Soundhole Tuner for X20 (and probably any other Emerald)

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by GuitarDoc

like Luva's idea but afraid it will leave marks if left too long. I don't like to stick to just one tuner so I don't put one in the hole. also it may be crowded with the pickup controls. I have two clip on tuners (Peterson and Korg , a korg with a mic, and a Boss Pedal on the board. May not play well, but I play poorly...in tune.

Yep I hear ya I was originally concerned when I bought it. They do claim that it won't damage your finish and I did have it in my Gibson for a couple years before I took it out and gave it to the Emerald. For what its worth it at least didn't damage the Gibson. Hope this info helps.

[BT55]

I have the Anthem installed also. Called LR Baggs and they don’t offer a black faceplate [emoji82]. I added a NS Micro with double sided tape to the back of the headstock. Easily visible and enough room to change the battery.

[byudzai]

Little update on this -- the in-hole tuner solution seems to grab pitches a little more quickly on the 30 than on the 20. must be some mystery of where the acoustic waves cross.

[kramster]

Originally Posted by byudzai

must be some mystery of where the acoustic waves cross.

I like a good mystery.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by byudzai

Little update on this -- the in-hole tuner solution seems to grab pitches a little more quickly on the 30 than on the 20. must be some mystery of where the acoustic waves cross.

I notice the tuners have less trouble nailing down the low E string when in the hole than on the headstock, maybe even less on my X7, which is WAY down in the hole against the bottom of the guitar. But they still don't pick it up as well as my Polytune clip on the headstock. I like the disappearing tuners in the soundhole, but I like a quick and accurate tuner even more sometimes...

[raysachs]

One more data point - I just got a new, latest generation, X7 and these tuners fit in the soundhole on these as they do on the X20 and X30. They don't on the old style X7. The new X7 is a tighter fit than the X20 for sure, but it fits. Definitely have to remove the tuner to change the battery thought - the back of it is up against the neck so no room to slide it out with the tuner still in the guitar.

-Ray

[byudzai]

Originally Posted by raysachs

One more data point - I just got a new, latest generation, X7 and these tuners fit in the soundhole on these as they do on the X20 and X30. They don't on the old style X7. The new X7 is a tighter fit than the X20 for sure, but it fits. Definitely have to remove the tuner to change the battery thought - the back of it is up against the neck so no room to slide it out with the tuner still in the guitar.

-Ray

mind sharing a photo?

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by byudzai

mind sharing a photo?

Here you go. Looks just like it does in the X20 and your X30...

unnamed by Ray, on Flickr

-Ray

[byudzai]

Originally Posted by raysachs

Here you go. Looks just like it does in the X20 and your X30...
-Ray

ah okay, that helps understand how the neck is cramping the space. thank you!

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by byudzai

ah okay, that helps understand how the neck is cramping the space. thank you!

It's actually not the neck, now that I look more closely - it's curve where the body is scooped out for the cutaway giving upper fret access. The X7 has the same type of neck joint as the X30 and that same big curve, but the distance between the edge of the soundhole and "wall" off that structure is a lot smaller in the X7. The X20 has a whole different neck joint and there's plenty of room in there. The old X7 had the same type of joint as the X20, but it's REALLY little and there's ZERO room between the soundhole and stuff that would interfere with mounting a tuner...

-Ray

[HotTinRoof]

Thank you for this pic Ray. It was terrific help in deciding how best to go about an on board tuner for my x20.

Originally Posted by raysachs

Here you go. Looks just like it does in the X20 and your X30...-Ray

[Aspiring]

For my X7 nylon I stripped the tuner down as far as it would go and then used some of the left over putty from my Schatten HFN install. I have had no problems picking up any of the strings and that's with a Nylon.

Maybe the putty does a better job transmitting the vibrations than the double sided tape?

[byudzai]

I'm thinking of gluing thin neodymium magnets to the tuner and inside of the guitar -- solid contact but still removable for battery change. Over the months I haven't been super impressed with the pitch-pickup of the rig the way I have it with dual-lock.

[Earl49]

I like the idea of magnets. Since this type of tuner senses vibrations, it is important to make the most direct and rigid contact possible for best tuner performance. Dual-lock Velcro is essentially padding, as is double-stick foam poster tape. Thin carpet tape should work better, and putty too. Basically anything that makes a firm connection should work well. You can experiment by placing a piece of material on a desk and tapping it, then judge the clarity of the tap tone versus no material at all.

I have a few Snark tuners where the prongs have broken off and they cannot be easily repaired (an inherent weakness in the connector design). My Dremel tool removes the remaining prongs down to a flat surface, and the tuner module then works well when in direct contact with the guitar. The trick is finding a good way to attach it which also allows for battery replacement.

[raysachs]

I get why a really rigid connection is theoretically better, but the have two versions of this tuner, one in my X7 with dual lock, and the soundhole version that clips onto a traditional round wood soundhole. The soundhole version is more rigid than the dual lock version, but there’s no apparent difference in performance. I’ve also used these clipped on the headstock, which is more rigid yet, but less good in terms of performance. Basically, I find the low E somewhat balky at times, but the other five strings are no problem whatsoever. Not the only tuner that sometimes has trouble with the low E... But I don’t find a difference between a more and less rigid connection.

-Ray