In need of help w/LED project for guitar amp.

[the_philth]

Greeting people. This is my first time to this forum and I have to admit, all the projects here are way cool! Awesome job(s)!

My name is Phil, I had an idea that would help my music gear look really cool on stage and I'd need your guys' expert, eccentric and/or artistic help!

I'm so new to electronics that I wouldn't even know where to begin with this project, so I come to you! Here's my project. My guitar amplifier has a plexiglass panel on the face of the cabinet, I'd like to place a bunch of ultra-bright blue LEDs inside to give it a spaceship-like *glowing* effect.

I've already tried using a couple of Liquid Neon Cathode lights, which unfortunately for me, only had a subtle effect meaning- you can only appreciate it if you were looking at it from up close. That project ended up in my floor-board as a simple stage-effect for myself anyway.

The idea in my head looks like an array of mini christmas tree blinker lights that I could mount on the inside of the chassis, of course hidden away inside, but that would provide a cool looking blue blast of light! I'd also like to feed the LEDs power (if possible) from the amp's main power supply (amp schematic).

Thanks in advance guys- I hope this thread can provoke an interest!

Cheers!

[Alan]

Hey Phil,

Nice looking amp! Page 10 at the top shows what looks like the main power supply for the system. Ground and +15 Volts would be fine to use for the small amount of power an LED circuit. What type of effect are you looking for, a bunch of LEDs flashing together or a random flash pattern from a bunch of LEDs?

If there is an easy way to mount some LEDs behind the tubes that would be a cool effect. Another idea would be to mount some on the back wall of the unit facing front and give some pulses of bright light.

[the_philth]

Thanks Alan!

Good ideas ya got there! My thoughts where to light up the innards of the amp with those uber-bright blue LEDs to make the amp look like something out of a sci-fi flick. Not blinking. However, behind the tubes would look pretty cool as well; it would actually silhouette the components (tubes, transformers etc) with the blue light. The amp even has a chrome plate sitting below the components which in turn would help out with the illumination!

I don't know if I'm into the *blinking* all that much. The amp (to me) permitting a constant light would be kind of ominous looking--- I dig that! I did like the idea of the liquid cathode I had in there... bummer that it didn't work out like I hoped.

I'm thinking of just hot-glueing the strand of LEDs somewhere along the perimeter of the amp so it gives off that... aura if you will!

I like your ideas Alan... what else ya got?

cheers!
~phil

[the_philth]

Any suggestions guys?

:::: bumpity bump ::::

[the_philth]

:::: bumpity bump bump bump ::::
(albeit -- 2 years later!)

[Alan]

Hey the_philth,

How did the project turn out? Any pictures?