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Digital trem bar


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Guitar Hero controllers have a digital whammy bar. Would there be anyway to put a concept like this into a real guitar? Maybe there could be a middle neutral position- it could be pushed down for dives and pulled up just like a real floyd and always could return to position when not in use. The best part is that unlike a floyd, breaking strings or changing tunings wouldn't be a problem. Is this idea at all possible?

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I've been thinking about this concept for awhile. Something like a mod wheel with a whammy bar attached to it would be awesome. And it's not like the technology isn't there. Programs like Melodyne are pretty amazing in changing pitch.

 

Guitar companies need to stop being so damn conservative and making the same Strats, LPs, and Teles with the same features.

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Having taking one apart, the trem bar itself is just a mechanical thing. It functions in the game just through frequency of movement of the arm, so it's almost certainly just a basic switch. Basically what you're talking about is an expression pedal that would be mounted onto the guitar, so it could control wah, vibe, octave anything really. That's a great idea :thu:

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Problem is, the whammy pedal and other pedals like that are digital...the pitch shifting will be exact. With a real tremolo, the strings will not necessarily slacken consistently across all 6, giving it a more "random" natural sound.

 

TL;DR it wont sound the same.

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Guitar Hero controllers have a digital whammy bar. Would there be anyway to put a concept like this into a real guitar? Maybe there could be a middle neutral position- it could be pushed down for dives and pulled up just like a real floyd and always could return to position when not in use. The best part is that unlike a floyd, breaking strings or changing tunings wouldn't be a problem. Is this idea at all possible?

IMG_6938.JPG

 

Been smokin the cheeba have we? :D:wave: Nah man, that's actually a pretty Killer idea you've got there! :thu: If you figure out how to do it, definitely post a how-to :thu:

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I have some friends who are electrical and acoustical engineers who are going to help me try this.

 

ok- I'm going to try to mount the electronics from a Digitech whammy pedal into a guitar and use the guitar hero control arm instead of the pedal. Besides a LP, what guitars have a thick body that could be routed for something like this?

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Guitar companies need to stop being so damn conservative and making the same Strats, LPs, and Teles with the same features.

 

 

Guitarists need to stop being so damn conservative and buy guitars other than Strats, LPs and Teles.

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I have some friends who are electrical and acoustical engineers who are going to help me try this.


ok- I'm going to try to mount the electronics from a Digitech whammy pedal into a guitar and use the guitar hero control arm instead of the pedal. Besides a LP, what guitars have a thick body that could be routed for something like this?

 

 

I fully encourage you to try, and to keep us updated!

 

But, personally, what I would do is have a tremolo arm that's hinged and sprung, linked to a pot or something, and have this go out into a Digitech Whammy to control the pedal from the guitar.

 

I don't want to put you off or anything, but I personally think that putting a whole whammy pedal's electronics in there would be huge, bulky, heavy, and you'd need an external power source. But, do try.

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I've thought of this too - if it were me, for proof of concept and to see how it actually plays and handles in real life, I'd just run another lead from a gutted whammy to a potentiometer on the guitar. That way you get up and running by just swapping pots and running an extension lead to the pedal, then if you're loving it you can think about moving all the electronics and battery to the guitar.

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As mentioned, guitars produce an analog signal, not the digital you'd need for your idea. You could add the digital electronics to the guitar, but I don't see many people buying into it. Digital electronics still consume a lot of power. You'd be changing a 9V battery every few hours or you'd have to run a separate power cable.

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