I swapped out the built-in cable on my Guitar Hero X-Plorer for a modular USB-C port!

The USB-C port sits on the edge of the guitar in the area previously occupied by the unused RJ11 port. I designed a custom circuit board which fits on the same mounting points and exposes the USB pins as a 0.1" header. An off-the-shelf 12" USB header cable runs between the custom PCB and the guitar's mainboard. The openings in the case are closed with custom 3D printed plugs made of white ABS.

Replacing the cumbersome built-in cable with a USB port makes the guitar simpler and easier to store. The USB-C port allows cables of any length to be used, so you can use a 15' cable on the couch or a 3' cable when sitting at your desk. The custom circuit board also includes a 2-pin JST connector that can provide power for future guitar mods.

Although it's not shown in the video, I crimped a 0.1" header on the original cable so the guitar can always be restored to its original configuration.

📝 Project Documentation: https://www.partsnotincluded.com/guit...

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:20 Disassembly
0:58 Mainboard Header
1:46 PCB Design
2:21 PCB Soldering
3:36 Final Assembly
4:53 Complete
5:35 Outro