When did Gibson start putting pick-ups in their acoustic guitars?

[RBSinTo]

Does anyone know when Gibson began putting pick-ups in their acoustic guitars? I'm trying to determine if my 2001 j-45 which has no pick-up, but does have an in-put jack was originally factory electrified. Please and thank you.

RBSinTo

 

[zombywoof]

Factory installed pickups first appeared in  1951 with the CF100E,  but I suspect you are talking about a newer UST pickup.  If you want to know what it would have been you might simply look at  other '01 J45s for sale.   

Edited March 9, 2020 by zombywoof

[62burst]

When they're building the J-45, if it was to become a non-pickup guitar, such as the  Historic Collection model,  later to become the True Vintage series, it would not be equipped with the input jack, which requires the larger hole in the tail block. Doubtful that was done by accident at Bozeman, but they're made by humans, so . . .  

Have you had a look inside the guitar for any remaining wire stays still adhered to the top? No remnants of where a battery bag might've been, or possibly a bit of broken wire end on the inside of the input jack?

Wondering also- most acoustic-electrics had a Tusq™ saddles, which have a distinctly different sound when lightly dropped on a hard surface than a bone saddle does. You might want to keep in mind that a typical UST ribbon under the saddle can be ~. 030" thick, so removing it could lower string height. 

Another thing to check:  get your camera phone inside the guitar and snap a pic of the bridge plate:  it would be interesting to see if there was a small pre-drilled hole into it for the braided wire that would've come from an undersaddle transducer. For some reason, Gibson doesn't seem to use the 2 small referencing holes drilled into the bridge plate to route the wire. Instead, they drill another small hole slightly to the outside of the one on the bass side. Gibson acoustics without electronics don't seem to have that hole pre-drilled. Curious to hear what you find.

One last option- you could email Gibson Customer Service with your question- they should be able to tell you more about your guitar by it's serial number.

Edited March 8, 2020 by 62burst

[vw1300]

My 2001 J-50 had a UST pickup which appeared to be factory but I can't prove it.

[bobouz]

Yes, the 2001 J-45 came stock with the standard Fishman UST that was used on many models during the early 2000s.  There was a metal two-pronged battery clip on the neckblock & no control wheels.

[bobouz]

1 hour ago, vw1300 said:

My 2001 J-50 had a UST pickup which appeared to be factory but I can't prove it.

 

Your 2001 J-50 came with the same Fishman UST as I noted above for the J-45.  Again, during this particular period, many Gibson models came stock with the exact same UST, including an ‘00 J-100, ‘01 J-150, ‘01 J-50, and ‘02 J-45R that I bought new at the time.  I also have catalogs from this era that list which models came stock with a UST.  Personally, I’ve always thought it was a pretty good pickup!

[vw1300]

 Re: stock Fishman UST - I just wasn't satisfied with it and put in a K&K mini, IMO it has a much more natural sound with a handy volume wheel in the soundhole, a big upgrade if you play plugged in.  

[tlwwalker]

I have a friend who owns a 1994 Blues King Electro with factory pickups.....

His guitar influenced me a great deal when I chose the 2007 L-4A EC Rosewood I now own.

[J-1854Me]

Different models came/come standard with pickup systems starting in different years.  I don't know that there's any solid dates associated with this though.

"Historic" and "vintage" models are least likely to have pickups, but 'standard' models seem to pretty much all come with them nowadays.

My  '01 did not have a pickup, but a 2013 model did.  So probably somewhere in the mid-00s is when they started putting them in all of whatever was considered "standard" models.

That's my uneducated wild guess.

Fred

[RBSinTo]

Thank you all for the advice and insight. I checked inside the body and can't find any remnants of wiring or pick-ups other than the input jack itself, so my next step will be to email the Gibson customer service department with the serial number and hope that they can help me. Not a matter of life and death, but merely idle curiosity about my last to be purchased guitar.

RBSinTo

 

[gearbasher]

My '99 J-45 Rosewood has a factory installed Fishman.  If I were to remove it, the only evidence would be the end pin jack and a small hole under the saddle.

[RBSinTo]

Gearbasher,

I looked inside the body but wasn't certain what tiny clues I should be looking for, other than the obvious ones. Easy enough to have the Luthiers at the local guitar store take a peek next time I visit them.  Meanwhile, I'm waiting for a reply from Gibson Customer Service. Based on the serial number, they might be able to answer my question.

RBSinTo

Edited March 10, 2020 by RBSinTo

[62burst]

56 minutes ago, RBSinTo said:

but wasn't certain what tiny clues I should be looking for

 

This.

(the hole for the UST braided wire should be roughly parallel with the other two similarly sized holes directly under where the saddle sits in it's slot)

Edited March 9, 2020 by 62burst

[RBSinTo]

62burst,

I didn't notice holes like these when I looked, but I didn't know what I was looking for. Now that I've seen your post, I'll check again. Thanks,

RBSinTo

[bobouz]

Again, a stock 2001 J-45 would have come equipped with a Fishman UST.

It’s possible that yours could have been ordered without one, but the highest probability is that it was there & has been removed.

[RBSinTo]

On 3/8/2020 at 7:01 PM, bobouz said:

Yes, the 2001 J-45 came stock with the standard Fishman UST that was used on many models during the early 2000s.  There was a metal two-pronged battery clip on the neckblock & no control wheels.

bobouz,

I checked the neckblock and found two screw holes, so I guess they are the remnants of the battery clip. Everything else between it and the input jack is long gone, but at least now I know.

Thanks everyone for their help.

RBSinTo