X

Flashing LED guitar neck channels your inner rock star

Regular old guitars get a makeover with NeckFX, a replacement neck full of multicolored LEDs designed to shine while you shred.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
NeckFX
NeckFX even works for "Stairway to Heaven." Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

I'm looking at my guitar sitting on a stand in the corner of the room. It just looks so plain. If only it had screaming LED lights blazing along the neck and lighting up as I shred my way through a folksy murder ballad.

My imaginary light show could soon become reality with NeckFX, a Kickstarter project that aims to turn regular guitar necks into finger-triggered light shows.

The NeckFX is described as an "interactive LED guitar neck." It is essentially a neck with a fretboard with embedded LEDs that react to the pressing down of guitar strings. The system runs on a 9-volt battery tucked behind the guitar headstock.

NeckFX is compatible with most guitars with bolt-on necks and comes with your choice of a Stratocaster or square-style headstock.

You can get a complete NeckFX for a Kickstarter pledge of $299, or you can skip the assembly and order a ready-to-rock Telecaster package for $800. A NeckFX may not automatically catapult you to rock god status, but it certainly won't hurt your cause.