Never gonna plug in

[gearbasher]

My two J45s have undersaddle pups and to be honest I don't like the way they sound through an amp. Plus, I play for myself and have no need or desire to plug in. Hence, I'm contemplating removing the pups. I have two questions about this and the answers to both will be what pushes me to either remove 'em or leave 'em be.

1) Will they sound better, acousticallly, with the undersaddle pups removed?

2) If I remove the strap button/jack will an end pin fit in the hole without any mod?

 

Oh, and if your answers convince me to remove them, one guitar has a volume switch mounted to the top just inside the sound hole. What is the safest way to remove it without damaging the wood?

 

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

[skipm]

The endpin jacks are definitely bigger than a standard endpin. You can fill the hole and redrill for a standard endpin, or Bob Colosi makes some endpin plugs that are nice. You could just pull the pup and leave the endpin jack in place too. My J-45 had the pup pulled when I got it, but the jack was still in place. I needed the electronics for playing with the band every week, so I put the pup back in . I had to solder the wiring back together, since it was cut when the pup was removed. I really did not notice a huge difference in sound with it out, or in. It will change the saddle height some if you remove the pup and that will affect your setup.

[Eddie Rondack]

Hi,

 

I've removed the pickups from a couple of guitars... pretty easy. I used the Colosi endpins and they're fantastic. You might as well order a new saddle from him at the same time, cause you're going to obviously need some extra height with the undersaddle pickup removed. As for the volume control, I just pulled it off very slowly. I think they're stuck on there with double-sided tape.

 

To my ears, they sound better without the pickups under the saddle...

[dan@kins]

I'm a fan of Bob Colosi's saddles. I just wanted to chime in and give a good word for his products.

[ballcorner]

The advice you get here about using the Bob C. products is exactly what you need. I would simply add that if the pickup is original from the factory then make sure you save it and the saddle you remove in the event someone wants it back to original condition in the future.

[Jinder]

The other day, I whipped the Element out of my Hummingbird, and popped the saddle back in and re-strung it out of curiosity. I did notice that the sound was a little thinner, oddly, without it, but it would have probably sounded better with a Bone saddle.

[Eddie Rondack]

Hey Jinder-

 

I think it could have sounded thinner because the action was significantly lower... I've had that happen to me before. For some reason, if you get the strings up a bit, it get's louder and fuller. Seems that way to me, anyway.

 

Cheers!

[TWilson]

I think it's like having the option of 4-wheel drive on my vehicle. It's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it!

[JOESTONE]

I got the electronics (P-90) put back in my CF-100E and although I don't like the sound through an amp, it sounds great through a PA with the proper EQ.

[gearbasher]

I think it's like having the option of 4-wheel drive on my vehicle. It's better to have it and not need it' date=' then to need it and not have it![/size']

 

That thought has crossed my mind. Thanks for all the input. I think I'll remove it from one and leave the other as is. As far as the strap button/jack: I don't want to cut any wires or fill and drill a new hole for the end pin. From experience, I've learned never make any mods that can't be easily changed back to original. I'm thinking af getting an ebony pen blank and turning my own endpin to fit the hole. I hardly have time to play the thing, so it might be a while. Thanks again, all.