Final Design Summary

I now have a design which I believe will work most effectively for this project.

I decided on the Les Paul shape because it should have enough space at the tail of the guitar for the Kaoss Pad screen.

Guitar Body Layout Ideas

 As well as the touch screen from the Kaoss Pad, I have included a momentary switch to control the hold function of the unit from the body of the guitar as this function is useful for the use of the effect and should be cable of being wired via the same cable as the touch screen.

Kaoss Pad Modification Plan

The Kaoss Pad is definitely too big to mount on the performer or guitar, however this may be an area for further study in a future project. I also believe that the use of wireless will force me well outside the budget for this project. However, I do not think that the use of an additional cable will be too restrictive and will aim to make the connections between the Kaoss Pad unit and the screen on the guitar as aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing as possible.

Planned circuit for LEDs

As an entirely aesthetic feature, I have bought some RGB colour-changing LED bulbs which I would like to put behind the touch pad to make the modification look more professional and visually interesting for use in performance. I am unsure whether the LEDs could be powered by the same feed from the Kaoss Pad as the touch pad, though I will be investigating this. In the meantime I will assume that this will operate on a separate circuit powered by a 9v battery stored securely inside the body of the guitar.

Regarding the actual building of the guitar, I am currently about 2 weeks behind my planned schedule, however I will use the next few weeks to catch up and get back on track. If possible I hope to build a test version of the LED circuit before Christmas break. I will build the entire guitar during the christmas break and aim to be ready to test it in detail after teaching resumes.

Email from Korg

I emailed Korg's technical support team asking for any relevant information to my project, in particular the voltages and current fed to the touch screen. Unfortunately I didn't receive any direct answers to my specific questions, however they sent me a pdf copy of the service manual for the unit which I will use to try to calculate the answers to my own questions!


I have uploaded the manual to my Google Documents here: Korg KP-1 Kaoss Pad Service Manual

Portability Considerations

As the purpose of the finished artefact is to operate effectively in live performance, the portability of the device is very important. It should not unreasonably restrict the performer's movement on stage. However, as this model of Kaoss Pad is too large to fit entirely inside the guitar, the guitar must be connected in some way to the rest of the unit to allow the touch pad to control it.

For this reason I have looked in to the following alternative options to improve the units portability when in use:

• Attaching the unit to the performers guitar strap
• Implementing a wireless connection between the touch pad and the rest of the effects unit.

However, while it would be possible to attach the unit to the performer, it is quite a large unit that would not be very appealing aesthetically to the user (or the audience!)

The wireless option, on the other hand, could be easily concealed and would also allow much more movement away from the unit. However, there are two negative points associated with this. Firtsly that the touch pad currently draws its power from the effects unit and I believe acts as a sort of variable resistor, so an alternative power supply would be required for the touch pad and there may be issues with the main body of the Kaoss Pad if this section that it is powering is removed. I have contacted Korg to ask for any technical diagrams or information that they could provide me with to help in calculating this, but am waiting for a response regarding this. Secondly the additional expense of a wireless transmitter and receiver makes this infeasible for this project. Both the transmitter and receiver would presumably also require some power source which further complicated the design.

I have decided to continue with my original plan to use a serial cable connection between the touch pad and the rest of the unit, though this may slightly limit the performers movement. If Korg are able to supply me with more detailed information - for example about current and voltages required by different parts of the unit - I will hopefully be able to decide on the longest usable cable for the connection.

Parts Collected So Far

Whilst working on the final design, I have been collecting the parts that I know will be required.

Guitar Build Kit

I believe that I have almost all of the parts required to begin to build the guitar. Once I have the final parts I will begin by doing all necessary routing and adjustments of the guitar body before finishing the wood and putting the guitar together. The hardware will then be fitted, along with the Kaoss Pad modification.

Korg KP-1 Kaoss Pad, DB9 Serial Connectors & Cable

For the time being, I plan to connect the Kaoss pad screen back to the body of the unit using serial connections which should not require any additional power to be supplied to the touch screen. However, this connection will be tested and alternatives will be researched before this is affixed to the guitar.

The use of a Les Paul style design allows enough space for the touch screen to be attached at the base of the guitar, beneath the bridge. From a few sketched ideas, this seems to be the most appropriate placement for the screen as it should be reasonably comfortable for the performer to use without looking out of place in the design.

Rough Outline of Planned Touch Screen Placement

The remaining barriers to be overcome before beginning the build are to find a button which will be used to operate the 'hold' function of the Kaoss Pad, to decide on a placement for this on the guitar body, and to decide on a way to firmly hold the touch pad in place.

Parts List

The following are the parts that I believe will be required for the project:

Guitar Build

• Body
• Neck
• Output Jack
• Tone & Volume Pots
• 3-way pickup switch
• Back Plate
• Neck Position Pickup
• Bridge Position Pickup
• Stop plate
• Bridge
• Tuning pegs
• Neck Plate
• Strap Buttons
• Pick Guard

Kaoss Pad Modification

• Kaoss Pad (KP-1 or KP-2 model)
• DB9 connectors (2x Female)
• Straight serial cable, (Male-to-Male)
• Solder
• Frame
• Back cover
• LED circuit

Whilst I work on the design of the modification I have now begun to buy any parts that will definitely be needed for the build. I will buy/order any additional parts as and when I find that they are needed.