Moved blog to Reddit
I found myself duplicating my blog posts to Reddit, so I figured it makes sense to start a HobbyCNC Reddit Community community. It's more interactive and I think that makes it more valuable. Moving forward, I'll be putting any-and-all updates on Reddit, so consider...
Fret Button Design V3
Quest for the Ideal Fret Button Feel I've spent a LOT of time and energy understanding the Guitar Hero fret buttons. Different guitars have different dimensions. Not much different, but different enough. I try to balance fit, feel, weight and strength to get the best...
New Product: Neck Lock
If you've modified your fret board to be 'hard wired' (e.g. bypassing the body-to-neck connector), then you really don't want the neck to be removed and risk pulling/damaging the wiring. This simple solution replaces the stock unlock lever with a lever that fills the...
Testing the Clone Hero Conversion
Here's how the testing happens for the Clone Hero Conversion kit. I built a jig to hold all the circuit boards securely in place so I can do a complete system test, including the 'tilt' sensors (for Star Power). I used my 3D printer to design special jigs to hold each...
Clone Hero Conversion – another guitar supported!
I'm pleased to report that the HobbyCNC "No Solder" Clone Hero Conversion has been successfully installed in a Les Paul for PS2, Model #95121.805. This conversion now works with both the Les Paul for Xbox and for PS2. You can review the complete conversion guide here....
Awesome new Tool – Solder Pot
I just purchased an inexpensive solder pot for my workshop. Several of my products, like replacement ribbon cables and my new Clone Hero Conversion, require the tinning of LOTS of 28 gauge flat ribbon cables. This task is slow and difficult using just a soldering...
Older Blog Posts
New Spare Parts Added
I've decided to add a few more parts and tools to my product offering. Two parts, in particular - the E-clip and the spring for the Whammy Bar are particularly frustrating when they are misplaced (or launched across the room, never to be seen again). I now include one...
Yet Another Damn GH Fret Board!
I had been constantly surprised how many new guitar hero boards I discovered after I started this project. While dissecting a Les Paul for Wii, and I made new two discoveries: yet another fret board (TG-GUITAR-W-G1) and "TG" style fret buttons. Luckily, the GH-03 is...
Make your LP 360 neck ‘fixed’ without glue or screws.
If you want to make your Les Paul 360 guitar neck "non removable" without glue or cement, here's a part that will 'lock' the neck in place, yet allow removal by opening the guitar body. Particularly handy for hard-wired fret boards! Purchase pre-printed or download a...
New 3D printer
I finally got rid of my old Makerbot 2x 3D printer. For a long time I blamed the printing problems on myself, not the printer. I ordered and assembled an Original Prusa i3 MK3S+. Excellent manual led me through the assembly process, and it started printing right away....
NW-3520-FRET-BUTTONS R1.1 Yet another variation of Guitar Hero Fret Board! Thanks to Jhonathan in Peru, we've added support for another OEM Guitar Hero Fret Board. It uses the GH-04 board, but requires a different installation technique documented here. The...
STL Download Page Updated
Okay, so I've come to terms with the fact that there are lots of different fret designs too (not sure why I was surprised by that). I have settled on a design that keeps the full, 15 mm fret height four different 'insets' of the bottom (1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mm)...
More Fret Switch Options
I've added 4 new switches to the HobbyCNC Guitar Hero mechanical fret boards for a total of 6 button options: No switches (PC Board Only) Yellow – Linear | 70g Operating Force Orange – Tactile | 70g Operating Force Pale Blue – Clicky | 70g Operating Force Red –...
STL Frets for Les Paul Xbox 360
Subtle changes in dimensions means we'll need lots of different STL files too. So far, these new files should fit at least the Les Paul Xbox 360. I measured all 5 fret buttons from my Les Paul and averaged the readings. There's a .pdf in the zip file - check the width...
User Upgrade Experience (Video)
A really great upgrade-experience video from NinjaPwns AtLife on YouTube. There's more to the upgrade than just putting in the HobbyCNC replacement fret board. There are occasionally mods to the board (in this case mounting holes were a tad too small), and, of course,...
Updated Cross Reference Chart
I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner. I was so focused on the circuit that I never really paid attention that almost every Guitar Hero board I've come across has a part number either in the copper or silk-screened on it. I made a part number cross reference that actually...