This week I made a new project: a Tesla-coil powered Pikachu! It’s essentially a 3D printed pikachu which emits sparks. What’s cool about it is that I can also play the pokemon theme tune through it and use it to amplify my electric guitar. The below video best show-cases it.
The setup is very simple with a store-bought Tesla coil, and a 3D printed Pikachu with tiny copper wires through its body. As a side-note: I don’t know if this is dangerous in any way, but it seems relatively safe.
The cool thing which took me some effort is the music I can play through it. I played a simple version of the Pokemon theme song in Garage band and used a relatively square wave synth to get as good a signal as possible to hear the theme well when played through the Tesla Coil. I also managed to connect my electric guitar to it by going through my amplifier, macbook, garageband (and the fuzz pedals), and then through bluetooth to the actual Tesla coil. Overall the delay is pretty noticeable and annoying, so unfortunately this is not very useful for a concert or something. At least my guitar is now a real ‘electric guitar’.
I am also in the process of creating videos about other Pokémon-themed creations which will be uploaded soon. If these unique combinations of technology, music, and one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history interest you, make sure to like and subscribe on Youtube to keep up-to-date.