The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Good evening. I could use some help, please. I have an acoustic Kingpin and I want to add a new Guild DeArmond Rhythm Chief pickup to it. I want to use Shatten thumbwheel controls under the pickguard. I will route the wiring through the F hole under the pickguard. I am not certain if I should drill a hole for the jack or use an end-pin jack, and would appreciate any thoughts.

    Also, there is a small hole in the body under the tailpiece that was used by the factory to bolt on the neck; if I take a ground wire from the jack and run it through the hole to the inside of the tailpiece and reassemble, will the strings be sufficiently grounded?

    Lastly, I will need to rout the pickguard to accommodate the width of the pickup. Is there a way to mathematically determine the optimum pickup distance from the end of the fingerboard on the support rod? I've thought about assembling everything but not reinstalling the pickguard and trying trial and error to get the position, but that seems a bit crude.

    Thanks for your help on this project.

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  3. #2

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    I would use an end-pin jack. It requires no reinforcement of the rim, which would be necessary for installing a jack in the rim. And that's not easy to do after the fact.

    If the tailpiece is metal, that should be sufficient for a ground. In fact, if you use an endpin jack, that will probably provide grounding by itself. I don't know the diameter of the hole in the tailpiece where the strap pin is now, but it's likely that you would need to drill it out to allow the endpin to go through, and if you make it the right size you can easily provide the ground.

    I prefer putting the pickup right up against the neck, the further from the bridge the better. Some people believe that putting the polepieces under the theoretical 24th fret is necessary, but I don't. I just want it as far from the bridge as possible.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    I would use an end-pin jack. It requires no reinforcement of the rim, which would be necessary for installing a jack in the rim. And that's not easy to do after the fact.

    If the tailpiece is metal, that should be sufficient for a ground. In fact, if you use an endpin jack, that will probably provide grounding by itself. I don't know the diameter of the hole in the tailpiece where the strap pin is now, but it's likely that you would need to drill it out to allow the endpin to go through, and if you make it the right size you can easily provide the ground.

    I prefer putting the pickup right up against the neck, the further from the bridge the better. Some people believe that putting the polepieces under the theoretical 24th fret is necessary, but I don't. I just want it as far from the bridge as possible.
    Ok, thanks for this information. I'll go with the end-pin as you suggest. The strap-pin is not attached to the tailpiece, but I can bring a wire from the end-pin ground and attach it to the tailpiece through the hole in the body.

    One more question, please. I can make a long forcep to tighten the lockbolt on the end-pin, but is the long barrel cover needed?

  5. #4

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    It depends on the type you have and the depth of the end block, if I understand you. Probably better to have it, it can't hurt anything.

    If you install the jack properly, you don't need a ground wire. The jack goes through the tailpiece, with a nut and washer on each side of it, the cover screws onto it from the outside, and there is a solid connection between the jack case and the tailpiece. That way, you don't need for the hole in the tailpiece to actually hold the jack in place, it's held by the tailpiece. I've seen it done the other way with wooden tailpieces with no metal, but if the tailpiece is metal, use it as the anchor.

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    It depends on the type you have and the depth of the end block, if I understand you. Probably better to have it, it can't hurt anything.

    If you install the jack properly, you don't need a ground wire. The jack goes through the tailpiece, with a nut and washer on each side of it, the cover screws onto it from the outside, and there is a solid connection between the jack case and the tailpiece. That way, you don't need for the hole in the tailpiece to actually hold the jack in place, it's held by the tailpiece. I've seen it done the other way with wooden tailpieces with no metal, but if the tailpiece is metal, use it as the anchor.
    The hinge of the the Godin tailpiece doesn't extend down the rim very far, so the existing strap pin does not pass through it. I don't think what you're suggesting would work.

    Adding electronics to an acoustic Kingpin-godin002-jpg

    I haven't taken the tailpiece off my (electric) Kingpin so I can't say for sure, but I assume there's a wire running through a hole in the body to the tailpiece to ground it. The output jack is rim mounted.

    John

  7. #6

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    OK, if the tailpiece is that small, a wire would be necessary. It can be routed to the tailpiece in a number of ways, all of which should work. Using an endpin jack without going through the tailpiece makes it a little fiddlier, but still doable. The hardest part is likely to be drilling through the end block for the tailpiece without any tearout. But slow and careful will get it done.

  8. #7
    OK, thanks for all the help. I was planning on using a graduated approach to drilling out the block to minimize splintering.

    Thanks John A. for the pic; yes, there is a hole underneath the tailpiece hinge that was used to tighten the neck in place and I assume on an electric model it was also used for a ground strap: It's conveniently located. Now that I feel I can do this mod myself I'll be ordering my parts in about a week.