Creative Switch – Model Guitar: Tani Friese
Have you ever been rockin’ out on your guitar and thought, “Damn, I wish these strings would light up,”? Well, now they can! In this descriptive post, I will present a makeshift guitar whose “strings” light up when strummed.
By looking at this completed model, you can see a circuit that runs from the “bridge” to the “fretboard” and back to the bridge. Note the copper pick, as that will act as our switch device.
A closer look reveals the initial circuit connection from the bridge. Located in the center is a 3 volt disc battery, secured with electrical tape. From that battery, bundled wire extends on the left and right side. These are secured directly to the body of the guitar by threading them through pre-drilled holes. It is important to remember which extension carries the positive and negative charge, depending on which side of the battery they are secured to. In this case, the wire on the right is positive, and the left is negative.
A long wire is connected to each side of the bridge and stretched up toward the fretboard. Each wire is then looped and brought back down to the bridge to mimic more strings. However, their ends are not actually touching the bridge, as that would create a short circuit.
The left-most wire has been separated into two pieces to leave a gap onto which the switch will be connected.
Once the wiring is secured to the bridge, secure it to the neck of the guitar as well to add stability and to prevent movement when strummed. This model is simply wrapped in electrical tape. This is also the time to add any embellishments like these super dope tuning knobs at the top.
