Adding effects....

[pirate]

So for you tech savvy builders, it is actually possible to add an effect, say reverb (or any other effect), directly into the guitar? Perhaps after tone/volume, in the signal chain in the guitar, before going to output, having a reverb (or whatever) knob to adjust? Has it ever been done? Can it? If it can't, why?

 

[spe111]

It's definitely been done before. I want to say some old Japanese guitar companies like Univox did it. I think I've also seen kits for onboard effects.

 

[Cagey]

Right. A number of old Japanese guitars did it, but generally speaking, they sounded terrible. Not so much because it was a bad idea as much as the effects themselves were much simpler in those days in order to accommodate small pc board small designs, plus they just didn't have the tech we do today. Newer stuff is not only smaller, it's also much better sounding, so it would work out better if anyone wanted it. Seems on one wants it, though. I suspect it's a matter of not wanting to get stuck with a particular device and its tonal idiosyncrasies. Oddly enough, even though the circuitry has gotten smaller/better, the power budget is often too large to be supported by a battery (many effect are DSP-based), unless one could tolerate short lifespans and the associated inconsistency/unpredictability. You could probably run special cords/connectors to allow for essentially unlimited external power, but there's also a number of players who resent the existing cord and are going wireless. Then, who wants special cords?

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Have Fun!!!

https://www.guitarfetish.com/MODboards_c_30.html

https://www.guitarfetish.com/Active-Preamps_c_51.html

https://www.guitarfetish.com/BHM-Style-Wiring-Kits_c_226.html

 

[pirate]

Built in distortion and chorus  :toothy10:

Maybe if someone did it with a quick connect harness to easily change out effects, it could be successful. I don't plan on doing one, the idea of it just made me curious. You see amps with a bazillion effects built in, so why not a guitar with one or two common ones? Can be shut off with a push/pull to save battery, but no more battery usage than from an active guitar/bass right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD6P9c1Qfxw

 

[pirate]

Danelectro Danoblaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFX8eJBNGuw

 

[Seamas]

I remember a Les Paul looking gfuitar in the Sears catalog that had onboard effects.
iirc the Youtuber named Trogly featured one he discovered.


Roger McGuinn of the Byrds had a compressor installed on his Rickenbacker 12 string.

Of all the effects, I would think reverb would be a bad candidate for an onboard effect, as usually you would want that  at the end of the chain. I mean like all effects chains this is a matter of preference and going for unconventional effects orders can lead to unique interesting sounds.

 

[TBurst Std]

I would suggest the only onboard item to consider is a compressor. 

Let’s look at items:
OD pedal.  Yes normally before amp, so a maybe. Only things I have seen onboard s**k.

Modulation: mixed bag of before or after amp. Of the modulation effects, only Chorus could maybe done onboard. 

Time based effects: these are largely after amp items, so no go. 

A compressor and EQ would I ever consider onboard.

The next Q is why onboard? Why make a Guitar heavier than it needs to be vs use floor based items?

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

You could also find one of these....
https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/12709-gretsch-7680-atkins-super-axe-late-70s-common-finish

 

[pirate]

I would suggest the only onboard item to consider is a compressor. 

Let’s look at items:
OD pedal.  Yes normally before amp, so a maybe. Only things I have seen onboard s**k.

Modulation: mixed bag of before or after amp. Of the modulation effects, only Chorus could maybe done onboard. 

Time based effects: these are largely after amp items, so no go. 

A compressor and EQ would I ever consider onboard.

The next Q is why onboard? Why make a Guitar heavier than it needs to be vs use floor based items?

all just theoretical, I don't plan on doing one myself.

 

[pirate]

Just saw that Matt Bellamy of Muse has Fuzz Factory and a Kaoss Pad MIDI controller built in to his guitar.

 

[BroccoliRob]

Yo throwing a chorus before distortion can make for a badass, scorching, blazing hot #wild lead sound. it's not for every song but it rules. Peeps be tellin me modulation should aways go after distortion but I don't let them impose their Sri lanken law on my body and gtr rig.

 

[mayfly]

I concur with the Broccoli.  Chorus before the distortion.  Wah too for that matter.

The only thing that should be afterwards are delay effects.

 

[swarfrat]

Here I'm just wishing that we could've gotten balanced phantom power between the guitar and amp 40 years ago as the new standard.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I pretty much put mods pre, then pitch shift right after the preamp, such as a harmonizer, then delays/reverbs at the very end.  I have a post/preamp volume pedal for swells, Gate on the very front.

 

[aarontunes]

Yo throwing a chorus before distortion can make for a badass, scorching, blazing hot #wild lead sound. it's not for every song but it rules. Peeps be tellin me modulation should aways go after distortion but I don't let them impose their Sri lanken law on my body and gtr rig.

In situations like this, I always find it helpful to look down at the WWEVHD bracelet on my left wrist, that I made at youth camp last year, and ask myself "WWEVHD?"

And then it comes to me:

Phaser - before distortion, always.
Flanger - before distortion, always.
Delays - before distortion on the first couple albums, then in the loop.
Chorus - Chorus is for weenies, until such time as I have my own branded line of effects pedals. Then I'll create a signature Chorus pedal, dress it up in my trademark stripes, sell it to all the kids, and tell them I was using it all along.

 

[TBurst Std]

Hmmm.

Since I added a slight chorus to my rig, all the musicians that hear it love the tone.  The audience? Don’t think they hear the difference in the house mix. 

At points you have to consider not if it sounds better to you,but rather :
Does it sound better to the audience?
Does it make you happier which allows you to play more inspired?

 

[BroccoliRob]

Yo throwing a chorus before distortion can make for a badass, scorching, blazing hot #wild lead sound. it's not for every song but it rules. Peeps be tellin me modulation should aways go after distortion but I don't let them impose their Sri lanken law on my body and gtr rig.

In situations like this, I always find it helpful to look down at the WWEVHD bracelet on my left wrist, that I made at youth camp last year, and ask myself "WWEVHD?"

And then it comes to me:

Phaser - before distortion, always.
Flanger - before distortion, always.
Delays - before distortion on the first couple albums, then in the loop.
Chorus - Chorus is for weenies, until such time as I have my own branded line of effects pedals. Then I'll create a signature Chorus pedal, dress it up in my trademark stripes, sell it to all the kids, and tell them I was using it all along.

well, it's like, how much do you want it to affect (lol) the sound. if you just want some #glassy-sparkle and warbles and largeness or width, chorus on the backend will totally do it to it. And putting phase and flange after Mos Def puts that in the forefront which or may not be what u lookin 4 on a given song

 

[Ace Flibble]

I can't remember the last time I used a 'clean' sound without chorus. Wouldn't put it in a guitar, though. Always in the loop or entirely after the amp, depending on what the set-up allows and how everything is being routed/mic'd/etc.

Anyhoo, I've stuck clean boosts and overdrive pedals (a.k.a. the only things that should ever go before the amp, bar octaves) into guitars before. Last one I did, I was given a Tone City Bad Horse OD as a 'free' extra when I bought an LP Jr from a store. I was going to just eBay it but I gave it a shot and it turned out to be a near-perfect Klon clone. (Klone?) The only downside seemed to be the housing and switches were the cheapest possible.
Now, the LP Jr was due to have its tone control ripped out (the only thing worse than putting modulation before an amp is using a tone control) and the jack moved to the tone position, but inspiration struck and I moved the Bad Horse's circuit into the tone control with a 2-way switch. The effect's controls are technically intact but they're now just the bare trim pots inside the guitar's control route with a bit of superglue keeping them from budging. It's a perfect match for the LP Jr which has a one-off, slightly dark mismatched humbucker. The 'bare' pickup is wound for chunky rhythm chords and the OD switch brings in just enough of a level boost, clipping and upper-mid presence to counter the pickup's dark tone and make a cutting lead tone. It's like instantly swapping from an Alnico II Pro to a JB. I got bored of the guitar myself but it lives on, OD still intact and regularly used, by a friend in a pop-punk band.

That said, that's a 'micro' pedal, and quite a simple one which draws <9v. It's also something where the otherwise limited sound of a single-pickup guitar can benefit from whatever extras you throw at it, without operation becoming complicated.

I wouldn't try to do the same with any more complicated pedals, more complicated guitars, or circuits/controls which required dedicated routing. It's one thing when it's virtually a drop-in replacement but quite another when you start actually hacking up the wood. And as with all the fantastical splits, taps, phase, cuts, and every other switch you can put in a guitar, I find there is a limit to how many controls I can actually engage with and make use out of while playing. If you've got your pickup selector, volumes and tones, a split switch or two, and then try to also add in rate and level controls for flange or whatever, not only is the surface of that guitar going to get crowded but realistically you're not going to be able to swap between tones efficiently. You could 'lock down' the controls to just a basic on/off, but modulation, reverbs and delays aren't like boosts or overdrives; how many people only use one delay setting for everything?

So, for boosts and ODs I highly recommend it, and I can see it working for distortions, too, but for anything else, save yourself the headache and just whack 'em on the floor.