Members stormin1155 Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 A customer of mine asked me if I could make him a special cable for his Parker Fly that would draw power from his pedal board to run the electronics in his guitar. Flys have piezo pickups in the saddles and electronics that mix the signals from the magnetic and piezo pickups and have a pre-amp for the piezo. I told him that he could buy a lot of batteries for what I would charge to do it, but cost wasn't the issue for him. His experience was that when batteries did fail, it always seemed to be the most inopportune time, like the middle of a gig, and I think he just liked the idea of doing something different. So this is what I came up with. I made a "power box" that plugs into his pedal board power supply, just like any pedal. He has a stereo cable for his Fly... a single stereo plug at the guitar end, and splitting to two mono plugs that go to his regular guitar amp and to an acoustic amp or PA. He never uses this stereo feature, so I used the piezo lead to draw power from the power box, and rewired the guitar so that wire connected with the battery clip. If he ever wanted to back to just using a battery, all he has to do is disconnect the clip and attach a battery. It is also designed so that if you don't have a stereo cable that splits off to two mono, a cable with a stereo plug at each end will also work. There is an output on the power box that would go to your pedal board/amp. So my question to you folks that run active electronics in your guitars, is this something that might have some market value? I want to be clear, that I'm not trying to sell anything here, I'd just like to get some opinions is this is something that might be of interest to folks. Here's the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 I think most active players, bass and guitar, would definitely be interested, and prior to modding 18v, I definitely would as well. If you could boost the voltage to 18, I'm game. Curious - what was the price point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 Dude, you'd better patent that badboy, seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 I wholeheartedly agree with Wankdeplank on this one !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 28, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 Curious - what was the price point? I charged him $70, and he was fine with that. When you consider the time I put into it though... getting the parts, designing and building the box, and doing the guitar mods, I really didn't make much. My thought is to make a kit that would go for about $50 that includes the box, the guitar mod parts, and instructions so the user could make the mods to the guitar themselves. The user would supply their own cable. My problem is coming up with a way so that someone with no electronics/soldering skill could do it. The mods are very easy, but you need some skill and soldering capabilities to do it. The other problem is that you can buy a lot of batteries for $50. Oh, and going to 18v would be as easy as plugging an 18v power supply into the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorganB Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 Patent it. Well you did sort of by presenting it here. Call EMG and work out a deal. Every active guitar should have that option.Nice work I have one active guitar and would buy that in a flash, Low batteries and dead batteries are the Actives Archilles heal.You fixed it cheap & neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 A $50 kit? I'd buy that man, and would imagine a lot of others would as well. As Morgan put it - while awesome, they do have a definite Achilles Heel. Man, you do need to patent that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 Brilliant idea. Could you explain how it's not dangerous? I would be afraid to be shocked. I ask because I know nothing about electricity, and I'm sure there are other people out there who would have similar fears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 I charged him $70, and he was fine with that. When you consider the time I put into it though... getting the parts, designing and building the box, and doing the guitar mods, I really didn't make much. My thought is to make a kit that would go for about $50 that includes the box, the guitar mod parts, and instructions so the user could make the mods to the guitar themselves. The user would supply their own cable. My problem is coming up with a way so that someone with no electronics/soldering skill could do it. The mods are very easy, but you need some skill and soldering capabilities to do it. The other problem is that you can buy a lot of batteries for $50. Oh, and going to 18v would be as easy as plugging an 18v power supply into the box. Not really the problem nowadays that you may think it is. Everything is DIY for the electric guitar player these days - they record themselves, mod their guitars and amps and even install their own pickups. I would guess that maybe 50% of your potential market have a soldering iron and the skills to do it themselves and the rest will just find someone to do it for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 A customer of mine asked me if I could make him a special cable for his Parker Fly that would draw power from his pedal board to run the electronics in his guitar. So this is what I came up with. I made a "power box" that plugs into his pedal board power supply, just like any pedal. He has a stereo cable for his Fly... a single stereo plug at the guitar end, and splitting to two mono plugs that go to his regular guitar amp and to an acoustic amp or PA. He never uses this stereo feature, so I used the piezo lead to draw power from the power box, and rewired the guitar so that wire connected with the battery clip. If he ever wanted to back to just using a battery, all he has to do is disconnect the clip and attach a battery. It is also designed so that if you don't have a stereo cable that splits off to two mono, a cable with a stereo plug at each end will also work. There is an output on the power box that would go to your pedal board/amp. So my question to you folks that run active electronics in your guitars, is this something that might have some market value? I want to be clear, that I'm not trying to sell anything here, I'd just like to get some opinions is this is something that might be of interest to folks. A number of years ago at NAMM there was a company who had exactly the same idea. They focused on the power coming from the amp through a TRS cable to the guitar providing power in a similar manner to what you've done here. They were actively trying to get the various amp builders on-board and had a whole campaign around badging the amps as being "---- ready." I can't remember the name of the outfit or their branding - it was perhaps 10 years ago - but it is something they had spent a lot of money and effort in patents, etc. Like all "good ideas" this one has been around the block before and was generally received with a yawn. If you can find a way to yank Craig Anderton's chain, I'm sure he remembers better than I as I think he did some editorial on it. Or not - memory is foggy, but it's definitely been done before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 . . . My thought is to make a kit that would go for about $50 that includes the box, the guitar mod parts, and instructions so the user could make the mods to the guitar themselves. . . . My problem is coming up with a way so that someone with no electronics/soldering skill could do it. The mods are very easy, but you need some skill and soldering capabilities to do it. The other problem is that you can buy a lot of batteries for $50. . . . Would it be possible to use some sort of quick connect feature, maybe a connector that plugs into the existing battery connector? You'd need would be a way to run the cord out of the guitar from the battery compartment but that doesn't sound insurmountable. As for the "a lot of batteries for $X" idea, remember that each of those batteries ends up in a landfill somewhere. I keep a 2XAA LED flashlight in my car and I use nothing but rechargeable batteries in it for that reason. "Green technology" has definite appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fhh Posted March 28, 2015 Members Share Posted March 28, 2015 Doesn't that potentially introduce noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 Brilliant idea. Could you explain how it's not dangerous? I would be afraid to be shocked. I ask because I know nothing about electricity, and I'm sure there are other people out there who would have similar fears. It's 9 volts, so it would be the same shock you get when you lick a 9V battery to test it. Going to 18V would tickle more, but still not in any way dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 I did some checking. EMG already has a product like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 Yes, that's how I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 When we tested it there was no noise, and see no reason why it would introduce noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 It's 9 volts, so it would be the same shock you get when you lick a 9V battery to test it. Going to 18V would tickle more, but still not in any way dangerous. Funny you should say that... When I was four, I licked a 9v battery once. It tasted pretty bad. Kids are dumb, and I was no exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 Noise (in the form of hum) might result from AC current (such as the hum from single coil pickups or poorly grounded amps) but stormin1155 is talking about DC current. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorganB Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 "A number of years ago at NAMM there was a company who had exactly the same idea. They focused on the power coming from the amp " They missed a small but key selling point. This is not the same as trying to tell amp builders to build in AC Adapters. This can be done solo, but I could see a day when all actives have stereo plugs to offer use of this power pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 The concept of having a power supply you can simply plug in like a stompbox is appealing. The concept of having to purchase a new head to achieve the same is not. Under $100 vs over $1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 "A number of years ago at NAMM there was a company who had exactly the same idea. They focused on the power coming from the amp " They missed a small but key selling point. This is not the same as trying to tell amp builders to build in AC Adapters. This can be done solo, but I could see a day when all actives have stereo plugs to offer use of this power pedal. Perhaps not - but my point is this "concept" of providing power to an instrument through a TRS cable has been done and IIRC they spent a ton of money doing their legal work up front. Chances are very, very good that any attempts to do this as anything other than a hobby will probably engage a team of lawyers for years litigating existing patents claims. I did think it a wonderful idea at the time. The main sticking point I heard from amp builders I talked with was the company was looking for something like a $50 royalty for each badged amp sold. That was the deal-breaker. Plus, all guitars would need to be modified and also required licensing from the company. For a hobby, have at it and enjoy. But any idea's of making this into a for-profit business should be buttressed with proper due-diligence into any existing claims to the concept. Sorry to rain on delusions of grandeur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorganB Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 The patent of value he has her is the Power Pedal box . Not only useful for actives but any electronics on guitars. A better way to power Gibson's tuning system too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 So EMG has a power supply, how would this be any different than multiple companies having distortion pedals? The fact his is a kit is what makes it 100% different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 29, 2015 Members Share Posted March 29, 2015 It could be done simpler by running a line from a power adapter to a 9V quick connector. You could use wire ties to attach the line to the guitar cable at intervals and split it off at the guitar. No special cables required unless you want them. If you already have a pedal board, you have a power supply so all you'd need is the cable with the appropriate connectors. That's something that might be much easier to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2015 LOL! I appreciate your candor. Hardly any delusions of grandeur here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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