I have a fender Strat deluxe (USA) and I have recently upgraded it to include an N-Tune built in tuner. You might think it is not possible to install this bit of kit as you would have to remove the S1 volume control. But no!

The n-tune pull out pot can be installed in the tone control and completely mutes the output while you tune up. The guys at N-Tune (mainly the CEO Sam Sudore) personally assisted me with supply of the appropriate circuit diagrams and gve me support by e-mail when I encountered problems ( I live on the other side of the world). I put the battery in the trem spring space just enough space if you remove one of the springs.

This piece of kit is great, no need to hump a tuner around with you all the time and gives you that extra space on your pedal board. Would it not be possible for fender to install this in their high end guitars and perhaps sort something out with N-Tune to convert this tuner so it can be used on the whole range of Fender guitars?

Cheers

Paul

Hi Greenman Blue: I feel very wimpy for saying it, but I've stayed away from the N-Tune gizmo in part because I just don't like the way it looks on the front of a guitar. In particular I don't like the way it makes one of the knobs stick out further than the others - perhaps if a circle was recessed into the pickguard to accept the N-Tune that would be improved a bit, but still...

Also, all that fannying around with 9v batteries puts me off, given that I can just use my Boss TU-2 tuner pedal in front of my amp and that works for all of my guitars, rather than just the one the N-Tune is fitted to.

It's a handy widget for some, no doubt, but I have a notion many others feel the same way I do about it, so I suspect it will always remain a niche product.

Glad to hear it's working for you though. No rights or wrongs on this stuff.

Cheers - C

I have to agree with you Ceri. When I first saw it, I cringed at the height of it as well as the bulkiness. As of late, I don't even like having a Volume and 2-tones. I'm not even sure why fender does it, I don't see the point in it in a standard wiring. So I've been eliminating one tone, and moving the Volume down.

I didn't much like a hole being left in the pickguard though, so I took a trip to Radio Shack and found an electronic LED light that fits perfectly in the empty hole.









I'm not going to do it with my 57RI, but all others are being done this way. I'm finding it much more comfortable for palm muting the higher strings. I couldn't imagine having any extra height close to the strings where they originally show the N-Tune being installed.

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Hi Shredd: that's neat!

I'm trying to read the wiring in your photo - where's the LED drawing it's power from, please? We haven't explored the idea of LEDs in Strats near enough on this Forum, I feel!

An odd thing I noticed as I was strolling around the N-Tune website. On Strats they consistently show it installed beneath the volume knob - like this:



Does anyone know; does it have a little slot to accommodate the pickup adjustment screw, which on most of our guitars stands proud of the surface of the pickguard? Cos otherwise the screw is going to throw the N-Tune ring out of true.

And either way, once the device is installed in that position you can no longer do height adjustments on the bridge pickup - how annoying! Why don't they just show it installed beneath one of the tone knobs like Greenman Blue suggests in the first post (above ^^)?

Strange...

Cheers - C

Ceri, the LED isn't hooked up to anything. I don't have it lighting up. I just use them to plug the hole. I didn't like the idea of using a piece of electrical tape. It was just the only thing I could think of on a quick venture. Nice thing is, it does bolt on the pickguard, so it can't fall out. It's also a pretty cool guide to keep the pickup wiring in the cavity while putting the pickguard back on.

Just think of it more like a jewel than a light that lights up. When outside light hits it at a certain angle, it appears to light up sometimes.

I kinda knew I wouldn't get into the N-Tune as soon as I saw it. Not that it wouldn't function well, just the overall size of the thing. Cool idea, not for me.

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Ah-ha - but wouldn't it be cool if one of the electronics gurus here could come up with a simple wiring that would build that LED into the circuit in such a way that it pulsated in response to your playing? Now that would be tasty - or completely tasteless, depending on your point of view.

Cheers - C

That WOULD be tasty. I'd be down with it. I can't imagine it would take more than a watch battery to power something like that.

Seeing as how Reggae music is all about a skank method for rhythms, it would be a fun feature.

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Howdy chaps!

Maplins (the UK equivalent of Radioshack) has LED kits which I believe could be set to pulse. Not to sure about getting it to pulse in time with your playing. But it just so happens that I met a chap who builds very nice high spec bass guitars near me who has cracked some seriously cool LED on board effects.

Check it out

http://www.gbguitars.co.uk/gb_90s_innov ... shing_LEDs

Don't thinks there's many people who can make um like Bernie does. I was very lucky to be shown a few of those basses in different stages of production, one of which was having the electronics put in. Bernie was very secretive about what goes on in that department. From what I saw, the PCB was custom made to completely fill the control cavity. I've not seen anything like it before. He did however share with me a very cool little feature that I now have the skills to potentially put in place on a future project, but like Bernie I'll be saving that for a special build.

Andy

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Oh man! So much that's interesting on that website. Slight overuse of the phrase "industry standard" perhaps, but so far as this particular thread is concerned, take a glance at the "G-Spot" onboard tuner:

http://www.gbguitars.co.uk/gb_00s_innov ... sp#gb_spot

Zammo - that's the hi-tech approach.

Hey Andy: who do we know who's planning a semi-transparent pickguard just at the moment...?

Good link! Thanks.

Cheers - C