How-To: Laser-synthitar

Instructables member datenkrieger built an instrument from three kind of awesome - lasers, guitars, and synthesizers.

I was very inspired by all the youtube videos of laser harps but i found them all too big to bring along for a jam session or they needed a complicated setup and a pc etc. I thought of a guitar with lasers instead of strings.
Then I found a broken toy guitar similar to a guitar hero controller at a flea market. I'm already gathering too much electro-junk but i had to make something out of this.
A 555 timer IC provides each string's voice, each triggered by photodiodes. Check out the step-by-step here. [via Synthtopia]


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Posted by: Mark on June 12, 2009 at 9:00 PM

surprise

Hi all
I'm honored to find my laserguitar mentioned here. I like your site very much and check it every day. I thought about suggesting my instructable to you but wasn't sure if it was good enough besides the great stuff im used to find here. It was this site (and a few others) that made me start building stuff like that again.
Sorry the video is really bad.
This is not the first but probably the cheapest laserguitar around.


Posted by: Collin Cunningham on June 13, 2009 at 2:03 AM

Hey Mark - thanks for sharing and documenting the project. Laser guitar strings = rock fantasy - great idea!

also not sure what "really bad" vid you speak of - the one looks fine to me
(though access to a fog machine might make the next one beyond awesome ;)


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