[LOST PHOTO OF GITTLER PREAMP]
Where did I put that photo of the Gittler preamp I made...?
Maybe I forgot to take one?
Well, one project I took on was making a replacement preamp for an original Gittler guitar. The original ones have 6 individual outputs from the pickups consisting of short lengths of coax cable terminated with 3.5mm male connectors.
If you're thinking "that sounds like a terrible design," I totally agree.
The overall design of this strange guitar is highly regarded however. It has hung in galleries as a piece of art. And thus, it is quite valuable.
So when it came to selling one recently, the dealer had a problem: the 3.5mm preamps that came with the guitar, presumably built by Gittler, were noisy and intermittent. So I was brought in to cobble together something to appease the customer.
Six 3.5mm jacks, two TL074 quad op amps, one volume control, one Hammond box, and one belt clip later... we had success. I especially liked discovering that Hammond sells belt clips for their enclosures that you can buy from Mouser. Who knew?