Pick-up for an old J45

[Prof]

Hi everyone here. I have been lurking on and off while I was looking for an older J45 to go with my 2002 model. I finally found a beautiful '51 model. I often played the 2002 guitar plugged in at gigs. I'm wondering how best to handle this situation with my new (old) guitar. I'm obviously loathe to mess it up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

John

[ParlourMan]

Firstly, you should factor in that in the eyes of some you would be taking the originality away of a vintage piece by doing so, if you mean a fixed picked? It could make it less valuable or less collectable, the collectors can be a fussy bunch about aftermarket alterations. The alternative is to use a temporary soundhole one that is removeable, agin the only downside is this can lead to dings, scratches & wear around that area.

 

Although, having a modern pickup system actually fitted to an older guitar could be an excellent buy because of these factors, always nice to be able to play it if you found yourself in the occasion.

[jedzep]

Hi John. I guess purists would say that S'hole pickups change the tone, so playing into a mic is the best alternative. That's annoying though if you like to move around when you play. I wouldn't worry about wear on the soundhole edge, as I assume a '51 has it's share of scuffs and dings anyway. I've been using the same Lawrence p'up for 20+ years and haven't marred the finish, despite it's rather primitive design.

 

I got my '57 J45 for $2600. How much did yours run you, and does it have the notorious shrinking pickguard crack up alongside the fretboard?

[jannusguy2]

I use a Baggs M1A in my 1951 J45. I just let the cable hang out of the sound hole. Works like a charm and sounds great to me. Take it on and off as needed with no damage or changes to the guitar.

[zombywoof]

Go Old School. Find a DeArmond 210 pickup. If you wanted to plug your acoustic in in the 1950s it was these or pretty much nuttin'. If you can grab one with the B string pole exposed (you will also run across pickups with the B pole covered which is the most common 210). I have been using them since the 1960s and still slap them across the soundholes of my guitars.

 

DiMarzio used to make one heck of a soundhole pickup - the DP 139. They are hard to find as they tend to get snapped up in a heartbeat when one shows up for sale.

 

Other than that I would heartily suggest spending the bucks and getting a Sunrise soundhole pickup.

 

While you can always run the cable out of the soundhole (somebody makes a lttle gizmo that attaches to you endpin to which you can attach the cable) don't fret too much about replacing the endpin with a jack. They make 'em for "vintage" guitars where you don't want to be reaming out the endpin hole and it will not hurt the value so that you would notice

[EuroAussie]

I have a 60's Humminbird which I wanted to play out but didnt want to drill or make any modifications. Tried a number of soundhole / magentic type pickups and have found the holy grail in a Fishamn Rare Earth Blend. It easily attached to the soundhole and is a combination of mike and humbucker which yoou can blend according to your desired mix.

 

Works great, lovelly warm tone and when Im done it comes off in a few scononds. Worth a try !

[Danner]

I think the cleanest set-up is a K&K Pure mini glued under the bridge plate (it's passive, so there is no battery or preamp in the guitar), and then run the connector out the strap button. But, get a Tapastring 1/8" jack run through a tapered strap jack. That way, if you pull the pick-up out of the guitar, you can simply insert a standard tapered strap button and no one will be the wiser (well, except people who know that vintage Gibsons did not come with a tapered strap pin).

 

Here is the K&K with the full 1/4" jack:

 

 

And, here is the Tapastring 1/8" jack in a tapered pin:

[thefishingline]

all nice comments

[ParlourMan]

I think the cleanest set-up is a K&K Pure mini glued under the bridge plate (it's passive, so there is no battery or preamp in the guitar).

 

 

Just completed an order for one of these earlier on this afternoon for my SJ-200TV ;)

[KL]

I also use an L R Baggs M1 active in my 66 J45. These are great sounding pickups.

 

I've also heard good things about the K & K mini. If you really don't want to drill out an endpin socket you could try leaving the wire inside and bring a lead out through the soundhole, but you would have to be careful as a look jack inside an acoustic could potentially do a lot of damage if it rattled around in transit.

[Prof]

Thanks everyone for all that advice, really useful. I'll do my research around those suggestions and make a decision. I really bought it for the tone, and I guess I'll never sell it, so perhaps a leadout through the strap button is not a bad idea. Ledzep, mine has the shrinking pickguard alright but not the crack. I paid around 3.5K for it.

cheers

John

[slimt]

I like the Old Clip on D Armonds.. with the thumb wheel volume..

[Jon S.]

I use a Baggs M1A in my 1951 J45. I just let the cable hang out of the sound hole. Works like a charm and sounds great to me. Take it on and off as needed with no damage or changes to the guitar.

 

+1(and nice J-45's!!). I've used the Baggs M1 in a couple of acoustics, and they've always sounded great to my ears.

[roughdiamond]

I've been using the same Lawrence p'up for 20+ years and haven't marred the finish, despite it's rather primitive design.

 

 

+1 handy in/ out yoke with TRS 1/4" jack. I have the same Bill Lawrence except the mag cover is red not grey. Was thinking baggs M1 or K&K mini upgrade but my thoughts are none the wiser in choice to justify substantial improvement...

 

Just completed an order for one of these earlier on this afternoon for my SJ-200TV ;)

 

Hi there Mr 'Bourger' and chips! Would love to know how this pans out for you? I think somebody on the forum got the JJB version of this..

 

There was a Sunrise in my local buy and sell before Xmas but Mr Tom Cruises' vid put me off..I think fishman has a their own version out now too..