Professional Installation or project for myself

[Jambi]

I recently bought a Yamaha fg820 (I'm still moving solely to the world of acoustic after many years of playing electric only) and some hardware in hopes to do open mics eventually. I want to get a GHS Acoustic Soundhole Microphone and the JJB Artist series; The Prestige - 330 pickup system into the guitar with dual outputs. My main goal is a percussive fingerstyle setup.

The microphone installation looks pretty straight forward, but I'm not totally sold on doing a bridge plate pickup installation yet. My biggest concern is routing the current end pin hole AND an additional output. My fears were compounded by a local luthier who told me that hole would have to be in the actual wood and need a reinforcement piece glued inside.

Has anyone here done such a thing? From many percussive players videos I've watched when they breakdown their setups, the outputs all look fairly close and I'm guessing the end block (I believe that's the name) is large enough to accommodate multiple holes.

[justinzak]

My guess is you could mod the mic and wire it to a stereo endpin and wire the JJB to it. Then you'd only have the one endpin.

The JJB/K&K installation is very easy though. I've installed 3 in my guitars and haven't had any issues.

[Jambi]

Thanks Justinzak, itsounds like a good idea but I'm not sure if the mic could set in the guitar without being held tight by it's 1/4" jack. Maybe the JJB could be wired onto the mic in some way but the mic is battery powered and the pickup is passive (as you know)...

I would prefer to have separate outputs but that's definitely a possibility.

[simondylan]

Originally Posted by Jambi

I recently bought a Yamaha fg820 (I'm still moving solely to the world of acoustic after many years of playing electric only) and some hardware in hopes to do open mics eventually. I want to get a GHS Acoustic Soundhole Microphone and the JJB Artist series; The Prestige - 330 pickup system into the guitar with dual outputs. My main goal is a percussive fingerstyle setup.

The microphone installation looks pretty straight forward, but I'm not totally sold on doing a bridge plate pickup installation yet. My biggest concern is routing the current end pin hole AND an additional output. My fears were compounded by a local luthier who told me that hole would have to be in the actual wood and need a reinforcement piece glued inside.

Has anyone here done such a thing? From many percussive players videos I've watched when they breakdown their setups, the outputs all look fairly close and I'm guessing the end block (I believe that's the name) is large enough to accommodate multiple holes.

The pickup and mic installs are relatively simple if you're a crafty person who routinely works with their hands. I've seen some fairly bright people who don't have the aptitude for this kind of thing do some crazy things and did much damage. The 2 output jack idea is not for the novice! Take it to someone who knows their stuff! Just don't assume all guys who install pickups are guy's who really know their stuff. If you do a single output it'll have to be in stereo which for some isn't a problem, you just need the right cables and gear to run it.

[justinzak]

Originally Posted by Jambi

Thanks Justinzak, itsounds like a good idea but I'm not sure if the mic could set in the guitar without being held tight by it's 1/4" jack. Maybe the JJB could be wired onto the mic in some way but the mic is battery powered and the pickup is passive (as you know)...

I would prefer to have separate outputs but that's definitely a possibility.

Is this the mic you are looking at getting? I have always wondered how it sounded but never have dropped the $60 on it.

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_E...icrophone.html

[Schau_ins_Regal]

Originally Posted by Jambi

Thanks Justinzak, itsounds like a good idea but I'm not sure if the mic could set in the guitar without being held tight by it's 1/4" jack. Maybe the JJB could be wired onto the mic in some way but the mic is battery powered and the pickup is passive (as you know)...

I would prefer to have separate outputs but that's definitely a possibility.

I think your combo is not good cause you want to combine an acitive mic with a passive transducer. This means you have to blend them by an external preamp anyway. Then you rather should buy a mic without battery inside the guitar such as a DPA4061 which can be aquired for around 100 bucks from ebay. Then you could get an internal preamp from K&K or external from K&K or Headway to blend them.

[Jambi]

Originally Posted by Schau_ins_Regal

I think your combo is not good cause you want to combine an acitive mic with a passive transducer. This means you have to blend them by an external preamp anyway. Then you rather should buy a mic without battery inside the guitar such as a DPA4061 which can be aquired for around 100 bucks from ebay. Then you could get an internal preamp from K&K or external from K&K or Headway to blend them.

Good point. Unfortunately, I've already purchased both, so I will have to preamp the JJB externally. The reason I went with the combination was from the research I made it seemed like the best reviewed pickup and mic for the cost and the budget I had laid out for myself.

[Mandobart]

There is plenty of room on any guitar's endblock to support at least two output jacks - no extra reinforcement is needed. Just be sure you drill through the block, not unsupported side wood. Youl need to do a thourough internal investigation with a light and mirror to get the dimensions of the block. Use bradpoint bits and low tack painter's tape over the area you re drilling to minimize splintering.

[Jambi]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

There is plenty of room on any guitar's endblock to support at least two output jacks - no extra reinforcement is needed. Just be sure you drill through the block, not unsupported side wood. Youl need to do a thourough internal investigation with a light and mirror to get the dimensions of the block. Use bradpoint bits and low tack painter's tape over the area you re drilling to minimize splintering.

Thanks Mandobart, I could have sworn there'd be enough room from the research I've done too. It makes me question the luthier's motives... either he isn't aware of normal endblock sizes (which doesn't bode well for his knowledge) or wants to have a reason to charge me more (just plain scandalous).

[Jambi]

Also, I've read on other posts here that a K&K style pickup isn't too bad sound wise, and the JJB is quite similar. I've got a eq for it and a simple four channel mixer to put that and the mic in so I'm hoping that I'll be okay for a while.

[myersbw]

Originally Posted by Jambi

Also, I've read on other posts here that a K&K style pickup isn't too bad sound wise, and the JJB is quite similar. I've got a eq for it and a simple four channel mixer to put that and the mic in so I'm hoping that I'll be okay for a while.

Jambi,

I bought the JJB Prestige 330 (3 element, 15mm version) in a pigtail format (no pre)...I like it. Did you get the Model 4 GHS mic? If so, from what I read it looks like that one is designed to let you combine a second pickup to the ring of the TRS jack. Then you can use a Y-cable to split -or- do like I did and use a preamp with a 1/4 stereo input routing to a dual preamp.

I used the Ultrasound DI Max for my setup...coupled with a Mogami TRS cable...

https://www.riffcityguitaroutlet.com...FZWMaQodE8QCrw

Worked fine. That's IF you got the version with a stereo jack and unused ring. They can share the same ground.

[Jambi]

Justinzak was right, myersbw, it's the 60$ GHS Acoustic Soundhole Microphone. I'm hoping the blend of the two will be a good representation that picks up sounds on the body as well as the strings.

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_E...icrophone.html

Thanks for the heads up on the preamp by the way!