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View Full Version : Soundhole Pickup for Blueridge BR-60T



Chip Stewart
May-16-2016, 11:16am
A friend of mine wants me to perform with him at some open mics with me playing lead guitar. He plays more in the rock genre but says he's o.k. with me using my Blueridge BR-60T. We got together last night and my BR-60T sounds thin compared to the rhythm work he's doing on his Epiphone Dot electric guitar.

Has anyone installed a soundhole pickup in their Blueridge tenor guitar? I'm thinking if I install a soundhole pickup and run it through my Digitech RP255 multi-effects pedal I can get a more electric sound that would mesh better with his Epiphone. All of the soundhole pickups I've looked at on the internet seem to be too big for the Blueridge. I would feel much better ordering one if I could get confirmation beforehand that it would fit.

Chip Stewart
May-16-2016, 3:02pm
It looks like the DiMarzio Angel soundhole pickup will fit. Anyone have any experience with this?

Freddyfingers
May-16-2016, 3:10pm
I have a 40T, and considered installing some K and K internals. I have not been able to find a sound hole pickup that fits the smaller hole. i am curious as to that the suggestions are here.

fox
May-17-2016, 1:38am
I have bought several sound hole pick ups but none of them have worked out very well.
I bought what was advertised as a cigar box 4 string pick up from China that actually comes with pre amp and control knobs but it would not fit because I could not get it low enough to clear the strings. Another Chinese purchase advertised for tenor guitars did fit but the the magnets were far to close together to match my string spacing.
I have now fitted a medium priced under soundboard pick up that works well for messing around with but, I have a K&K twin spot in a six string and that really works well!
However there are several YouTube vids showing tenor guitars fitted with six string sound hole pickups, so I guess it is possible to get something working.

Lord of the Badgers
May-17-2016, 4:58am
Mine have headway under saddle pickups. Headway are not a cheap option though. K&k as mentioned above also good.
The headway might be one that people will complain have piezo "quack" but it's never sounded like cheap ones to me. No pickup will be perfect but I think these sound great.
Or d-tar wavelength as it's an 18v system. Have that in my zouk. Very good. It's another UST type though.
But if you just want something to put in on a temporary basis then I really don't know what's best.

bbcee
May-17-2016, 8:18am
I've been curious about this Schaller (http://guitar-parts.biz/hp204893/Western-Vintage-S-10-43.htm) for my Harmony, but I haven't gotten around to measuring the soundhole to see if it would fit. The price is right if it does!

PiousDevil
May-17-2016, 10:21am
LR Baggs Lyric?

Tom Wright
May-17-2016, 10:38am
I highly recommend Steve Ryder pickups (http://sjryder.com/pickups.html). His stacked-single-coil is both hum-cancelling and sparkling clear tone. The Fender-style flanges are convenient for turning into mounting flanges, when the pickup is turned upside down. A tiny bit of work and I added soft flanges to hold it in place, with the assistance of a drop of vinyl-repair glue to keep it there. (Soft and removable.) I slide it into place, instead of tightening a clamp after positioning. A clever craftsman could make a nice mount, but this works fine.

I covered mine with leather (dress belt again) to stop any click sounds from pick contact. The original screw hole is too close to the edge, so a hole more inboard carries a short screw to fix the soft clamp. On request Steve will use a short pole magnet for the A string to balance with bronze-wound (the second from left on my 5-pole). These Alnico pole pieces can be pushed up or down to fine-tune string balance (with care.) This is the only amplification I use in performance. I found I did not need to ground the strings, and and can even pile on a ton of distortion gain without hum issues.

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For this one I used rubber washers, trimmed to fit. Another one has leather from a dress belt.

Pete Mallinson of Almuse (http://www.almuse.co.uk/mandolin_pickups_custom.html) makes handsome wood-mounted pickups for 4-pole instruments. He can customize for string spacing if necessary. He uses varying-size neodynium magnets under each string position, and adjustable screws for each pole. His are single-coil and not stacked, so hum can be an issue. He also makes normal side-by-side humbucking pickups.

Taylor Guitars sells a cable with built-in volume control, and it actually improves the tone substantially. I build boxes with volume and tone, with belt clip. I much prefer this tone to any active preamp, when using magnetics.

I don't expect any regular guitar pickup would fit in the smaller soundhole of a tenor guitar.

Grandpa G
May-31-2016, 6:52pm
I wonder if this might be an option????
http://www.ebay.com/itm/272250249181?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
grandpag123.com

Steve Ostrander
Jun-18-2016, 12:16pm
I have a Dean Markley Artist XM stuck on my br40 but it does sound thinner than my picking partner's guitar....'course, he plays a HD-28 and a D-28-12 so it's hard to compete with those.

Chip Stewart
Jun-26-2016, 4:52pm
I think I'm going to pull the trigger and purchase a DiMarzio Angel soundhole pickup. I'm currently using a Kyser soundhole humidifier. I obviously won't be able to have the humidifier in the soundhole with the pickup installed. I'm planning on having the humidifier in the case between the neck support and the top shoulder of the guitar. With the case being closed it should still provide the required humidity for the guitar. Will the humidity damage the electronics in the Angel pickup? I don't think so, but figured I'd ask before I spent $140 on the pickup.

Chip Stewart
Jul-06-2016, 6:36pm
Eastwood guitars had a 30% off sale on discontinued items so instead of getting a soundhole pickup for my Blueridge I purchased a Warren Ellis tenor guitar instead. It should be here sometime next week. I have a gig on August 20 so that will give me a month to get everything setup properly.147828

JakeSnider
Jul-07-2016, 7:00pm
Enjoy that Eastwood tenor! The green really stands out. I've been loving mine for a couple years now, though I confess it has gotten a little less use since I got an Astrojet tenor. Those minihumbuckers have a great sound!

bbcee
Oct-04-2016, 9:28am
I just got the GFS soundhole pickup (http://www.guitarfetish.com/Gold-Foil-clip-on-soundhole-Magnetic-Pickup-with-VolumeTone_p_20647.html), and it fits the 81mm soundhole on my Harmony 1201TG with a little work. It sounds ... very Lightnin' Hopkins. And cheap as chips!

I'll use it for effects & such when recording rather than for playing out. I think I read it's pretty microphonic (hey, that can be a good thing):

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bbcee
Oct-10-2016, 3:36am
Some more good news for small soundhole tenors: almost immediately after having ordered the above GFS pickup, I stumbled on a kid in Austria who is making these astoundingly flat pickups that happen to fit an 81mm soundhole perfectly (NFI). He sent me the pup with two frames, which sandwich the soundhole. Look on Etsy for "flat pickup", or PM me for his website info, I'm not sure if I can post it here or not. They are made for electric guitars, but on his instructions I inserted a penny to reduce the output of the high strings for better string balance. Worked a treat.

I'm more pleased with how this one sounds than the GFS. It also drops right in with no mods. I'll likely order some of his "flatpups" for an electric tenor project I've been contemplating.

Sandwiched in the forward soundhole position, with penny inserted:
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That's flat - it's the depth of one frame!
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Output:
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