Introduction: Ukulele Hero or a Guitar Hero Controller for Toddlers
My two year old daughter recently started playing Beatles Rock band with me, but she had a lot of trouble reaching the buttons on the neck. The strap wouldn't adjust high enough either, so I decided to get her own controller and modify it for her.
For this Instructable, you will need a Torx driver, a small Phillips head screwdriver, a hacksaw, some epoxy and a few mending plates.
Step 1: Disassembly
Use the Torx driver to remove all of the screws on the back of the neck. Take out the circuit board and the buttons so they are not in the way when you start cutting.
Put the two halves of the neck back together and reconnect them with a few screws. This will hold them together and make sure you get even, matching cuts. I decided to cut from after the screw post at the lower end of the circuit board and before the guitar strap knob. This allowed me to cut out about 3 3/4 inches out of the neck.
Step 2: Cutting
Cut from your marks and clean up the edges of the cuts. You should also sand down the rim of the cut edges.
Step 3: Reattaching
Try to use an epoxy that is good for plastic. Most epoxies will work for metal, but not all are very good on plastic. I bought these corner brackets instead of mending plates because they were narrower and I didn't want to have to cram them into the controller while the epoxy was setting up. This epoxy works very fast and was already hardening when I was applying the last of it. This led to the inside of the controller being a little messy, but no one will ever see it once its screwed back together.
Step 4: Reassembly
Match up the 2 sides and make sure they fit together again. I had some excess epoxy that was in the way and had to be shaved off. Replace the buttons and the circuit board. Make sure you put the buttons in the right order, otherwise the game could get confusing.
When you fit the connector back in the slot at the end of the neck, there will be some excess wire that has to fit in the neck. I just folded it up neatly and tucked it away. Since you aren't actually changing any of the electronics, there's very little chance it won't work when everything is back together.
With the 4 metal plates and all the epoxy, the neck is as solid as it was before I cut it. I had planned to blend the seem with some Bondo, but since there is only a small lip with no gap it didn't seem necessary.
I had hoped to shorten the neck at least 2 more inches, but as it turned out this was the perfect size!
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22 Comments
10 years ago on Introduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAg5KjnAhuU
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
I can't help but smile when I see this video. Love it.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
that would be cool if it was electric lmfao.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
What Talent! Both the making the instrument and the singing, and playing, Best.
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
haha very funny :)
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
zOMG! thats AWSOME!
quite funny aswell xD
10 years ago on Introduction
cool girl, i love her
10 years ago on Introduction
I feel for you! I personally have a 6 year old cousin who is also a HUGE fan of guitar hero, but luckily her arms are (just barely) long enough to reach the buttons. Although usually she just likes to strum while I hit the frets, it's all good fun :]
10 years ago on Introduction
The Photo of your girl is super cute. Big thumbs up dude!
10 years ago on Introduction
I can't wait to make one for my 3 yo son. He would just love getting to play with us!
10 years ago on Introduction
My two-year-old and three and a half year old always want to play along with us - this is just awesome! Your daughter is lucky to have a maker parent!
10 years ago on Introduction
You are the best Dad in the world :D (but only because mine's in heaven)
10 years ago on Introduction
I have to ask... what's her high score?
10 years ago on Step 4
Thumbs up for awesome dads!
Maybe your daughter will grow up to be an awesome female guitarist like....um....er....that chick in Heart? The skinny one that played guitar. Yeah!
10 years ago on Introduction
ha ha that's great I am going to do that for my daughters guitar hero ! thanks
Why don't you get the guitar hero hung up on the wall too it's a great idea it looks really cool and also stops the house getting from getting cluttered up with guitar hero modules !
check it out @
www.wiamusic.com
10 years ago on Introduction
Okay, You are Brilliant.
10 years ago on Introduction
Bagpipe Hero
Reply 10 years ago on Introduction
Didgeridoo
10 years ago on Introduction
That is most seriously cool. My own two year old really loves doing anything that Mommy and Daddy do: I bought her a cheap set of plastic toy tools at Target, because she really loved using my hammer on the walls :-/ What a great way to let your daughter participate with you!
10 years ago on Introduction
I just saw this linked from Makezine's blog, nice instructable. I've always wondered why no one has ever done this before.