Hey guys, Ive been Frets on Fire for a while now, and my wrist has had enough of having to reach over to hit the "F KEYS". This is where it has lead me For those of you that do not know, Frets On Fire is an open source port of Guitar Hero for PC. Check it out at http://louhi.kempele.fi/~skyostil/uv/fretsonfire/ My aim is to make a comfortable controller as close as i can to the original Guitar Hero one (as pictured below), while using little to no money, and simplest tools (even though i have access to them) I've already started construction, but I will be posting in segments so stay tuned guys! Some credit out to my good mate Tris-10 for giving me the original idea. Thanks!
Phase 1 Materials Needed: * 250mmx400mmx3mm(LxWxH) of Perspex / Lexan / Acrylic *Your requirements may vary! * An old keyboard (not too old) that you are willing to sacrifice. Any $2 one should do fine! * 9 or 11 (depending, will explain later) Push button switches NOT ON/OFF!! VERY IMPORTANT! * Wire, Lots of it! Not to thick though, about as thick as LED wires * Standard tools : -Soldering Iron -Jigsaw / Dremel with attachments -Drill -Screw Driver -Wire Stripper -Electrical Tape -Ruler -Sharp Pencils / Pen * A few hours of your time (depending on how well you want to make it!) * General Electronic knowledge * Patience (Get as much of this as you can, you will need it!) The Design ----------- I've chosen to go with the ultimate design, the STRATOCASTER! Here is the template I will be using: What is a "Stratocaster" Guitar? Well, google it I'm not going to go through it! All you need to know is that it is THE single-most successful electric guitar design of all time! You can use ANY design that your heart desires, so start using your imaginiation. If you've been playing too much Frets on Fire, chances are you do not have an imagination, so I've done the work for you! The main parts that will require are the face plate, rear plate, the neck and the separator. (more detail later on) First things first! ----------- The keyboard. Its ugly. Its heavy. Time to kill it! Pull apart the keyboard completely until all you have remaining is the PS2 cable with attached PCB and the 2 printed matrix circuits + 1 separator (as pictured, seperator is not pictured, its just a plain sheet of clear plastic) My keyboard I'm using has a 26 head connector on it, labeled from 1 through 26. Keyboards have 2 layers of flexible PCB, where all keys are on separate paths. Different keys hit will make a different combination of 2 pins on the 26 pin connector, making a keystroke. EG, On mine, connecting pins 1 and 7 momentarily will make the "F1" keystroke. Capish? Good. Now, the easiest way to trace which keys go to which pin is easy! Sure its alot of wires, but dont sit there with a pencil following the lines, it will take forever! Grab yourself a 9v battery, 2 wires and a LED (or a voltmeter set to continuity) Place one end of the wire or voltmeter (negative) to the circular pad on the large PCB. Now, run the other wire (positive) along all possible connectors on the PCB where it connects to the circuits. When you find the right one, your LED should light up, or ur voltmeter will give you the thumbs up. Excellent! COmplete this for all keys we will need (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, ENTER, ESC, UP, DOWN, LEFT AND RIGHT). Left and right are optional, if you dont do these, you will need to use your keyboard to change settings in options menu! Write down the results in table format as i did below for simplicities sake! KEY + CONNECTORS F1........1+7 F2........2+7 F3........1+19 F4........2+19 F5........1+11 ENTER........24+11 ESC........1+6 UP........3+16 DOWN........4+9 LEFT........1+11 RIGHT........25+20 Keep these numbers in a safe place, like a text file on your desktop.
Cutting your Design Draw / trace 2 (TWO) identical copies of your design onto your plastic / plywood that you have chosen, like so : Cut them out carefully with a jigsaw (dremel will work too, but these are big long cuts that aren't very curved. so it will save time. It would look like this : I have also cut the neck while i was at it, you should do this also. Any length you want, just same WIDTH as the neck on your design!!! This is also a good time to start drawing out where you want your keys to be placed etc!
Nice going so far =) I've never played the game, but always wanted to try...though I'm more interested in watching your progress here...not a guitar man Keep it coming! //ottzen
lol looking your local free paper for cheap electric guitars and use that body Hands of my guitar though, shame I can some times play better on guitar hero that on my ibanez lol
I was thinking that originally, but what for? it will still cost a hell-of-a-lot more then making one quickly Plus, im buying a real guitar soon (hopefully an epiphone ) so i will spend my cash on that
Middle Section First thing was to find a spare piece of wood big enough to cut out your neck and guitar shape. Try and choose pine, as its lighter. My design drawn out: I've then cut it out, drawn out freehand the middle section to be removed, and drilled 4 holes to get my jigsaw in there. What i done was first connect all 4 dots to remove the big piece, then cut strips like so: The middle section was cut out to accommodate the circuits. A hole will be drilled in the neck section to feed wires through. Now, while remembering that the plastic I've chosen to use is clear, I think this will look really nice once I've sanded all pieces even, and give the wood a nice "White" kind of finish Do the same for your neck piece (but dont cut out the middle just yet!) Still to-do: * File/sand all 3 pieces to the same size so they match * Buy some push-on buttons for the keys * Buy some wire since ive run out.. * Find an attractive way to attach the neck to the body Thanks guys
Problems With Design... I've got a few problems with the redesign... It seems that Keyboards don't let you do certain combinations of F keys together.. so i'm changing it over to letters instead. Should delay me a few minutes nothing big. And I've bought the things needed to complete the wiring of it. I will post a picture soon.
Im gonna keep my eye on this one, as I am a guitar player myself Although i prefer the feel of strings instead of buttons tho, but thats just me Keep it going, looking good!
Indeed Anarklov3r, this is why I moved to a PS2 Joypad (wireless too) and a copy of joytokey, as I have used it in the past for similar projects for Arcade joystick conversions. Keep Rocking!
using the ASDFG keys instead of F1,F2,F3,F4 and F5 allowed me to use all 5 keys at a time. So its worked out great No need for a joypad
I had massive CBA to try and find a keymap that worked, also (in theory) I can now use this for GH. (did I mention mine is wireless?)
Ok sorry for no update for a while... my father has decided to paint the entire house DURING CHRISTMAS!!! Merry Christmas BTW! So my garage is a dump (its being used as storage for furniture) tools are in accessible and even if i could get to them, id have no room to use them! So this should all be over today hopefully... Oh just as a side note, I've bought an electric guitar for myself : It was relatively cheap, Behringer is meant to me a great brand (nothing to gibson and fender ofcourse) and its had awsome reviews for its value, so i bought one Cost me $171 with shipping and looks great too!
iAXE sounds like it could be made by a well known fruit company ;o I don't know anything about guitars, but Behringer has used to be pretty good manufacturer when talking about price/quality-ratio.
yer thats why i bought it its was cheap, meant to be good quality for the price, its USB so its easier to learn songs on my pc, and if its really just a phase, it wont be much $$ that ive wasted
The Cut Out Ok ive done a bit of work... Next step was to mark and cutout the placement holes for the buttons to go. In the end u should have something like i did : (keep a button with you while you cut to make sure they fit!!) Buttons tested to see if they fit : Quick view of how it will be : Soldering Wires (Part 1) First thing to do is to cut wires to the length you will need to attach the keys on the face of the guitar (frets will be done later) : Then strip the ends, and twist them around the tips of the buttons like so in preparation for soldering: Next, Solder the wires, and wrap each part with electrical tape so they dont accidentally touch, then cover then both together for neatness: Painting (Part 1) Ok first part to paint is the top cover, because once we wire the buttons to the PCB, we cant pull it apart SO remove the protective cover from THE BOTTOM OF THE COVER!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!! So paint it like so: Now, when you put it pack together, it will look the same, since paint is INSIDE THE CASE!! (when you remove the outer cover, it will b e a VERY VERY glossy finish! Drilling! Drill a hole in the neck of the seperator like so (thickness depends on thickness of wire you used, has to be big enough to accomodate 10 wires of your chosen thickness.
You've inspired me dude.. might do something like this aswell, but with a wireless keyboard and buttons that doesnt stand out as much as those..
ah i see uve taken up guitar too? good fun isnt it hehe, did u just start or u just get a newer guitar?
