Archtop Guitar Modification Insight???

[Zoarial]

Im not entirely sure where to post about this, as archtops are kinda half electric half acoustic, but anyhow;
The last week ive been playing around with the idea of installing graphtech's ghost piezoelectric saddle system. If your not familier with the concept the here's a link for a short explanation => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_...ectric_pickups

In short, the retrofit will required a new bridge to be installed, a microchip to be secured inside the guitar, a new hole to be drilled for an additional pot, and one for an additional mini switch. All in all, this set up would allow me to amplify the acoustic signals of an electric guitar, being easily able to switch between that and the magnetic pickups at the flick of a switch.

Now comes my dilema, the guitar in question is going to be one of Epiphones archtops, the dot studio, which ofcourse has a semi hollow body and no electronics cavity. That last bit is the important factor, as there is very little access to the inside of the guitar, and i was wondering if anyone has had any experience with modifying any kind of archtop, or even knows a bit about them and could give their views on what i might find particularly difficult about this project? The wiring doesnt scare me, its just the drilling of relatively thin bits of guitar body and replacing the bridge.

[Jabberwocky]

Have you considered mounting the them all under the pickguard?

[dave251]

Making the assumption the ghost bridge will fit in the space of the typical tunamatic bridge, you will need to find a place to run the wires; a hole in which the wires can pass through to the control cavity, which would generally be located in the area of the pots/switch that are already in place.

I'm also making the assumption the wires coming from the bridge can be "bundled" to pass through one hole. The correct way to do this is to drill the hole through to the bottom of the lead pup rout. You can then pass them through into the southside control cavity. If you need an extra hole for pots/switch, there should be plenty of room...it's just hard to get to it.

I just about TRIPLE my rates on electronics work on a 335 style body as access is literally a real *****.

I HIGHLY recommend a qualified tech do the work!!!! And it WILL be expensive. It's just one of those situations where the silk purse(the guitar you're trying to get) is more costly than what is being carried inside of it( the Ghost system), and the results really just aren't that satisfactory. Just make sure the guitar is a "keeper", because what you will be spending will vastly outweigh the resultant product in terms of resale value.

[dave251]

Making the assumption the ghost bridge will fit in the space of the typical tunamatic bridge, you will need to find a place to run the wires; a hole in which the wires can pass through to the control cavity, which would generally be located in the area of the pots/switch that are already in place.

I'm also making the assumption the wires coming from the bridge can be "bundled" to pass through one hole. The correct way to do this is to drill the hole through to the bottom of the lead pup rout. You can then pass them through into the southside control cavity. If you need an extra hole for pots/switch, there should be plenty of room...it's just hard to get to it.

I just about TRIPLE my rates on electronics work on a 335 style body as access is literally a real *****.

I HIGHLY recommend a qualified tech do the work!!!! And it WILL be expensive. It's just one of those situations where the silk purse(the guitar you're trying to get) is more costly than what is being carried inside of it( the Ghost system), and the results really just aren't that satisfactory. Just make sure the guitar is a "keeper", because what you will be spending will vastly outweigh the resultant product in terms of resale value.

[Zoarial]

The dot studio has no pick guard, so thats a no no im afraid "/

Yes as far as i can see the ghost bridge will be identical to a normal tune-o-matic, and you can get them in varying post lengths so the options are pretty flexible. From what i can gather each wire exits seperately from its saddle out the bottom of the bridge, although like you say with some crafty wire managment i'd probably be able to bunch them together.

Yea i cant say im surprised with the work rates, the access does look rediculous. I do know a qualified tech so i think i may be going to him for some help lol, im in the lucky position of being family friends so we quite often owe each other favours.

I know the epiphone isnt the ideal choice to install such a high end system in, but its going to be my test subject in a way, as i plan to be a guitar and audio tech in the future myself i like to learn as much as i can now, with the expert help obviously. If i ever were to sell it i'd strip it of the ghost system and just fill the additional holes with an extra volume and tone pot like in the standard dot, and most likey use the ghost system in something else (thats a tad easier to install it in i think).
Thanks for your advice anyway, its nice to hear it from someone who's worked on archtops before and i have a much clearer plan of what im gonna do now

[edward993]

I just did some very rudimentary work on the electronics on my Ibanez Artcore ...you do not want to try and cram all the necessary bits of your project through the F-holes! Getting the pots back is bad enough ...any extras, even just wiring, is added pain. Not to mention if any other work or tweaks are called for ...more pain!

IMHO, the best thing is to make this mod on a guitar with a control cavity, or have a skilled luthier cut a control cavity (like any solid body guit) into the back of your epi. Think about it: it's not like you're taking a hacksaw to a real 59, you're already modding the guitar by making the change, and of course, it's an epi (no slam, just reality). A control cavity would allow you to make any wiring changes (and hence, tone tweaks/experiments) a breeze, like on an LP.

Edward