Guitar Hero Guitar mod help

[korou]

Hi, this would be one of my first "official" mod that i would be doing for someone else (for my best friend's xmas gift), so i want it to be as professional as possible.

The first thing is first: I tried googling this up, but does anyone know of a guitar hero guitar circuit diagram which labels where the power comes in so i can check how many LEDs i can put in? I have done some electronic wiring at school, so i know the basics of reading a diagram, but help would be appreciated.

If possible, can someone recommend me a type of LED that would be the best for this type of project? I know there are different types out there but i dont know which ones to get. I need about roughly 7 (1 for each of the coloured buttons, 2 for the strum part), and if possible, not to use an external (not from controller) energy source because i couldn't figure out a way to make it easy to change the batteries when they run out (i spent a whole night drawing up designs for a opening for the user to change the batteries, i got frustrated because none of them seemed aesthetically pleasing).

For my design, I plan to put LED's at where the blue circles are:


It will not be as pretty as the one guys mod with the molded silicon LED's that light up when pushed, but i just want it to light up enough to seem like it glows a bit when plugged in/playing.

i appreciate any help offered to me, and thanks in advance.

Happy holidays!

[Reaper]

well, you don't need batteries for a wired guitar for one thing
not sure about the diagram, your best bet would be to get a multimeter and test some hot spots on the circuit board.

[korou]

thanks Reaper and overlord.

For the instructables website, they said they used a 9volt battery. I want to find a way to get around using the 9volt battery so then my friend wouldn't need to change it when it runs out, and i dont need to make a place to store the batteries. Thank you though, the site helped me figure out some of my wiring.

Well i guess i need to find a multimeter to test random spots.

One more question: does anyone know a good type of paint that i could use to paint over the guitar?

[Reaper]

If you want to paint it first you should sand the whole thing down with ~~1000 grit sandpaper, get it slightly rough.  Then any glossy spray paint will look pretty good, and always through a couple layers of clear spray on top to protect it.

[korou]

thanks again, this has been great help.

One more thing (im sounding like that grandpa from the jackie chan cartoons): is there a special type of LED i should use?

[HoffmanMyster]

thanks again, this has been great help.

One more thing (im sounding like that grandpa from the jackie chan cartoons): is there a special type of LED i should use?

Are you putting the LEDs IN the buttons or around them?  If you're putting them in the buttons the instructables website said 3mm work best I believe (may have been 5mm), but if you want them around the buttons then it's up to you.  SMT would be nice and small, but given the large amount of room in the guitar controller, 3mm or 5mm would work just fine, and are easier to work with.  It's up to you really.