Acoustic pickup suggestions for '61 reissue Casino?

[id-man]

I want to add acoustic sound to my recently acquired '61 reissue Casino with Tremotone vibrato. I am totally in love with this guitar and despite being a very handy guy with lots of patience, experience and even a fair assortment of tools, I don't want to muck it up. I'd appreciate input on the options that will work best in this configuration, and if it's an invasive installation, maybe tips on where I could sent it...back to Epiphone for a factory install, or maybe to one of the aftermarket manufacturers like Fishman or Graphtech? My local authorized Fishman dealer I would not trust to install a new set of strings.

-Thanks

 

 

[tweed2]

I have a P-90 pickup from Vintage Vibe, at the neck of my Casino and it gets about as acoustic as I think you can get, without going piezo. The magnets are interchangeable, from AlNico II to ceramic. And, because you can pull them, you can also flip them. I use an AlNico II, with the magnet flipped and 5% underwound from vintage. Sounds very "organic" and big box , jazzy. Talk to Pete there, he's great at helping find your sound.

[id-man]

Hey tweed2, I know Pete! Good guy.

I've got 2 of his humbucker sized p90s in the predecessor to my new Casino (a semi hollow 335 copy) and love the sound. It's one of the things that helped me define what I wanted in a guitar. wouldn't call it 'acoustic' though, at least not in that guitar...perhaps in the full hollow Casino. But my original question assumed there'd be a piezo involved in some fashion, whether the bridge / saddles or some kind of contact pickup. I've never owned an electric guitar with a piezo before so I'm lost where to start looking. Naturally I'd like to get as natural an acoustic tone as possible. The tone's more important than the cost (within reason). Another question is whether it would be smart to include some kind of built-in preamp so I could run it direct to a mixer.

So many questions...

Thanks,

id-man