Guest Guest Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 The First guitar is a Fender and that one is mine. I had a question how much would it cost to turn my acoustic into an acoustic/electric that looks just like the gibson with the pickup that covers the hole and two knobs on the bottom? And if that wouldn't work I would be willing to go for something like the epiphone that is right by the fretboard , but I would really like the two tone knobs at the bottom though. I just don't like the pickups that go right over the hole in your acoustic, I liked the look of the pickups that covered it completely or a pickup that was off to the side. I especially liked the look of the tone knobs at the bottom of the guitar though. So with all that how much would the parts cost me to change my Fender into an electric? And also how much would the Labor cost for the Luthier that I would be taking it to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 I don't think you could get it done to look like the Gibson and Epi. They are both factory fitted electro-acoustics with a shorter neck to leave room for the PU. To convert your Fender in a similar way would probably necessitate removing the neck to shorten it - an expensive fix. There are many magnetic sound hole kits available that are easy to fit. If you shop around you might find one that fits right up against the neck - it would be in/on the soundhole but would only cover a small part of it. Then it's just two holes drilled into the top for the controls and another in the bottom side for the jackplug. I'm sure you could get it done by a tech if you are not confident to DIY but they will charge whatever they do - you'd need to get some quotes,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Yea, I have already contacted a luthier to get a qoute , but he hasn't answered me back yet so I'm just waiting to see how much all this will be. What are some good PU's for the acoustic? I saw a neweer i believe it's called and it was 12.00 and people rave over it on amazon saying it's a great pu and then there's a Dean Markley PU for a little bit more and that has good reviews also. Just trying to go the cheap route. Don't want to end up paying an arm and a leg for turning it into an electric, but don't want to sacrifice sound by going the cheap route if you know what I mean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDMachiavelli Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 Last week I had my guitar tech install an LR Baggs Anthem in my acoustic guitar. The Baggs Anthem is considered one the best out there, something about dual microphone but anyway the total for the parts and installation was about $280.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 first of all, it all depends, what you want to achieve? do you want real electric sound or do you just want to amplify the acoustic sound for live and band settings?different pickups create different sound. the pickup placement is crucial, cause it defines the base sound you get. more towards the neck you get the fuller neck sound, towards the bridge you get a very bright sound.mounting it fixed will give you one time to choose and than you have to live with your choice. i have a dean markley pickup i rarely use, but when i use it, i have it angular in the sound hole, bass strings more towards the bridge, high strings more towards the neck. this reduces the boom of the bass strings and give more warmth for the high strings. you can adjust this with an eq, but if the base sound is wrong, you cannot adjust it to it what you might be after. i know look is very important, but first you should be clear what sound you are after, and then select for a technical solution which will provide it to you, and finally think about the looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 The pickups in your pictures are both magnetic style factory installed at the end of the fretboard. The thing in the sound hole of the Gibson is a "feedback buster" - it keeps the air chamber inside the guitar from feeding back. Magnetic pickups have more of an electric sound - they work on the principal of picking up the movement of the strings thru their magnetic field. There are some very good after market ones by Fishman, Seymour Duncan, LR Braggs and others that can range in price from 50 bucks to several hundred. The only real trick in installing one is drilling out the end pin to fit the jack (it is possible to damage your guitar, some of us who do this very often have a special reamer). If you were to bring me the guitar and pickup I would charge you one half to one hour of my labor - that would be in the $15-30 range. Other pickup system install inside the guitar - either under the saddle (piezo) or on the bridge plate, or some sort of internal microphone. Most of these have a more "acoustic" sound, the mics are probably the truest sounding). They can range from $75 to 300 and if I was installing it for you I might charge from one to three hours ($30 to 90). Depending on the type I would have to ream out the end pin, fit the transducer and often some internal electronics and a battery. If there is an undersaddle element I would have to adjust the action. I personally would not drill any holes in the top to install tone or volume controls because it is irreversible. Most of the time if there are electronics they are carefully hidden in the soundhole or sometimes an external preamp. My suggestions for an inexpensive A/E setup would be either one of the soundhole mag units ($15-30 to install) or a K&K Pure Mini ($100, $30 to install) http://www.kksound.com/products/puremini.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Tele Only thing I'm looking to do is amplify my acoustic. I don't want an electric sound out of it at all. I like the fuller sound towards the neck rather than the brighter sound so if I had to go anywhere with it it would be toward the neck. So actually the john lennon and gibson PU's I showed would go great with the sound I want MD thanks for the qoute man. I know your setup may be different than mine , but just trying to get a ballpark on what I'm going to spend on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 The pickups in your pictures are both magnetic style factory installed at the end of the fretboard. The thing in the sound hole of the Gibson is a "feedback buster" - it keeps the air chamber inside the guitar from feeding back. Magnetic pickups have more of an electric sound - they work on the principal of picking up the movement of the strings thru their magnetic field. There are some very good after market ones by Fishman, Seymour Duncan, LR Braggs and others that can range in price from 50 bucks to several hundred. The only real trick in installing one is drilling out the end pin to fit the jack (it is possible to damage your guitar, some of us who do this very often have a special reamer). If you were to bring me the guitar and pickup I would charge you one half to one hour of my labor - that would be in the $15-30 range. Other pickup system install inside the guitar - either under the saddle (piezo) or on the bridge plate, or some sort of internal microphone. Most of these have a more "acoustic" sound, the mics are probably the truest sounding). They can range from $75 to 300 and if I was installing it for you I might charge from one to three hours ($30 to 90). Depending on the type I would have to ream out the end pin, fit the transducer and often some internal electronics and a battery. If there is an undersaddle element I would have to adjust the action. I personally would not drill any holes in the top to install tone or volume controls because it is irreversible. Most of the time if there are electronics they are carefully hidden in the soundhole or sometimes an external preamp. My suggestions for an inexpensive A/E setup would be either one of the soundhole mag units ($15-30 to install) or a K&K Pure Mini ($100, $30 to install) http://www.kksound.com/products/puremini.php Thanks very much for the info freeman. I'll look some up on amazon to see what I like, but if my luthier will charge what you charge then I will be fine with that.On the PU question. If I got a feedback buster would I have to put the PU by the neck like the gibson and epi? have you ever heard of neweer 12 hole sound pickup? It's a rave on amazon and thought also it was very cheap. Also could I still have the knobs installed on the bottom of the guitar? I know you said I wouldn't need tone and volume controls, but how would I control the volume or tone? If so how much are those , and how much for labor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDMachiavelli Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 Tele Only thing I'm looking to do is amplify my acoustic. I don't want an electric sound out of it at all. I like the fuller sound towards the neck rather than the brighter sound so if I had to go anywhere with it it would be toward the neck. So actually the john lennon and gibson PU's I showed would go great with the sound I want MD thanks for the qoute man. I know your setup may be different than mine , but just trying to get a ballpark on what I'm going to spend on this Well the sound and criteria you were looking for is exactly what I was looking for and my tech recommended what I was telling you about and it sounded better than I imagined. He also told me that if I didn't want to spend that much money to go with Fishman, he stated he could have installed a Fishman for about $200 and it would sound almost as good as the LR Baggs. Just thought I would throw that out there if you are on a budget with this mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Well the sound and criteria you were looking for is exactly what I was looking for and my tech recommended what I was telling you about and it sounded better than I imagined. He also told me that if I didn't want to spend that much money to go with Fishman, he stated he could have installed a Fishman for about $200 and it would sound almost as good as the LR Baggs. Just thought I would throw that out there if you are on a budget with this mod. Well I can spend up to the 300 dollar range on it, but would like to go lower really. So yeah 200 sounds great. I don't have to get a professional type of acoustic sound of my PU , just as long as the PU can amplify my acoustic and make it sound Good, if you know what I mean. I'll look them up on amazon and figure out if I like one of them or not. Trying to actually find the PU's where the cord isn't coming out of the front of the acoustic though cause all these Pu's show the cord coming out the front of the guitar and I don't like that, unless im just reading wrong or something. I really don't know this is all new to me really trying to set up an acoustic to electric so. Saw a fishman neo-d that sounded good , but again the picture shows the cord coming out the front of the guitar again so IDK. Thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 18, 2015 Members Share Posted November 18, 2015 . . . Trying to actually find the PU's where the cord isn't coming out of the front of the acoustic though cause all these Pu's show the cord coming out the front of the guitar and I don't like that' date=' unless im just reading wrong or something. . . . Saw a fishman neo-d that sounded good , but again the picture shows the cord coming out the front of the guitar again so IDK. Thanks for the advice[/quote'] The Neo-D is a nice pickup on a budget and you can install it more-or-less permanently by wiring it to an endpin jack, which will take the place of the strap button: The Neo-D itself will cost you $50-90 depending on model and where you buy it, and an endpin jack will cost around $10. I'd make two recommendations: First, if there's a "luthier" near you, ask what he/she recommends and/or sells. It's a good idea to support local businesses. Second, go here and listen to some pickups: http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/. You can listen to clips of various pickups compared with the same guitar miked. Bear in mind that most of the aftermarket pickups out there don't include volume/tone controls so you'll probably need to make any adjustments at the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 The Neo-D is a nice pickup on a budget and you can install it more-or-less permanently by wiring it to an endpin jack, which will take the place of the strap button: The Neo-D itself will cost you $50-90 depending on model and where you buy it, and an endpin jack will cost around $10. I'd make two recommendations: First, if there's a "luthier" near you, ask what he/she recommends and/or sells. It's a good idea to support local businesses. Second, go here and listen to some pickups: http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/. You can listen to clips of various pickups compared with the same guitar miked. Bear in mind that most of the aftermarket pickups out there don't include volume/tone controls so you'll probably need to make any adjustments at the amp. The nearest luthier is about 45 minutes away, well at least that I know of, but I've talked to him and he said he can recreate a pickup in that position (like the gibson and epi) , but it would cost me around 120-150$. He just recommended me the K&K pure mini, but that PU is too much for me, I'm looking for something in the 50$ or less range. I really appreciate the link bro. That really helps me out a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 $50... http://jjb-electronics.com/prestige-330.html No knobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 $50... http://jjb-electronics.com/prestige-330.html No knobs. I was really looking forward to the knobs though. Love the classy look of it, but something I would be interested in if I could get the knobs with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 If you're after a more realistic acoustic guitar sound I suggest get this, with the preamp. A bit more than your $300 budget, but no magnetic soundhole pickup will do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 Whoops - the link: http://kksound.com/products/trinitypro.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 If you're after a more realistic acoustic guitar sound I suggest get this' date=' with the preamp. A bit more than your $300 budget, but no magnetic soundhole pickup will do the same.[/quote'] I'm on a strict budget from the old lady. Well not really , but I just can't go over a certain mark or if she find's out she'll hound me for months about it. The cheaper the better, but I'm already expecting to pay around the 200$ mark already if not more. I'm going for a warm/dark tone so a PU right by the neck should do it, Plus I just love the tone/volume knobs so much though. It gives the guitar a classy look that just cannot be replicated IMO, that's why I want them so bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 I get the look you're after. All good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 I was really looking forward to the knobs though. Love the classy look of it' date=' but something I would be interested in if I could get the knobs with it[/quote'] If your luthier is experienced in working on electrics, he'll be able to wire pretty much any pickup to a set of volume/tone knobs. I personally wouldn't do it; there are pickups like the L.R. Baggs M1A or the DiMarzio DP138 that have built-in volume controls but the M1A will run you $170 or so before installation and the DiMarzio will run about $130. I just hate the idea of drilling holes in a perfectly good guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I get the look you're after. All good! I appreciate the help though. I really would like a PU like that, but I'm also going for a look to the guitar also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 Why not just buy the Epi? Anyway, here's what I'd look into: http://shorelinemusic.com/collections/lr-baggs/products/lr-baggs-m1-active Built in preamp. (no preamp/passive version is $30 less.) It's removable. Magnetic, not microphonic like the JJB or K&K. $160. Installation is easy enough unless you don't want the cord dangling out of the soundhole and want an endpin jack installed instead. Even then it's a cheap and easy enough DIY project to do. Harbor Freight tools sells a reamer for $6 that you can fit into a drill like a drill bit. That's what I did when I put a JJB in my Martin. All told I electrified that guitar for about $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted November 19, 2015 Members Share Posted November 19, 2015 there is one more thing you need to consider into your cost calculation if you don't have an amp for your acoustic and you want to plug it in direct into your mixer/pa system, you need to have a DI box in between the output level and the impedance of a guitar pick up is not made to go directly into the mixer, the sound quality will not only be poor but bad and very bad. as well the volume you will get, will suffer a lot and you need to turn up the input gain on your mixer channel which will add a lot of unwanted noise.a DI box will fix this issue, it will align the impedance and set the signal to the correct level needed for a mixer input.a DI box is an absolute must have. there are some for less than $30 which you should avoid, purists and experts will tell you, you need to spent at least $200 cause everything below is crap and there are DI boxes for more than $500... i have a radial stage bug, which is currently at amazon around $70http://www.amazon.com/Radial-StageBug-SB-1-Active-Acoustic/dp/B00B5LCV2I/ its not the most versatile, its not the highest quality etc. but it gets the job done, but your mixer input needs to support phantom power. good thing about this you don't need to have a battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 20, 2015 Members Share Posted November 20, 2015 I had a Fishman undersaddle transducer installed in my Yamaha acoustic. I don't think the saddle need to be resized but it may have. There is no battery or preamp installed in the guitar so the only alteration was an enlargement of the strap button hole. I use an external LR Baggs preamp with the Fishman to match impedance and buffer the output. It sounds great. That would be my recommendation if you want an amplified acoustic sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted November 20, 2015 Members Share Posted November 20, 2015 Just get a Baggs M1A. The only part of the install that might require a luthier or good tech is reaming the endpin hole for the output Jack so super simple install. It works with any type of amplification without a preamp. Straight to board, acoustic amp, even regular guitar amp. I have one in my Recording King RO7. It can sound like an acoustic only louder thru a PA or acoustic amp, or pretty darn rock n roll thru my Orange Micro Terror. Another nice thing is there is a jack between the pickup and the endpinjack. So if you ever want to install it on ather guitar all you do is unplug the pickup from the interal wiring and remove it from the soundhole. The internal wiring can be left in and a new wiring kit purchased for you other guitar for not much money. Then you can switch the pickup easily between guitars. I also put a GFS lipstick pickup into a Gretsch Jim Dandy and drilled it for a volume pot and knob. But I run electric nickel steel strings on it because that's an electric guitar pickup. So of course it has a much more electric tone. I use it a lot for slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 20, 2015 Members Share Posted November 20, 2015 I think you need to be careful. Once you start carving up your acoustic guitar to put electric guitar parts in it, things can get out of hand rather quickly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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