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A crazy idea. Stick with me.

#21
My intention was never at mass marketing. If anyone in the world was interested in spending money on this, I know it would be a niche market at best. More than likely, I'd get fewer than a few sales if I marketed it at all.

Also, I would argue that the electric guitar was unnecessary to begin with. Acoustic guitars could be amplified to any volume necessary for shows, and until they were invented and produces, I doubt they knew it would sound significantly different.

I like the idea of creating a new instrument, but what it boils down to is that we've moving in a world where soon all information will be transmitted by optics, and not electrical currents. The vast majority of information already is. Playing music is transmitting info from the instrument to the amplifier and speaker. If the transmitting of information is migrating to a new physical medium, I have to imagine music is coming.

Okay, let's say I don't invent a new pickup for this. I take on an existing non-copper/magnetic pickup, use fiber optics throughout the internals of the bass, fiber optic out of the guitar, fiber optic in on an active powered speaker with an internal media converter.

Is that so unreasonable? Audio media converters are readily available, so analog audio to digital to optical wavelengths isn't a problem, once I have an analog audio sample. Strictly speaking, there's no reason I couldn't use a magnetic pickup. I just think if my intent is to push past the use of copper, internally, then the pickup is a glaring hurdle.
 
#22
But see, that's my point! We reached a point in our musical history when we decided to take the available technology (electrical systems) and adapt it to our instruments (acoustic guitars) and create something that's inherently similar, but sounds very different than what they were used to hearing at the time.

I think we're close to another step, and I'm just trying to explore it.
 
#23
calmb4tehpwn said:
But see, that's my point! We reached a point in our musical history when we decided to take the available technology (electrical systems) and adapt it to our instruments (acoustic guitars) and create something that's inherently similar, but sounds very different than what they were used to hearing at the time.

I think we're close to another step, and I'm just trying to explore it.
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Thats cool.
I thought you we're trying to improve something.
Honestly, I really don't see the point of doing a crazy amount of research and development as an exercise to see what it may sound like. Most great ideas are formed from a specific need or want.
 
#28
I feel like I should chime in on this discussion (even though it is a little dated). There's been a lot of random information tossed around in this thread and some of it needs cleaning up. I actually have first hand experience with the LightWave systems technology and I can tell you with certainty that there is a lot more research and development put into it than most can even comprehend. In fact, there are 6 international patents in the technology alone, several used to preserve the signal from the pickup to the output from the guitar. And none of it ever becomes digital.

Going along with the idea of digital processing, because the signal is modulated on isolated circuits for each string in a LightWave system, a new digital processor is in the works that will allow users to completely modify the sound and even go as far as using the guitar as a synthesizer to reproduce any sound imaginable. With the flexibility to do all that, the upcoming system will allow unlimited creative possibilities with the use of a computer and recording software with effects that can be applied even just on individual strings. I can't say with an certainty when the system will be available, but I just thought I would mention it so that you aren't spinning your wheels trying to create something that is already being put into production.
 
#29
calmb4tehpwn said:
Okay, so this was a concept built in a day. It needs to be a digital signal. There's not exactly a way to turn audio waves into IR wavelengths without digitizing. It was minutes after my post that I realized that.

I would still like to avoid any copper in the entire construction.

I'm going to look up lightwaves now, but I'd like a media converter to be part of the design, which I'm assuming isn't in the lightwaves design.

Anyways, I'll hit you up in a bit when I start to figure out which parts aren't feasible or need to be reworked. Keep the feedback coming! This is why I bought it up on the board.
Click to expand...

Sine waves could be synthesized before the media converter, right? I thought media converters send whatever you input.

What size is the converter you're thinking of? I do A/V & Home theater sales and installations- I HATE HDMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there's anything I can do to make my life easier- well, not easier, just less full of problems due to bad designs, I'm interested. I was looking at a supplier's videos for field-terminating their optical cables and it looks easy enough, but the tools aren't cheap. However, if media converter prices come down and they make them do what HDMI+ethernet does (HD video, ethernet, digital audio, bi-directional IR control + whatever other BS they decide to cram into an already crowded cable that's too stiff to work as intended and often, implemented), fiber would be the next logical step for signal transmission. HDMI over long distance is expensive and unreliable in many cases and it makes life he!! for people who do what I do.
 
#30
Just my 2 cents worth,if this instrument is triggered by the fretting hand and strumming(or finger picking)doesn't enter into the picture.It would require some very good(and different)left hand technique and would take away the expressiveness(is that a word?LOL)of my right hand.Would it be any better than just playing bass on a keyboard?Not trying to be critical,I'm just not seeing the appeal other than being a technology gimmicky oddity
 
#31
The intent isn't to be a press and hear technology. I've been thinking about this the last few months, and I've come up with a possible way to make this work, where the instrument is still played with two hands (aside from using lightwave technology)

Have the strings be optic fibers, when a fret is pressed, it creates a microbend, which reflects some amount of light back to its source. So we have a way for the source, also a reciever, judge which fret is being pressed, but what would the effect on the light be for the string to be plucked? I would find it hard to believe that there would be no change in the quality of the waves passing through the optical fiber. I mean, it's possible, and I don't have the equipment to do any trial runs here, but does anyone have any technical experienec with acutely vibrating optical fibers and the effect on the information passing through?

Anyways, that's just one thought. I also like the idea of "It ends up being sound, it should start as sound" theory as well. Though, that's tough, because electric pickups don't exactly follow that practice, they're not recording sounds, they're recording the magnetic pull of the strings.
 

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