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  • Author Author: dubbie
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One String Electric Guitar #6 : Final Assembly and Working Guitar

dubbie

After all the painting and finishing off the One String Electric Guitar has been finished. I re-installed the pickup and wired it directly into the headphones amplifier  as this enabled me to create an untethered system that I could then plug directly into the main music amplifier that I have. It would have been interesting to plug the guitar directly into a proper guitar amplifier but time has now run out so this will not be happening.

 

The existing box for the headphones amplifier was not suitable for fixing directly to the guitar body so I designed a 3D printed one. This took much longer than I had anticipated. For the first version I didn't wait long enough for the printer plate to warm up as I only waited until it was 50 degrees centigrade whereas it really needs to be higher, at least 55 - 60 C, so the box didn't stick to the plate. The second version, which I amended so that all the plugs and controls had the correct opening, didn't have the correct openings, in fact they were worse than the first version. I think I may have been viewing the box back-to-front when entering the design, so that version was no good. As time was rapidly running out I decided to go for a much simpler design of just a rectangular box with a side slot for all the important controls and connections. It does mean I will have to unscrew the box when I want to recharge it but that was the price of getting it finished. For this project I wanted to make something that was functionally complete and nicely finished and packaged, so it had to be.

 

 

As you can see and hear from the video it looks pretty much like an electric guitar and makes a gratifying electric guitar like sound. It has tone, volume and overdrive controls. I do play a tune of sorts in the video, anyone know what it is? Not a normal electric guitar song but as I am no musician this is about the best I can manage. The tune deteriorates after a bit as I don't know where the next notes are.

 

I haven't tuned the string, although I have demonstrated previously that it can be done and I didn't add any frets. Time has run out and to be honest I have had enough of it. The sun is shining and I am going to sit outside for a bit with a can of sugar free, caffeine free coke. I may even have a doze.

 

Dubbie

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  • This was a fun build to watch and well done and finished. I immediately recognized the tune from the Sound of Music. I could almost hear Julie Andrews trying to keep up with you. The built in Fuzz Tone effect will make the heavy metal guitarists jealous.

     

    John

  • in reply to jw0752

    John,

     

    Good to know my playing wasn't too bad!!!. It was fun to build, mostly. Soldering the wires for the pickup was a real challenge. My eyesight is not so good now and the coil wire was so thin that I almost had to solder the wires by touch as I just couldn't see them. Fortunately the wire was quite strong so I would wrap it around the vero pin by touch, hope it stayed put and then soldered it. It only fell off a few times before I managed to get ti soldered

     

    Dubbie

  • in reply to dubbie

    My eyesight is not so good now

    +1 I know what you mean. I often end up changing my glasses several times and still cannot focus on closeup tasks.

     

    When using enamelled copper wire I find my soldering iron cannot burn the lacquer off: I usually scrape the ends clean and use fine sandpaper on larger diameters, but for thinner diameters I use a cigarette lighter to burn them clean prior to soldering.

     

    Rod

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  • in reply to dubbie

    My eyesight is not so good now

    +1 I know what you mean. I often end up changing my glasses several times and still cannot focus on closeup tasks.

     

    When using enamelled copper wire I find my soldering iron cannot burn the lacquer off: I usually scrape the ends clean and use fine sandpaper on larger diameters, but for thinner diameters I use a cigarette lighter to burn them clean prior to soldering.

     

    Rod

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