My first handcrafted guitar (LP/PRS mix) with Fretleds

My first guitar, handcrafted all by myself. It is a mix between a Gibson Les Paul and a Paul Reed Smith guitar. The specifications:

- one piece mahogany body
- beech neck, made of an old doorstep :p
- rosewood fretboard
- GFS power rails humbucker pickups
- coilsplit on both pickups
- blue LED behind the inlays, check out the video to see it yourself ;)
- volume control, no tone controls (don't need them)
- killswitch
- 3 way switch (bridge, both, neck)

Here is a wiring diagram for the LEDs:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x137/Koenbus/Fretledsscheme.png

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Koen
• fretleds
• guitar
• PRS
• LP
• les
• paul
• handcrafted
• luthier
• diy
• project

[yoshi183]

is the neck power rail pickup good for clean.

[koenbus]

@yoshi183 its ok for clean, but if you play a lot of clean stuff, go for PAF pickups with alnico magnets, they sound much better clean

[iPedoBear69]

How long did it take you to build that guitar ?

Also, how many kinds of wood do you use on the body? I've seen people using 2 different types..

Good job :)

[koenbus]

@iPedoBear69 it took me about 9 months, but i only worked on it every two weeks or so. The body is a solid piece of mahogany, but there are no rules for it, i've seen people using 3 or 4 types, or even more

[tannerthomason]

are you aware there is a company that'd kind of claiming they built your neck, or at least are using this video to advertise their part?

I can send you a private link if you want, because youtube's not letting me post the link

did you use these guys or do it all on your own, because I really like the way yours works.

[koenbus]

@tannerthomason

Wtf. This is my creation and my 'invention', no company ever got involved. I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me the link. Thanks a lot for telling me this!

[uglyguitarguy]

Did you ever experience any kind of buzzing issues from sharing a power ground with your audio ground? This idea is brilliant.

[HunKaalZoor]

hey @koenbus is it OK with you if I try to do something like your fretboard/get a friend who's really good with electronic stuff to do it?

[altpath]

@Motopsycho96 depends on the guitar. No need to route the guitar if it's got plenty of space, like a les paul. A tele would be a different story.

[idl3mind]

great job! bad-ass guitar!

[xValekWilliamsx]

How do the leds know what frets are you playing?

Wouldn't this affect the sound and weight of the guitar?

[naycnay]

@Motopsycho96

as far as I'm aware, the case is just for easy replacement of a battery. you could just as easily wire it up in harware cavity if there is enough room to tape it down somewhere.

[ht448]

@iPedoBear69 yea dude wood for body isnt to important i mean better wood better sound but you can use anything iv made one out of MDF once :D

[DUY1337GUITAR]

So is this the right general idea:

The frets have leads connected to them and the bridge is the ground, that way the LEDs would have a complete circuit when the strings touch the frets?

Nicely built guitar man!

[Motopsycho96]

Dude, If I want to install a couple of active pick ups to a guitar who has passive hum's, do I have to carve another hole for the 9v or can I put it inside the hole on the back for the hum's?

[ht448]

@tannerthomason can i have the link too:/? i wana flame them