Under saddle pickup beneath a long/cut though saddle.

[peanutavalon]

Not too much info on this. I have tried baggs, kk mini, soundhole pickups but I keep coming back to my martin with a matrix infinity. It just sounds right to me, it's the easiest plug and play pickup in my live situations, I don't have to bring extra gear to tweak it, it cuts without sounding too quacky, I can eq it to sound however I want it too. I'm done buying preamps and outboard gear to make things sound good to me. I use pretty thick 1.5 picks so I get a very good sound without the typical ust harshness. I like fishman pickups more than anything I've used over the past 15 years of gigging. So I'd like to put one in my other guitar that has a long saddle. It's removable and not glued in. I realize people will say that this messes up contact between the saddle and top but that doesn't bother me because I spend so much time plugged in. Like 95% of the time....and honestly I really couldn't hear that much difference after my matrix infinity was installed in my d-18. So I think I want to put one in older Collings with a long saddle. Can this be done easily or does it take routing and other mods etc? thanks

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by peanutavalon

Not too much info on this. I have tried baggs, kk mini, soundhole pickups but I keep coming back to my martin with a matrix infinity. It just sounds right to me, it's the easiest plug and play pickup in my live situations, I don't have to bring extra gear to tweak it, it cuts without sounding too quacky, I can eq it to sound however I want it too. I'm done buying preamps and outboard gear to make things sound good to me. I use pretty thick 1.5 picks so I get a very good sound without the typical ust harshness. I like fishman pickups more than anything I've used over the past 15 years of gigging. So I'd like to put one in my other guitar that has a long saddle. It's removable and not glued in. I realize people will say that this messes up contact between the saddle and top but that doesn't bother me because I spend so much time plugged in. Like 95% of the time....and honestly I really couldn't hear that much difference after my matrix infinity was installed in my d-18. So I think I want to put one in older Collings with a long saddle. Can this be done easily or does it take routing and other mods etc? thanks

It would take careful routing (milling) of a notch in the bottom of the saddle to accommodate the length and thickness of the Matrix UST so as to provide the right amount of pressure to generate an overall, useable, and even string-to-string signal output. It can be done but do you want to torment yourself by doing this procedure?

[peanutavalon]

I'm not doing it...I would have my local experienced luthier do it. I am fishing for guys that have done this install successfully and their feedback.

[JayBee1404]

The Road to Madness…

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

The Road to Madness…

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

Agreed. I would not do this. Stick with your K&K, or, better yet, add the Ultra Tonic modification, and buy a ToneDexter. You won't be sorry.

[Jinder]

I did this with my old Advanced Jumbo HC to fit a DTAR Wavelength Dual Source.

I measured the length of the active element, and cut a central segment out of the saddle to that length, using a VERY thin jr hacksaw blade. I then glued the two remaining “wings” of the saddle into the slot, thereby making the saddle a captive setup. I installed the UST as one normally would, then carefully took the base of the saddle section I had cut out down by precisely the thickness of the UST when under compression, and refitted.

It worked perfectly and was an invisible solution unless you knew it was there. You have to approach it in a craftspersonlike way though as it would be easy to butcher it! I should add the caveat that I had several years’ experience as a touring guitar tech when I did mine.

It came out very well indeed and is still sounding terrific (same pickup and bridge solution) now in the hands of great songwriter Mick Terry!