Removing the piezo

[egoidealmusic]

So, I'd been wanting to replace the piezo in my 50s J-45 with a soundhole pickup and had heard about the unplugged (i.e. actually acoustic) tonal improvement of taking that strip out so the saddle has direct conact wtih the wood.  Thought I would test on my recently acquired Inspired by Gibson Epiphone Hummingbird, and holy cow what a difference.  Much louder, fuller, and with clearer note articulation (kept the same strings on as I wanted a true comparison).  I konw folks have talked about this here but I just wanted to share how amazed I am at the difference.   Will probably let a pro do it on the J-45 as it's a much more expensive guitar, but I may not given how easy it was.  Even with getting the saddle just right (a high quality bone replacement but that still needed some height adjustment and fine tuning) the whole project was done in about an hour.

[Buc McMaster]

I too have removed the transducer from several guitars:  not much love for the piezo quack and I absolutely detest the over-sized output jack/strap button.  I honestly do not recall any dramatic improvement in tone nor any significant change in the action............if anything the action was improved.  If you are pleased with your work on the Epi there's no need to fear the same job on your J-45.

[egoidealmusic]

Thanks, Buc.  Yeah, I'm not a fan of that piezo quack, and this one was way more quacky than the Gibson.  Will test out this soundhole pickup before I make the change but will probably just do it myself.

[Silversurfer]

Some people hear a noticeable difference, some don’t.  I think it depends on the person and the guitar. I removed the Baggs Element UST from my J45 Standard and thought it made a huge difference. Part of it is that the Tusq saddle wiggles a bit in the slot. I put in a new bone saddle that was a snug fit in the slot and it seemed to make the saddle, bridge and top vibrate as one.  
 

If you’re unsure about removing it, you can try it by just removing the saddle, lifting the UST braid out of its slot and pulling/pushing it into the hole in the bridge under the saddle (into the guitar).  The wiring clips will keep it from banging around in there and you can put in a new saddle and string it back up.

 

If you decide to remove it permanently, you’ll need to pull the wiring out from the clips (you can feel inside where they are), detaching the battery bag, and removing the preamp and endpin jack.  Just be careful removing the endpin jack so you don’t scratch the finish.  You can do it, just take your time and use the right tools.

[Jinder]

I’ve removed the UST and installed a soundhole pickup in every UST-equipped guitar I’ve owned over the last few years. Significant tone/volume improvement with zero drawbacks for me…can’t stand USTs.

[egoidealmusic]

Yeah, I've never heard a UST that sounded good, at least not without a ton of processing.  I've got a drawer with about 5 USTs that I've been meaning to sell.

[J185cat]

FYI, if you remove the jack as I did on one of my J45’s, Bob Colossi makes some really nice wooden end pins that fit the opening. I bought a rosewood one and with just a small amount of sanding it fit in perfect. I think most of the ones he makes are ebony but he may have some rosewood ones left.

[dhanners623]

Add my vote. Had the Baggs Element removed from my J-35 and it was a noticeable improvement. For one thing, the repairman noted the Tusq saddle was too thin so it was leaning in the slot. We replaced it with a properly fitted Bob Colosi saddle and boy howdy, what an upgrade.

The other consideration is weight. Even though the Element’s electronics/controls and battery don’t weigh a ton, their absence makes the guitar lighter and seemingly more responsive.

If I need to plug in, I use a Baggs M1. The endpin jack is still wired.

if I ever want to remove the jack, I can plug the hole with the NoJak Endpin from StewMac. I’ve used one before and it works great. https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/endpins-and-bridge-pins/nojak-endpin/

[egoidealmusic]

Thanks for the input, all.  I've come to really like the DiMarzio Black Angel soundhole pickups (decent cost friendly alternative to a Sunrise) so I'm going to likely go in that direction.  Will definitely need a new saddle.  Went with a cheaper one for the Epiphone (which I'm actually really happy with in terms of tone and intonation) but will splurge a bit on a Colosi for the Gibson.  I've done this kind of work a dozen times before on cheaper guitars so I guess there's really not much difference--just some paranoia that I've gotten over.