Off-topic, but very cool

shameandspite · #1 12-12-2005, 03:45 PM

Like the title, Nothing to do with luthier-ing-ery-onomy... but impressive none the less.

This might need to go in off-topic, but I thought woodworkers would appreciate it more. Still, feel free to move it.

Maple Block

And while I'm at it, I got into a couple of gadgets christmas shopping, and this was cool too.

Why you should have an automatic coffee maker

Alex · #2 12-12-2005, 03:57 PM

I thought I had seen it all...

iamlowsound · #3 12-12-2005, 05:44 PM

i like it

lowsound

bound · #4 12-12-2005, 10:49 PM

so we can now get crazy digital patterns to show up on our nice ifgured tops without screwing up the way the wood looks? or disappearing light up fretlines on a fretless?

Let's get to work!

dooft11 · #5 12-12-2005, 10:54 PM

fretline or unlined. in a flip of switch..man thats cool

shameandspite · #6 12-12-2005, 11:07 PM

You could probably do better, they're about to come out with a television view screen you paint on, and they already have a thin glass pane screen that works similarly. Imagine a bass with a USB port on the side, just plug in your laptop and upload an image, bam!, just like changing your desktop wallpaper. I'd use that picture of me (see attatched).
P.S. they dont let me in walmart anymore after that incedent, and the pink helmet was actually mine.

Suburban · #7 12-13-2005, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dooft11

fretline or unlined. in a flip of switch..man thats cool

Hmm, that would be an interesting feature... Esp if you fool around and make lines of different colors on different positions...just to keep the curious away...or something...

JacksonsMen · #8 12-13-2005, 02:29 AM

this could really have a lot of applications for us, if you could get a sort of processor in the bass you could literally have the neck/body/both as a display, text, finger positions, etc. how cool would it be to download a tab and have it display at any speed on your neck?

wow, someone needs to get this to patent now

wilser · #9 12-13-2005, 08:19 AM

I want to have the phrase "Wilser is Ultra-cool" blink through my fingerboard in different color leds.

JacksonsMen · #10 12-13-2005, 08:37 AM

with this i think it is LEDs, but if you could take the technology a little further might be able to put a dot matrix or pixle display right behind the fretboard

callmeMrThumbs · #11 12-13-2005, 02:36 PM

hehehe...Only we luthiers could get excited about a maple block alarm clock...haha. But honestly, I think there are a lot of possibilities out there...

-Josh

Techmonkey · #12 12-13-2005, 04:28 PM

This is really interesting stuff! I may only be a teenager myself, but it doesn't seem that long ago to me when an 8-bit console was the height of technology. Now you get portable 3D gaming machines, console controllers in the shape of TV remote controls which sense your position, and clearly a block of time telling maple.
I really do think it will only be a couple of years before people literally have basses just changing finishes like people have suggested here. I mean, has anyone seen that new Sony Walkman? The screen on that is just like the screen on that block of maple, only it's more of a comprehensive layout... It's only a matter of time!

JacksonsMen · #13 12-14-2005, 04:05 AM

if im thinking about what your talking about, thats a lot less technical. (well, maybe not, but less impressive), when the display is idle/off on the walkman there is no like being emited, but when it is active it emits a light that comes through the seemingly solid cover, iirc the way it shows through is basically like it is reverse polarized, the like emited can pass through, but every other color is reflected back at the display

does that make sense to anyone but me?

anyway, back on topic, has anyone figured out any of the technology behind this thing?

Hambone · #14 12-14-2005, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacksonsMen

if im thinking about what your talking about, thats a lot less technical. (well, maybe not, but less impressive), when the display is idle/off on the walkman there is no like being emited, but when it is active it emits a light that comes through the seemingly solid cover, iirc the way it shows through is basically like it is reverse polarized, the like emited can pass through, but every other color is reflected back at the display

does that make sense to anyone but me?

anyway, back on topic, has anyone figured out any of the technology behind this thing?

Guys, it doesn't have to be at all this complicated

We've been doing similar things in outdoor signage for years. There are a couple of ways this might be done using those techniques...

- It's possible that the "wood" grain on the front of that block isn't real wood at all but simply a photographic rendering printed on film. When the film is backlit, the image directly in front of the LED is "blown out" and the red shows through. Pretty much the same concept as backlighting theatrical scenes painted on scrim.

- Perhaps the wood grain is really a wood veneer but has had a series of precise, fine holes bored through it - a laser would do this nicely. These holes are calculated in size and spacing to allow the face of the veneer to retain it's intact wood appearance when the LED's are off. When the LED's are illuminated, the holes allow the light to pass through the veneer creating the appearance the LED is on the same plane as the face of the veneer. 3M currently offers this same technology in the form of adhesive films for use on the faces of illuminated lettering allowing the letters to be one color in the day and another color at night.

- Finally, the "veneer" could be a photographic print of a wood grain inked onto EL paper with the segment sections illuminated to look like a traditional segmented LED. EL paper is "electroluminescent" paper or paper that lights up when a voltage is applied to it. Thousands of uses just like this in the advertising industry.

That's 3 possiblities at least.

JacksonsMen · #15 12-14-2005, 07:48 PM

ive heard of EL paper before, but if your paying 400.00 for a clock, it better have something a little more impressive

as far as that EL paper goes, a while back i was going to use something similar to it (cant remeber the name, but it was crystal clear when no charge was applied, and when the circut was completed it would shift to black, depending on the strength of the signal you could adjust the darkness of it) to tint the windows on my car, during the day you could have it tinted to keep out the sun, at night have it clear for better sight, and when your parked it could be completely blacked out, like looking at vinyl sheeting

Hambone · #16 12-14-2005, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacksonsMen

ive heard of EL paper before, but if your paying 400.00 for a clock, it better have something a little more impressive

as far as that EL paper goes, a while back i was going to use something similar to it (cant remeber the name, but it was crystal clear when no charge was applied, and when the circut was completed it would shift to black, depending on the strength of the signal you could adjust the darkness of it) to tint the windows on my car, during the day you could have it tinted to keep out the sun, at night have it clear for better sight, and when your parked it could be completely blacked out, like looking at vinyl sheeting

That stuff was based on liquid crystal technology. Line the crystals up - it's clear. Lay 'em over on their side - it's dark. Cool stuff for cars.

Hey, argue the marketing with marketing. I'm in engineering!

JacksonsMen · #17 12-15-2005, 09:21 AM

what?

but yeah, thats what i was talking about, with the micro lcd display, i cant remember the name still,. but i do remeber it was damn expensive....

the_burk · #18 12-21-2005, 01:11 PM

why not just put 4 leds in every fret that reacts to the sound of a walkman or something.. dont know if you understand what im meaning .. but... instead of doing 1 inlay wit mother of pearl on some frets .. you do 4 inlays with leds... and in the electronicvs box you just do a control unit for it...