Here we are again with another new project. We are going to put some blue leds on our bass. We could turn them on and off with a switch in the rear of the bass besides the 9 Volts battery that will provide the necessary charge. It is a very easy proyect with a very impressive result for a night concert!

Step 1: Materials

For this proyect we will need:

Epiphone explorer bass (or any instrument):) (2 meters of 12 Volts is enough for mine)

1 nine volts battery

1 battery for 9 volts

1 switch ( the one I bought is model 5536 apr apem a 5, but any model will be suitable)

2 Wires

Silicon glue

Battery compartment

Little box to fit in the circuit (mine sizes 8,3x5,3 cm )

Cutter

Tin

Iron Soldier

Adhesive velcro

Shrinkable macaroon

Step 2: Cut LEDS Strip

With scissors, we cut the LED strip until it fits form of our instrument by the cut zone (this should be marked with scissors) (photo 1). We take an end of the strip and we take off with a cutter the silicon which covers and protects the copper. The LEDS strip I have is adhesive, but not enough to endure on the bass, so I will end sticking it with silicon glue.

Step 3: Setting Up the Circuit

Is a very basic circuit; battery-> switch-> LEDS (photo 1). A little more complicated is to fit it on the box we are going to use. Firstly, we will set up ( but not definitively) the circuit in the box to see how it looks. Notice that I have put some filling material to prevent the battery from moving in the box. With a permanent marker, we draw the holes we have to make in order to introduce the wires in the box from the LEDS strip (photo 3). We make the holes with the soldering iron through which the wires will go through and the hole of the switch from the LEDS strip to the battery (photo 4 and 5). Besides, we make holes to the lid of the box (photo 6).

Step 4: Soldering the Circuit

We solder the positive pole of the battery compartment to an end of the switch (whichever, the left-most or the right-most (photo 1 and 2). We push the copper of the positive cable that comes out of the strip by one of the box holes and we solder it to the central terminal of the switch. Now, we roll the copper parts of the ground cable of the battery compartment and the ground of the LEDS strip (photo 3). We place shrinkable macaroon through the copper part just before soldering (photo 3) and after, we solder (photo 4). If you solder first, you won’t be able to place the termo-retractable macaroon. As it own name indicates, when we apply heat to it it will retract. So we apply the iron soldier heat to make this to happen (photo 6).

Step 5: Placing the Box in the Instrument and Connecting the LEDS Strip

We place the velcro on the base of the box in the rear of the bass(photo 1). We draw with a permanent marker (photo 2) the place we want to put it. We connect the box wires to the LEDS strip and we check is not malfunctioning (photo 5). I have bought an special cable that can be put and taken off from the LEDS strip.Although, you will get the same result soldering two simple wires (photo 6 and 7).