Can I get an aftermarket pickup installed in this?

[timmay8612]

Heavily considering buying this guitar. Can aftermarket electronics be installed do you think? I'm assuming that normally a tech just reaches in thru the sound hole to install these things??? How would that work with this offset sound hole? Thanks guys!

[blackpig]

Drill a hole in the bridge for a piezo pickup; then drill another hole through the end block for the jack. Wire the pickup to the jack. Then feed a piece of stiff wire through the body from the jack end, attach it to the jack and then simply pull it through until enough protrudes at the bottom for you to attach the locking nut.

 

Installing an on-board preamp will be a bit strange - if you mount it in the usual place on the upper bout it will interfere with air passing through the soundhole and it'll look awful as you'll be able to see its guts and wiring.

 

Just install an undersaddle pickup and then plug into an external preamp like the Fishman.

[S~R~O]

Well I haven't seen any soundhole pickups for them!!!

but a soundboard and/or a undersaddle pickups will work.....

[guitarist21]

 

Heavily considering buying this guitar. Can aftermarket electronics be installed do you think? I'm assuming that normally a tech just reaches in thru the sound hole to install these things??? How would that work with this offset sound hole? Thanks guys!

 

 

It depends on the type of pickup you're getting. Do you know what kind you want? Lots of options: UST, SBT, soundhole magnetic (probably not going to work too well here), etc.

 

Ellen

[moctzal]

That pickguard really threw me for a second. It should be possible to get a UST or and SBT in there.

[timmay8612]

So I'm thinking Baggs electronics. I have had good results from them before. Any recommendations on what to get? I will probably be using it in a blend of high and low SPL situations, sometimes quiet acoustic sets, other times with a bassist, heavy-handed alt. percussionist, etc.

[Terry Allan Hall]

So I'm thinking Baggs electronics. I have had good results from them before. Any recommendations on what to get? I will probably be using it in a blend of high and low SPL situations, sometimes quiet acoustic sets, other times with a bassist, heavy-handed alt. percussionist, etc.

 

 

http://www.barcusberry.com/product_html/1457_1457xl.html

[Stackabones]

Schatten

[timmay8612]

Terry-

 

Have you personally used the barcus berry pickup before? Does it mar finish with its "adhesive mounting" system? Will it stay put for a good long time? Any info would be great!

[Terry Allan Hall]

 

Terry- Have you personally used the barcus berry pickup before? Does it mar finish with its "adhesive mounting" system? Will it stay put for a good long time? Any info would be great!

 

 

Yes, I have...won't hurt the finish, and the one stuck on my friend Linda's Martin D-16 has been there for about 5 years...she recently removed it to polish the guitar, then put it back on.

 

Sounds great w/ my PADI or her Behringer ADI-21.

[timmay8612]

Any chance I could get something like the Baggs iBeam in this? I'm assuming you have to be able to reach the underside of the bridge with your hand to install the endpin jack/pickup and I kinda doubt any tech is gonna be able to get an arm anywhere near that bridge with that offset sound hole or am I wrong?

[DeepEnd]

I have no experience with other brands but my Fishman PowerJack has a hole drilled across the end that you can use to tie a string or coarse thread to the jack. You run the thread/string through the endpin hole then pull the jack into place. You don't need to be able to reach inside the guitar.

In your situation, if you were installing an UST, you'd drill a hole in the bridge, run the lead through the hole, run the lead back out through the soundhole, solder it to the jack, and then use the handy thread/string to get the jack in place. A mirror and forceps might come in handy but no reachng inside. You'd probably need to attach the battery holder (if any) to a small block of wood and then glue that to the side of the guitar since you might not be able to reach the neck block. This is what Fishman recommends anyway, except for the part about gluing the block of wood to the side. A passive UST or external preamp would eliminate this step. The only other time you (or the tech) are going to have to reach inside is to attach the little clips that keep the wiring out of the way.