blindboygrunt Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 ok , this has been sorta freakin me out for a while and today i read yet again on one of the posts about having no pickup in a guitar . i dont have a problem with anyone wanting what they want and having things as they should be in your own corner of the universe . no ones right and no ones wrong . but i have even read someone saying that they wouldnt buy a particular guitar because it had a pickup installed i have read that folk wish they made , oh i dunno , the J45's historic with no pickup , as an example , maybe factually incorrect , doesnt matter heres the question thts nagging me .. why not just take the pickup out ? and secondly ... how much difference would it make if one is there ? no need to point out that , say a 1935 one is ever so slightly 'ruined' by modern electronics , like a satnav in a model t ford would look a bit weird .... but would people turn their noses up at a potentially great guitar just beause it had a couple wires inside it ? this isnt any arfgument for pickups , i'm not an LR baggs sales rep or nuthin :-) just cant understand and wanna know if i'm missing something cheers folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 . Some folks want a pure acoustic guitar. And some of those would use an external mic (nothing in the guitar). Some have issues with certain types of transducers - mostly the UST variety as it is in between the saddle and the wood of the bridge, possibly changing aspects of the string vibrations transmitted to the top. I have a J-200 with a UST and it is installed well - no angles, saddle snug in the grove, no rocking, with a flat bottom Colosi bone saddle sitting properly on top the transducer - I think the unplugged sound is a good as any I've played without a UST. But that's me - someone else might have a different opinion. They sure do sell a lot of guitars manufactured with UST setups. B) BTW, there have been members here that have removed factory UST setups. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I prefer my acoustics "au naturel".....sans pickup. Probably is much ado about nothing, but I just don't want anything between the saddle and the bridge. I removed the pickup from my Hummingbird within 15 minutes of arriving home with it. Gotta go. Pronto. So no, a guitar having a pickup in it would not deter my purchase if the guitar is otherwise right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 For me I have no electronics on any of my guitar but it's just because I play mainly for myself (sometimes for small groups of family or friends and a few days ago to my gf) but playing guitar for me is something private my own space and I have no need for electronics but I might oneday consider getting a j 45 standard with electronics and all. I think it depends on what people play some of us are just couch guys :) and there is no shame in saying that a guitar is sacred to me just as a guitar might be sacred for Bob Dylan who has played to millons of people in his lifetime JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I don't like seeing any electronics in vintage guitars. Ruins their appeal IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 i'll try and give an example of how my head isnt getting round this one would you not buy a dream house that had a garage because you dont have a car ? (and i know you need somewhere for a lawnmower :-P ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 i'll try and give an example of how my head isnt getting round this one would you not buy a dream house that had a garage because you dont have a car ? (and i know you need somewhere for a lawnmower :-P ) this is kinda extreme , but say the buyer is an ecology purist the thought of the garage just makes him cringe because it reminds him the cars liberates harmful gases ... he wouldn't buy it just because of that reason . so I guess for an acoustic purist the thought of a pickup or cutaway affects him deeply no matter how nice the guitar looks and sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have no use for factory installed pickups, tuners or whatever on my guitars and I own no acoustics that came with onboard electronics. Then again, my youngest acoustic was made around 1960. If I want to plug in I just slap one of these across the soudhole. Not everybody's cup of tea but I love the Lightnin' Hopkins vibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J-Doug Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have removed the UST from my J-100 Xtra and the J-50 I used to own, traded away the J-50 and then put another UST (Fishman Matrix Infinity) back in the J-100 Xtra. I can't really tell the difference even though I used to think I could. The J-100Xtra sounds great to my ears both ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 My concern is whether or not a particular pickup configuration can be removed from the guitar with no evidence of its having existed. For example, do UST installations require modification of the bridge itself? If there is a jack in the endpin, is the hole for the endpin therefore oversize? What I don't want is anything that compromises the guitar compared to the same guitar built without electronics. I also have no particular desire to pay for components that I have no intention of using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 My concern is whether or not a particular pickup configuration can be removed from the guitar with no evidence of its having existed. When removing a UST (like the one I removed from my Hummingbird) there is some evidence left behind. There is the tiny hole in the bottom of the bridge slot that the transducer wire passed through, and yes, the endpin hole is oversized. The pin hole in the bridge slot is a non-factor......it's definitely out of sight and poses no hinderance to function. I purchased a bone endpin plug from Colosi that fits the oversized hole of the endpin jack perfectly, providing a normal size strap button.....looks like THIS. Outwardly there is little evidence that there was ever a pickup in the guitar, and functionally there is no evidence at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 When removing a UST (like the one I removed from my Hummingbird) there is some evidence left behind. There is the tiny hole in the bottom of the bridge slot that the transducer wire passed through, and yes, the endpin hole is oversized. The pin hole in the bridge slot is a non-factor......it's definitely out of sight and poses no hinderance to function. I purchased a bone endpin plug from Colosi that fits the oversized hole of the endpin jack perfectly, providing a normal size strap button..... Outwardly there is little evidence that there was ever a pickup in the guitar, and functionally there is no evidence at all. Buc, I take your point. My point is that I'd just as soon not pay for on-board electronics and go through this exercise of removing them and bringing the guitar back to its "pure" acoustic state if possible. I see a lot of guitars with on-board electronics with controls in the soundhole, etc. Those aren't held in place by gravity: there must be some kind of fastening mechanism. I'm a bit hypersensitive to the modification of acoustic guitars, since I have a couple of living, breathing examples of that. I don't begrudge the checkered pasts of my 65-year-old guitars, but for a new or near-new guitar, I'd prefer to keep it unaltered if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J-Doug Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 j45nick, the electronics on side of the soundhole are attached with double-sided tape. These work great too for filling the hole left by removing the endpin jack: http://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/Item.aspx?itemid=1199&categoryid=1009&page=3 I used them on both of the Gibsons I removed the electronics from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 j45nick, the electronics on side of the soundhole are attached with double-sided tape. Thanks. Gol'darn it, I wondered why my fingers was stickin' to both sides of that stuff. What won't they think of next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Good subject raised I think for some buyers it would be a plus to have a quality pup installed, maybe not so much on a vintage piece. But to have an end pin ready and drilled could be an advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sboiir Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I think your question or thought goes to the “ What's good to one person ain't so to another.” I don't like electrics on my acoustics. And have never been interested in a guitar that had any installed. In fact when I ordered mine from Gibson, I specifically ordered it without electrics. I thought it was going to be a custom order and cost me more, but the dealer actually discounted it about $500.00. I figured electronics will only get better as time goes, so if I wanted them later, I could get the up-to-date stuff put on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I think your question or thought goes to the “ What's good to one person ain't so to another.” I don't like electrics on my acoustics. And have never been interested in a guitar that had any installed. In fact when I ordered mine from Gibson, I specifically ordered it without electrics. I thought it was going to be a custom order and cost me more, but the dealer actually discounted it about $500.00. I figured electronics will only get better as time goes, so if I wanted them later, I could get the up-to-date stuff put on. Good call! I'll keep that one in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I have no use for factory installed pickups, tuners or whatever on my guitars and I own no acoustics that came with onboard electronics. Then again, my youngest acoustic was made around 1960. If I want to plug in I just slap one of these across the soudhole. Not everybody's cup of tea but I love the Lightnin' Hopkins vibe. Does that pickup have only 5 gizmo's under the strings, not 6? Yep, it does. What's up with that, just curious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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