DIY FoF Guitar Controller - Part VI "Full Function"

DIY FoF Guitar Controller - Part V "Controller Install"

Testing switches







Controller 'installed'. The switches I directly wired to individual row-col circuits of the keyboard controller. The four wires are the USB cord.

FoF Guitar Controller - Part IV 'Assembly'

Fret switches snap into groves I cut into MDF body. The common wire is pinched between the contact and the grove walls.












Guitar Head - Fret switches assembly complete








Wire routed to controller recess. Tested switches with continuity tester.

DIY Frets on Fire Guitar Controller - Part III Bill of Materials

Last spring, In the best of engineering tradition I procrastinated and did not finish my FoF guitar.. something about the idea of 'this is as clever as it will ever be'. Something many hobbiest suffer from I think. (my ratio of projects started, to being completed is about 10:1).

In the interim we moved to a new area into a new, albeit smaller house, with far less room for 'bits'.

Ok, I guess I'll finish what I start.




- the whole 'kit' left over from last Spring. The Guitar body is made of 1/2 inch MDF. The front panel/cover I cut from plexiglass.




Last spring I initialy used a breadboarded circuit with a Max USB integrated controller and a PIC microcontroller as the proc. Twelve bugs latter I decided to run to Circuit City and buy a USB keyboard and 're-task' the circuit board.



One of my complaints about the 'Guitar Hero' controllers is the plastic tactile switches they use for frets. I thought there are many better, slightly more expensive, choices.

I picked out a industrial lever action switch designed for god knows what. (probably mechanical gate/material sensors)


Close up of the kit.





Bill of Materials (draft)

Item Desc Desc Source Price Qty
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keyboard Controller USB Keyboard Circuit City $15 1
Fret Switches 'Big' lever things BG Micro $3.5 5
Alt Strum Switch 'little' lever BG Micro $1.25 1
Primary Strum Switch Reed Switch BG Micro $2 1
Conductive Wire 28 AWG Radio Shack $6 2
Guitar Body 1/2" MDF Home Depot $5 1
Scratch guard Plexiglass Home Depot $5 1
Misc hardware wood screws,etc. Home Depot $3 N/A
Strap TBD

DIY Guitar Controller Build Part II

I've completed the firmware & circuit fabrication for the guitar (will post details later). Becca and I have been using it for a week-or-so now. This weekend I had to take the difficult step to take it all apart so I could finish it properly.

I decided to paint my guitar body "royale blue" and the rest of it "delorean grey".

Started 'carving' Becca's guitar. She's picking out heart shaped buttons and glitter...yikes.

Becca Plays Guitar Hero (sort-of)

Guitar (hero) Controller Build Part I

I blame this project on Mark and April, who introduced us to Guitar Hero (simular to DDR, only with a guitar-ish-like-device).

I thought it would be easier to build a home-brew controller that worked with both PS2/Xbox360 as well as the PC. Of course there is no product offering of Guitar Hero for PC, so in that situation it would be used with the open source equivalient, Frets-of-Fire.

Frets of fire can import the songs and tabulator meta-data from the PS2 Guitar Hero II DVD to suppliment the few songs it 'ships' with.


The first step was to develop the basic chassis shape for the guitar. I took the exceptional easy way out and used my bass guitar body as a template. I then redesigned the neck to be shorter with a large head shaped to received the large lever-action switches I purchased.




The material is 3/4" MDF board. It is easy to work with and relatively light weight.

I'm pleased enough with the shape that I will end up using the same template mesh for future guitars (Becca wants one and I'll likely make a couple more to play with different input technologies).











Here the Guitar head was cut to recieve the lever switches. It took some experimentation the desired spacing and depth.






The switches are modular and fit into a groove cut into the Guitar chassis. As you can see here the common-wire is inserted through the hole of the male-terminal which is then pressed into the narrow groove (tight enough to hold the wire in good fashion).




The switch-output wires are crimped with female terminal plugs.







The fascia plate-thingy (anyone know what this is called?) was cut free-hand and will contain all the controllers (power/volume/wammy) as well as the usb/ps2 plug and struming-device.





I was planning on embedding the cord-switch buttons into the back of the neck, but while I was building the guitar it occured to me that they should be run down the front like strings of a real guitar.




All the wires (strings) have been run






Here I am cuting the grooves in the back of the guitar for various wires. The square by the next is were the micro-controller +usb controller mounts.



More to come...

Hey Jude, Paul is giving me nightmares

Nate and Becca @ 2007 Florida State Fair

Becca surprised me with tickets to see '1964 the tribute' at the state fair last weekend. They've been playing in tribute to the early-era Beatles for 26 years, although maybe that’s enough tribute for even the best rock-and-roll band of all time. . naw.
Don't get me wrong, it sounded great, like seeing the original Star Wars in a proper-letter-box-theater for the first time. The guy playing John could fool Yoko, he's that good. Up-close they look like old men in silly hair pieces, from a bit further back, they're living legends.
The rest of the fair was very standard with your usual assortment of NASCAR-enthusiasts and, well.., more NASCAR enthusiasts and then us of course. I was disappointed that none of the vendors were interested in my u-fry self-serve booth idea..





One of the other highlights, was the sweat tea...very nice (check out my jugs)

Wow, so many prizes...