INTRODUCTION
This guide will walk you through how to mod your PS3 Les Paul (Guitar Hero 3 guitar) into Arduino-tar with arduino UNO and UnoJoy software.
HARDWARE
To open up your guitar, remove the faceplate and neck. Also remove batteries.
Next, remove 11 Torx 10 screws. Note that one of the screws is under the warranty sticker.
Separate the two halfs carefully as they are connected with the battery wire.
To remove the wire, just pull it from its sides. Note that there might be some glue on the connector. Scrape it off before pulling the plug.
Remove the two Phillips screws holding the main board. You can lift the fret connector off of its socket.
Unplug the terminal block by squeezing its sides and pulling away. It can be very tight but it will come off. If you want, you can make a little marker to identify which way the terminal plugs so it’s easier to tell the wires apart in the future.
Take note and mark the ground wire of the fret connection. This will make it easier to tell the wires apart.
Next ether cut or desolder the fret wire off the main board. Then split the wire into individual wires and strip them. You can strip the wires by hand, just pinch the cover with your finger nails and pull away.
Next strip some wires that you will use to connect the frets to the UNO. I’m using colored wires with male Dupont connectors. My coloring is green wire for green fret, red for red, etc, and brown for ground.
The wires are in order from left to right, green, red, yellow, blue, orange and ground. You can always reference the main board if needed.
Twist the bare wires together,
and solder them.
Then cover them with electric tape or heat shrink tubing.
After soldering all the wires, you should have something like this:
As my wires were male-female Dupont wires, I soldered eight male-male wires and one Y-splitter.
Here is the picture of the wires we are going to use from the terminal plug:
If you are using Dupont connectors like me, you have to bend every other connector pin to 90° so they all fit the plug.
Next is picture of my messy wiring and a list of how I ran the wires.
Terminal plug
1 -
2 -
3 Select, green and blue wire -> pin 12
4 Select/Start ground, Yellow wire-> red end of Y-splitter-> ground pin on digital pin side
5 Start, red and brown wire-> pin 11
6 Whammy ground, brown end of Y-splitter-> ground pin on digital pin side
7 Whammy analog in, grey wire-> pin A0
8 Whammy power, white wire-> 5v power pin
9 Strumbar down, orange wire-> pin 9
10 Strumbar ground, black wire -> ground pin on analog side
11 Strumbar up, purple wire-> pin 8
12 -
13 -
14 -
15 -
16 -
Frets
Green green wire-> green wire-> pin 10
Red red wire-> grey wire-> pin 5
Yellow yellow wire-> white wire-> pin 4
Blue blue wire-> blue wire-> pin 3
Orange orange wire -> purple wire-> pin 2
Ground brown wire-> black wire->another ground on digital pin side
And we are done with hardware!
SOFTWARE
The Unojoy software is not recommended anymore but I'll leave the guide for it up in case someone needs it/wants to use it. It is recommended to use https://github.com/sanjay900/guitar-configurator instead.
Install Arduino IDE from https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software and FLIP from https://www.microchip.com/DevelopmentTools/ProductDetails/PartNO/FLIP. Download UnoJoy from https://github.com/AlanChatham/UnoJoy. If you are new to Github, click the releases tab, then Assets.
Plug in your UNO and make sure it comes up in device manager under ports. It will look something like “Arduino UNO (COM<numberhere>)”.
Next extract the UnoJoy zip you downloaded earlier. Enter the UnoJoyArduinoSample folder in the extracted folder.
Double click on the UnoJoyArduinoSample file. Arduino IDE should start up now.
Make sure you have the correct board and port selected by going to Tools -> Board -> Arduino/ Genuino UNO and then Tools -> Port -> and then select the port shown in device manager.
Now you can change the code if you so please. I’m not chanchin anything so if you are following me steps, leave the code be. Click on upload and the code will be sent to your UNO.
Some LEDs will blink and the IDE console will say “Done uploading” when done. You can now close the IDE software.
Next you need to put your UNO into DFU mode. This is done by shorting the two pins shown here:
A LED will blink rapidly then turn off and on again. Now head back to the UnoJoy folder. In there is a bat file called TurnIntoAJoystick. Double click on in and let it run.
Now unplug and replug the UNO. Now it will show up as a UnoJoy Joystick in Devices and Printers.
Right click it and select gamepad settings or similar.
Then select the UnoJoy Joystick and click on properties.
Now test all the buttons. The red buttons should light up when button is pressed and z-axle move when whammy is pressed.
If all the buttons work correctly we are done here! Clean up your wiring and fit the UNO inside the guitar. I had to carve the battery compartment off to make room.
Now just launch Clone Hero, press space, map your buttons and ROCK ON!
FAQ
Q:Can this mod be made to xbox/wii Les Paul?
A: With some additional modification yes. Í know that at least on xbox Les Paul the fret wires come to the mainboard as eight instead of six and the main terminal plug has more wires. So you have to figure those thing out on your own. If you figure it out, message me so we can update the guide to cover those too!
Q: Can this mod be made to <enterguitarhere>?
A: Yes but you have to figure everything out yourself as different guitars are wired differently. I’m planning to do this mod for other guitars too but no promises!
Q: YoUr GraMmaR SucKS I can’T MaKE Any SENSe you’Re tRying To SAy!!11!
A: i am no english so plez bread with mee. If it really bothers you, message me with suggestions how I should word things.
Q: Can I use other Arduino?
A: Yes, UnoJoy also supports Leonardo and Mega 2560 boards.
Q: Can it support tilt?
A: Probably yes but not out of the box, it has to be coded in. Also you would need separate accelerometer. If you know how it can be done hit me up and we can update the guide!
CHANGELOG
v1. initial write up