PowerGig video game controller - Unusual source for Hex pickups

Started by Elantric, February 10, 2011, 01:11:51 PM

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Elantric

The old SoundGarage Mag Hex Pickups have not been available for at least 7 years.





While shopping at Bestbuy last Christmas, I spotted the PowerGig guitar  and  could easily see that this wired fretboard guitar / game controller  was using a standard size hexaphonic pickup

A few weeks ago I saw on Amazon.com that these PowerGig guitars were on sale for $68, so i took a gamble.



More here:
http://www.powergig.com/
I'm not a gamer, so within 10 minutes of delivery, I began taking the guitar apart.



After removal of the back plastic cover on the body, the "guts" were revealed, and there was my treasure -  Yes! A hexaphonic standard P.A.F. size pickup.

see the multiple wires emerging:




After a few more minutes of dis-assembly, I had the hex pickup removed from the Powergig guitar
Removal of the PU cover revealed the pickup's construction:



its actually a Hex PU, with an adjacent stacked single coil with a copper shield for normal guitar operation - a two in one solution!




for comparison, here is a pic with a Roland GK-2A PU sitting next to the PowerGig PU - note the pole piece spacing is pretty standard, and quite usable for hacking.. 


Each single coil on the Roland GK-2A measures 540 ohms

Each single coil on the PowerGig PU measures 840 ohms

I will interface the  PowerGig hex PU  to a modified old Roland GK-2A "head" preamp, and install on a Les Paul, and report my findings.

Buy more here: (the price fluctuates +/- 10 bucks each week).

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Gig-SixString-Guitar-Xbox-360/dp/B003N13ZRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1297371987&sr=1-1
















maxdaddy

That's a great find! Thanks for the pictures and information.

I'm looking forward to the results of your tests. I can see lots of uses for something like this.

dave

paults

I may just have to get one of those.  So.... how did the plastic neck play?  I might one of these just for the visual gag :)  As far as that pickup goes..... 

Since hex pickup is separate from the other coil, I'm picturing being able to mount one something like this:




Elantric

#3
Actually I was thinking buying at least 4 more PowerGig guitars, raid them for parts, and doing something like this:

And alternate Hex, Fender Noiseless single coil, Hex, etc.





(In a past life I had some prior knowledge about these!)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=82.0

paults

Line a bunch of them up on one guitar, and do the next Roland Synth challenge controlling eight different GRs and VGs, without a splitter box :)

At $65 each, stock up on them.  I'm guessing they would be a good enough match for the rest of a broken GK pickups.

cynegetic

Quote from: Elantric on February 10, 2011, 01:11:51 PM
Each single coil on the PowerGig PU measures 840 ohms

Is this a good thing? For compensating for the fact that this pickup would be lower and further out than a GK?

Elantric

QuoteIs this a good thing? For compensating for the fact that this pickup would be lower and further out than a GK?

It simply implies that the gain of the donor GK-3 preamp board must be changed when using the PowerGig hex mag PU.

I will post the changed resistor values on my GK-3 board once I get back on this project.

gumtown

#7
Has anyone ever concidered or tried using the likes of the old compact cassette tape playback heads for GK style pickups? one for each string.
I had thought of this idea decades ago as an idea for having separate string control and analog outputs for processing each string with different effects.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

Elantric

#8
QuoteHas anyone ever concidered or tried using the likes of the old compact cassette tape playback heads for GK style pickups? one for each string.
Yes  - actually Roland used essentially 6 mag tape heads to construct the original GR-500 pickup.

http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2010/02/roland-gr-500.html


cynegetic

But every time that your would record a new song with it you could hear a little of your old song faintly in the background.  ;D

Elantric

#10
and if you swap the strings for mag tape, you can get a closer approximation of a mellotron.

If you get a long steel string, you can build a 1930's wire recorder.

Brent Flash

Quote from: cynegetic on March 19, 2011, 07:17:01 AM
But every time that your would record a new song with it you could hear a little of your old song faintly in the background.  ;D
And playing backwards!   ;D

sixeight

Quote from: Elantric on February 10, 2011, 01:11:51 PM
I will interface the  PowerGig hex PU  to a modified old Roland GK-2A "head" preamp, and install on a Les Paul, and report my findings.

Found this post today. Could you report your findings, Elantric? Knowing you, you still remember them.

Machh_2

#13
Quote from: Elantric on February 10, 2011, 09:14:11 PM
Actually I was thinking buying at least 4 more PowerGig guitars, raid them for parts, and doing something like this:

And alternate Hex, Fender Noiseless single coil, Hex, etc.





(In a past life I had some prior knowledge about these!)
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=82.0


Hi, just for curiousity...what's "clock" function on guitar Elantric ?

Elantric

#14
QuoteHi, just for curiousity...what's "clock" function on guitar Elantric ?

That is a working tachometer that measures how fast you play



More about the Spinal Tap "Mr Horsepower guitar is here:
http://www.wolfgangguitars.com/mr.horsepower.htm

QuoteIs there a cooler guitar anywhere?  I don't think so!  Is there a cooler guitar player than Nigel Tufnel?  I don't think so!  When he came out on stage on the 2001 reunion tour at the House of Blues in Las Vegas with this guitar, I said I have to get one of those.  As luck would have it, at the January NAMM show in 2001 the Ernie Ball, Music Man company created 25 of these guitars just like Nigel's, with all proceeds going to charity (The Casey Lee Ball Foundation).  In October of 2003, one finally came up for sale that I found in time to buy .  Each guitar is signed by Nigel and numbered.  They went for $5,000 each at the NAMM show when originally offered.  Now they are going for a lot more.  I heard about one that went for $15K to someone in Japan. The number 11 guitar had a few modifications and sold for $11,000 on eBay in May of 2001.  The #11 being a very important number for Nigel and Spinal Tap!  On this guitar the "Attackometer" went to 11, the trem handle had an 11 ball instead of an 8 ball and there were dice (5 and a 6) inlayed at the 11th fret.  This guitar here is #8.  As luck would have it, the attackometer goes to 8 and there is an 8 ball on the trem handle.  Everything except the chrome exhaust pipes function.   Regarding his one of a kind guitar, Mr. Tufnel said "I wanted something that was flashy and would stand out on stage.  But it had to be a working instrument that played well".  And so it does.  It has the same headstock as the Van Halen Music Man guitars and a very similar neck as well (a little fatter).  It uses the Albert Lee body.  The guitar is fairly heavy. Here are some of the important features:
bullet   

Maple neck; Chrome Yellow body and headstock; Flame paint job on body

bullet   Music Man Albert Lee Guitar body style

bullet   4 humbucker pickups, sized to match the string width as it travels down the body

bullet   Pickup on/off status lights, colored to match to light signals on a drag strip

bullet   "Hot-fuel proof" rubber selector switches

bullet   Stainless steel exhaust headers, on the side of the body

bullet   Functional tachometer built into the body with adjustable redline that measures the attack on the strings while playing

bullet   Copper heat exchanger access covers on the back

bullet   Clay Smith Cams logo: "Mr. Horsepower" on the body, and also on the headstock integrated with the Music Man logo

bullet   Key signature Inlays on the fretboard

bullet   Tyre volume knob, which activates the tachometer lighting when pulled out

bullet   Floyd Rose licensed tremolo system, with a gear shifter replacing a tremolo arm. Eight ball on the end of the gear shifter.

bullet   12v battery powered

bullet   Each model hand autographed and numbered

ecca

Are there any useable preamps in the Power gig guitar ?

Elantric

#16
QuoteAre there any useable preamps in the Power gig guitar ?

No - but if you are handy with electronics, there must be over $150 worth of parts , switches, etc. inside every PowerGig guitar.

ecca

Is there a diagram for the required pre amps ?

Elantric


ecca

Many thanks for heads up and responses to my questions.
I won a Power Gig on ebay last night, £20 ! and await its delivery.
New project here I come.
I feel a Bi Diddley guitar  coming on.

ecca

Guitar arrived and it's playable !
Proper strings and tuners, volume and tone control.
Can be plugged into an amp.
It has 2 joystick type switch thingys that may be useable as GK 1 and 2 and Guitar/synth/both, with modifications.
It doesn't really come close to my Gibson L5, but heck, it was £20.

Elantric

#21
Its a rather crappy guitar - but a decent source of parts.

Observe the Power Gig's segmented frets - like a 1960's guitarorgan.

Its a classic case of a great idea, but poor execution to meet a target price for the "potentially huge guitar gaming market of 2010.

I originally saw this guitar listed for over $150 retail when it was new.

At £20 its a steal.

more info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Gig:_Rise_of_the_SixString

drjoness2001

I posted information on the Vintage Guitar Synth website on using a Fender G-VOX pickup as a replacement for the original divided hex pickup.

http://www.joness.com/gr300/gk1_kit.htm#gvox

I have also used this pickup with some home built GK-2 GK-3 clones as well. Check out the web page for wire outputs, etc. I just checked on ebay, and there are two full G-VOX kits for sale now, at $30 and $40, not bad if you want to do some experimenting.

paults

Thanks for tip! The $30 kit sold for $20, and will be headed my way :)


ecca

I kept the pick-ups and a joystick switch and slung the rest but I also noticed the split frets.
There must be a use for them, has anyone took the neck to pieces to see how they're wired ?