humbucking acoustic?

[ashcatlt]

So once I figure out how to get the pickup to stay in the soundhole without modifying the guitar body and find myself a strap-button jack how do I go about grounding the strings?

Is it even necessary?

Any ideas or comments are welcome, thanks.

[sumgai]

ash,

Most acoustics use bridge pins, making it pretty difficult to ground the strings. I've seen some extravagant schemes to introduce a ground where the maker didn't include one, but I think that if most guitar builders that put in pickups don't ground the strings, then that should be a clue.

You are installing an aftermarket pup, yes? Then if it's a decent quality unit (or better), you shouldn't have to ground the strings. Items like this have good quality shielded cabling between the pup and output jack, and that jack (which doubles as the endpin or strap button) is also shielded, so you shouldn't need to install any kind of extra ground.

Just for grins, try the pickup before you even install it. Wire it up, and check for hum, just as if it were already in the guitar. If you do get hum, make sure it's not environment-related - get away from any amps, flourescent lights, large TV's, move to another room, etc. If the hum is always steady, never changes no matter what, then the pup itself is of poor quality. In cases like this, grounding the strings wouldn't help. You know what to do about that, so I've said enough.


sumgai

[UnklMickey]

Ashcatlt,

it is entirely possible you may not need to ground your strings, even though you ARE a big ol' bucket o' noise:




you probably won't be playing with as much volume and gain, as you would with an electric.



however, if you DO find that when you touch your pickup, or the output cable, the hum is dramatically reduced,

you might want to consider grounding the strings.

you might find a strip of metal that is flexible, but resilient.

and interleave that between the strings between the bridge pins and the bridge.

connect that to the ground of your pickup circuit.


OR


find a metal rod of an appropriate diameter to place between the bridge and the pins,

such that the strings rest on it, but not so high that it raises the strings off the bridge.

how you would make the connection to the ground of the pickup circuit,

will depend on how attractive this needs to be, and your level of creativity.



also, you seem to be quite insightful, but for the benefit of any newbies who may be reading this:

magnetic pickups require nickel strings.

nylon brass-wraps, while coated with metal, will not work here.


unk

[sumgai]

lp,

To unk's excellent post I can only add that quality pickups are double-shielded. You can't touch anything that will make them get quieter (or noisier).

Rule No. 2.... In case the pickup does respond to being touched, see Rule No. 1. ;D


sumgai

[ashcatlt]

the pickup is not designed for acoustics. In fact, it's the same hb that I'm using the strat in my other post. Turns out that it's cheaper to buy a "matched" set of 3 than to just get 2 to finish off the strat, so I figured I might as well use the extra for something.

I understand that nylon ("classical") strings wouldn't work, but I know for a fact that regular acoustic bronze wound strings will. I have actually strung electrics this way just for fun. Whether or not it's useable is a different deal, though. The acoustic I'm talking about is already strung with ghs boomers anyway, so it's really a non-issue.

[sumgai]

ash,

the pickup is not designed for acoustics. In fact, it's the same hb that I'm using the strat in my other post. ....

Uh oh, you may be heading into deep kimchee territory. That pickup is not designed for the job you intend, so there may be hidden consequences here. Tone, hum, damage to your guitar from the mounting (reversible/repairable or otherwise), appearance, and more. Is the string spacing appropriate? Can you keep the pickup from rattling within its mount as you strum vigorously? What about controls, where are you gonna mount them? Or are you planning on running naked? (Ask Rune what that reminds him of.... ;D)

Lots of things to think about here. Moral of the story: Plan well ahead, or else. I needn't explain that one, I'm sure.

But good luck, we're hoping it all works out for you!


sumgai

[ashcatlt]

Hum was the original question.

I'm guessing the tone will be closer to what I want than I get out of the Dean Markley I shove in there (when it's not velcroed to the rear of my banjo's head).

It's a blade pickup - no string spacing issues.

Naked

If you've got any ideas how to get the thing to stay in the hole I'm all ears. I don't want it to be any more permanent than the jack will be, and I don't want to duct tape it in place. I've got a couple of ideas, but haven't gotten into any actual fabrication yet.

i do thank you for helping flesh out some of the details of the project. I'm surfing these boards precisely because I'm trying to come up with a comprehensive plan before I start pulling my guitars apart (or commit any $).