and the effects weren't all that great.

I'd prefer something like a PocketPOD mounted in a guitar, though. Better tones, but it'd need a faster preset switching system. Maybe a floor pedal and 2-in-1 cable that did MIDI and signal, but then, you end up better off just getting a rack or floor unit, or a mini-amp for travel purposes.

Jackson used to do built-in effects, but only a gain boost and mid-sweep. Basses got a 2 or 3-band EQ setup. The mid-sweep was nice as a pretend-wah, but you needed to stop picking to use it, so it wasn't as practical as a floor wah. Mostly it was to shift the mids for solos, after which you'd just cut it off for rhythm.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

Session guitarists might like a built in pitch shifter; no need to re-learn songs in different keys. Works like a capo, only you still have the whole neck.

"Oh, you guys play that song in Eb? No problem" [Turns knob on guitar. Visibly plays in E but sound is Eb]
 
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Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

The guy from Muse does it.

I played around with the idea in the past, but decided not to cut up my guitar ro house the electronics and 9V battery of a pedal.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

There is no situation where an effect inside a guitar is superior to one inside a pedal.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

I built a Strat into a stomp box.

Electra guitars back in the '70s had a series of instruments with inbuilt effects. Their regular guitars were regularly advertised in Guitar Player magazine, endorsed by Elvin Bishop and his guitarist Johnny 'Vee' Vernaza.

On a couple of occasions I had onboard, single-transistor boosters i built into guitars, but i've never been a fan of having to have batteries onboard. I always found the old Epiphone (I think) guitar and amp, where the amp controls were on the guitar, to be interesting, although obviously kinda limiting.

overall, this has been a less-than-average post from me, with not much point. I give it 4/10, and don't expect it to advance to the semi-final.
 
Re: Installing Effects INSIDE a Guitar or Bass

I could see putting my favorite boost circuit in one. It would be no more difficult than using the pickup switch on the guitar. Press a button anywhere on the stage while you're away from the board, and you get solo tone.
 
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