Soundhole Pickup

[Tom Wright]

I had a spare treble pickup after a modification to my EM-45 and found it would fit nicely into my Buchanan. Some rubber plumbing washers cut in half serve as clamps so I only have to insert and position; it holds automatically. I tuck a grounding lead under the E string, plug the mini plug on the 3 ft. lightweight shielded cable into my homemade volume/tone box, and I'm set. Takes less than a minute to install and hook up to amp.

Here is Frank Zappa's (Mothers era) Twenty Small Cigars on Buchanan 10-string. Ctrl-click to download (option-click for Mac) if it won't play.

http://www.twtunes.com/pages/Cigars.mp3

Here's a chart and pix of the setup:



I recorded the tune direct from Crate head to MicroTrak portable. I tried this rig straight into my EH Magnum 44 amp pedal, which has no tone controls, just volume and a bright switch. It sounds really excellent with only the Ryder tone control to adjust it. Actually, I damaged the first attempt and had to have Steve make me a new one, so I had him attach the specified leads. I then hot-glued them in place so they won't strain the connections. I attached the mini-plug and built the box, using pots and a cap supplied by Steve, with "speed" knobs.

I made a belt/pocket clip for the back. Pickup cost $90, box and pots/knobs about $20. The EH amp pedal is so small that it and its power adapter fit into the pocket of the gig bag, so I only need to schlep a small speaker. That's the next project.

[Avi Ziv]

Sounds fantastic. Thanks!

[Ed Goist]

Really interesting project Tom. Thanks for the thorough description and the pics.
And I wholeheartedly agree with Avi: Sounds fantastic!

[Tom Wright]

Thanks, guys.

The pickup fit is super-convenient, but I'm still thinking about better grounding approaches. I will look for a tiny alligator clip, since the ground wire tends to break off with repeated insertion under the E. I'm going to try a common stranded wire behind the bridge saddle, if it doesn't lift the strings too much--keeping the wire stranded, not solid, should allow it to squash down and make good contact. Then I will have a tiny extension stick out where a clip can grab, without being obtrusive for unplugged play.