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The Ben Heck Show’s Felix Hacks a Guitar Episode -- Episode 227

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element14's The Ben Heck Show

Join the Ben Heck team every week for amazing hacks! Watch them build and mod community-inspired projects using electronics!

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In this episode Ben is away on vacation and Felix has taken over the shop. For today's build we are turning an acoustic guitar into an acoustic electric guitar!

See Ben Heck Bonus Video - Felix Codes.

 

Supporting Files

Click Herefor access to all the supporting files you will need to replicate this build!

  • Well Done Felix.

     

    You did a great job of taking off the shelf components and upgrading a good guitar into a very nice electric guitar.

     

    DAB

  • in reply to makerkaren

    Th F hole was already there but it was cracked, I repaired it and and gave it the red finish plus an inlay that says " '73 "..

  • Aaahhh Guitar- hacking..thats something I like to do myself..as you can judge from the attached pics.

    Actually this was my start as a maker.

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    DEIMOS CIV  (built in 2004)

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    This one has only 4 strings for down tuning, and way more room for bendings, 2 types of humbuckers + a singlecoil they are configurable in nearly ANY combination you can imagine selectable with the switches (including seperating the humbucker coils+ out-of-phase). the knobs in skull shape control volume+ tone

    The horns are REAL cow horns. Crude satin finish to compliment the overall design.and yes it has stage experience, as you might guess it is made for the more aggressive flavours metal.

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    the other one is more a thing for

    DEIMOS '73

    A 1973 vintage JOLANA VICOMT made in the former ĆSSR found on a basement in 2005...in nearly rotten shape.

    I managed to revive the pickup, and replaced some crappy Soviet components with proper German equivalents+ a heavily aged and rough finish to pay duty to its vintage and history behind the iron wall. this one is a rock/ punk guitar that could have been played while the berlin wall was falling. and of course it does not require you to play with just one string..I just do not have new strings around.

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    mayermakes benheckshow

  • Great job Felix! I really enjoyed watching that! To bad that you couldnt have gotten your recorder as part of it.  I would have liked to see that as a whole!    I have a USA made Ovation Balladeer that has its own preamp, and it sounds great, but i wanted something to record mp3s with directly. You know to record my ideas  when they came to me quick so i didnt have to hook it up and turn on my recording system just to record some of my more quick creative moments!. So I purchased the Ovation iDea preamp. which is nice and all that and fit perfectly into my Balladeer original preamp cavity! It is like a direct replacement. But one bad thing about it was that it really drained the battery fast!  Another thing i didnt like  about it was that  it didnt use an SDcard it has as it has its own built in storage. So when i wanted to take the song ideas i created  to the computer  i had to drag the guitar to the computer just to download the mp3 files, using the supplied micro usb cable!  Although it worked it was mostly inconvenient! i would rather have had the scdard way to go with it!

     

     

    As far as cutting up the guitar and making holes in it, a salesman from the nearest music store which is NOT THAT close to me,  but the ONLY one thats around this area anyways, told me that he doesnt like Ovation guitars because of the way that preamp  destroys the tone of the guitar having a hole in the body like that! Cutting a hole that size in the body of a accoustic guitar totally kills the tone!  Which i totally disgreed with.  He also stated he would rather MIC the guitar! Granted micing a guitar can have its advantages as far as the actual tone that  guitar has and recording it.  But still I DO NOT think that cutting a hole in the body to put a preamp in it kills the tone.. Specally where they are placed . Ovation preamps are placed in that same area. Basically EVERY guitar i have seen  that has preamp in it, no matter if it is an Ovation or NOT, has them installed in that same area! So i think there is a motive to putting them in that spot!  :O)

     

     

    Also as I said in the Trailer post you did on FB,  I remember back when i was younger and playing an old cheap accoustic guitar I wanted it LOUDER!  hehe!  So i used an old ceramic transducer disk i pulled out of an old electronic handheld game and taped it on to the body just below the bridge and soldered wires and a jack to it and plugged it into an amplifier and WAHOOO!!!  I was in my glory! heheh!  I was LOUD!!  hehe!

     

     

    Anyways i really enjoyed your Ben-Less video!! heheh.. Dont worry, Ben I still make it a point to watch all yours,  all the time,  as I will never stop being a fan of all you guys!  Great JOB!  :O)