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  #1  
Old 08-25-2014, 05:50 AM
CyberFerret CyberFerret is offline
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Default Installing a Prestige-330 in my HV GS Mini

Hello all, as you may know from previous posts on here, I got myself a Taylor Holden Village GS Mini guitar a couple of months back. A beautiful guitar.

But because I play out quite a fair bit, using amplification, I thought I might install an aftermarket pickup system in it. After doing some research here and on other forums, I decided on the JJB Electronics Prestige-330 pickup system.

A couple of factors which convinced me:
(1) It was cheaper than most other competitive products, but still got good reviews, and
(2) It came with a replacement endpin jack which fitted the GS-Mini perfectly.

So I ordered it - I think it was around $70 with shipping. I can't remember the exact amount but it was really reasonable. It arrived to me here in Australia within 2 weeks of ordering, which is about par for the course.

Package contents are pretty basic: The transducers, the endpin jack, mounting screws, rubber sleeve and some solder!



No actual instructions with the kit, but when I ordered, JJB sent me an email with a link to a downloadable single page PDF with the installation instructions.

Because I ordered the replacement endpin jack, I had to do some soldering. I believe if your DON'T get the replacement jack for the GS-Mini, then no soldering is required at all.

Now, I am a software guy, not hardware, so soldering is not something I am totally comfortable with, but I have done it before, so I decided to go ahead.

First thing I had to do was to remove the strings and find a small mirror which would help me peek inside the guitar...





Note that I left the bridge pins in, as I needed to know how much clearance I had at the back of the bridge plate for gluing the transducers onto.

Next I removed the existing endpin, and threaded the pickup cable through the hole from the inside...





TIP: Don't forget to thread the shrink wrap sleeve over the cable at this point, before soldering!

Now it was time to actually solder, so I moved the whole guitar to my workbench to carry out this part.



BIG OOPSIE !! The instructions were not 100% clear, so I soldered the active lead onto the WRONG lug on the jack. It should have been soldered onto the SHORTER lug which is COVERED with a rubber sleeve. Instead, I soldered onto the longer lug which was WRONG! Had to fix that later...

Not realising my mistake, I slipped the heat shrink sleeve over the wiring and heated it over my stove to shrink it down to fit.



Then it was time to glue the transducers onto the bridge plate. I taped the three sensors onto a piece of cardboard, then smeared Loc-Tite on each face and pressed them up under the bridge, using the bridge pins as a rough guide.



Then I screwed the end pin in securely, plugged it in and tested.... and.... NO SOUND ! Because of my stupid error above.

I then had to unscrew the jack again, peel back the shrink wrap sleeve and remove the active lead from the long lug. I cut the rubber sleeve off the shorter lug and soldered the lead onto that. Replaced the shrink wrap protective sleeve and plugged in again.



SUCCESS! It sounds beautiful.

I also bought a Archangel X7 acoustic guitar preamp at the same time, and they both work extremely well together. I might do a separate review on the X7 sometime.
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  #2  
Old 08-25-2014, 07:41 AM
kcnbys kcnbys is offline
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Nice work, and nice photos! I just installed a Prestige 330 in a friends Taylor GS7 this past weekend. Sounds awesome. Man - I LOVE that pickup!! BTW - would love to see your review of the X7.
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Old 08-25-2014, 09:24 AM
akafloyd akafloyd is offline
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Nice work!! I installed a K&K in my HVGSM but simply used a washer to fill the gap of the original endpin.
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Old 08-25-2014, 11:01 AM
Random1643 Random1643 is online now
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You've gotta be the handiest ferret on this site! ;-}

I just got the Prestige-220 installed in a little travel guitar by someone handier than myself. Not the greatest guitar, but the JJB replicates what it can do perfectly - a preamp makes a big difference, and I can plug n play when I'm on the road.

JJB has a great product, a good price, and they're very responsive, very customer oriented.
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Old 08-25-2014, 06:28 PM
McShepherd McShepherd is offline
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Glad you had a (mostly) good experience with getting the JJB/Archangel combo going.

Gotten good usage out of both with my last guitar. Especially love the transparency of that X7!
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  #6  
Old 08-25-2014, 06:34 PM
McShepherd McShepherd is offline
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double post.
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Last edited by McShepherd; 08-25-2014 at 06:34 PM. Reason: WHOOPS! Double post.
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  #7  
Old 11-13-2014, 09:15 AM
padrejamie padrejamie is offline
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I just had my Holden Mini NGD this week. I am leaning towards putting in this pick up. Do you have any sound samples? (w/o the preamp)
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  #8  
Old 01-30-2015, 03:32 PM
Taylor15 Taylor15 is offline
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I warped the original screws when removing the endpin. Anyone willing to sell theirs?
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  #9  
Old 01-31-2015, 07:29 AM
kaos kaos is offline
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Is Jessie shipping a special end pin jack for minis?
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  #10  
Old 01-31-2015, 10:05 AM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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I'm mulling over whether to attempt installing this pickup myself into my travel guitar.

How fiddly was it to place the piezo sin the right position? My sound hole is only 3 inches wide so it might be hard work! At least my end pin is already drilled though
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Old 01-31-2015, 10:12 AM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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I'm mulling over whether to attempt installing this pickup myself into my travel guitar.

How fiddly was it to place the piezo sin the right position? My sound hole is only 3 inches wide so it might be hard work! At least my end pin is already drilled though.
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  #12  
Old 01-31-2015, 11:57 AM
McShepherd McShepherd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kaos View Post
Is Jessie shipping a special end pin jack for minis?
Yup, he can sub the external three-screw type jack for standard if you notify him.
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Axe (acoustic): 2013 Gibson J-45 Standard (w/hardware mods)
Pickup: BGM Elevation SBT
Preamp/DI: Archangel x7 (generation 7)
Tube Amp: Peavey Delta Blues 115
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  #13  
Old 01-31-2015, 12:00 PM
McShepherd McShepherd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick84 View Post
I'm mulling over whether to attempt installing this pickup myself into my travel guitar.

How fiddly was it to place the piezo sin the right position? My sound hole is only 3 inches wide so it might be hard work! At least my end pin is already drilled though.
If you're using a jig like on this page to install, then you should be good. To me, the endpin's always been the harder part to accomodate.
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