Ok, so now I'm looking at my broken cheap acoustic. I pulled the piezo rod and bridge, very cheap bridge, just drilled thru holes for the strings, etc.
For 6 bucks I got a tune o matic type wooden (ebony) bridge for an archtop, so the base and saddle are both curved slightly. For the base, since contact with my flat top would be on the ends. Should I leave it arched, or sand it flat for 100% contact? I am going to replace the saddle with a piece of aluminum angle.
I forgot to mention, this is a conversion to steel.
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Now if your thinking about steel strings on a acoustic, they will do less damage if tuned down to D or even C.
Steel strings will not be as good as acoustic strings for acoustic sound. A pickup will be needed.
Pickups in a acoustic guitar will certainly cause a lot of feedback that will be hard to control. Especially if they are mounted in the soundhole or in a hole cut into the top. Humbuckers will work better and if you get the ones mounted at the end of the neck or the ones that have a tab on one side for pickguard mounting they will work well.
A rod piezo and preamp would be great for acoustic strings and I'm interested about steel strings with such a setup. The Flatcat style pickups will work great with either strings, but can give you problems mounted on the top in an area that vibrates a lot.
Hope this stuff helps, a little off topic maybe, but someone will read and find it useful I'm thinking.
Hi Paul, well to help you with your G.A.S here's that same ES 175, looks like I also did a fret job on it too. Just came across the photo. Oh, the customer said its for sale, if you are interested.
Taff
Auuugghh! Thanks Taff, but I think the shipping would be a bit too much. Hahaha
Looks like it's in good hands.
Gads.....my shop looks like a New Delhi slum next to that...
A Trapeze style end piece, a flat wooded floating bridge and a 1"x1" square block under the bridge arealinking top to bottom will give it support and a bit more sustain without sacrificing all the hollow-body tone.
Hi, I'm not sure what guitar you tried that on, but I'm sure it will kill tone and volume by dampening the tops movement. If you try it James don't glue the post in, so it can be removed after testing.
Taff
My 65 MIJ ES330/Casino clone is a hollow body except for that small block and Gretsch has done this on many of their guitars over the years. It's like a Violin sustain Block.
Hollow body's are prone to feedback and loss of sustain because to top can vibrate too much, so the small block in the bridge area adds the support and lessens the vibration in a small enough way to still get hollow-body tone without a lot of feedback and adds a bit more sustain.
Hi Paul, now I see what you was referring to, and you are correct. I had a picture in my mined of a full acoustic guitar that relies more on top vibration to create sound. It's not designed to have that support so it will, and does, dampen the volume and tone.
I do not know the guitar to which you refer, I suspect it is an electric guitar. I could be wrong.
The "sound block" you spoke of in a violin (and all the viol family) is the sound post, and although it does add some support under treble side bridge leg area, it's function is to control the top vibration and tone of the instrument. It's too big a subject and this not the place to go into it, but it's to do with the much longer top vibration due to the sustained bowing action. A bit more valuable info for the CBG builder.........not, ha ha.
Taff
Taff, I think Paul’s referring to the solid block that goes down the center in arch tops & hollow bodies, I’ve always known that to be called a “center block”?
Hi BrianQ, thanks for that. I thought that's what he meant. What my comment was about, maybe it did not come across as I meant it to, was that in those guitars it's meant to be there, but if placed in an acoustic guitar it would have a detrimental effect on acoustic output. But if the guitars going to be electric it's not an issue.
As far as I'm aware a violin does not have a "tone block" as it was referred to, I assumed Paul was referring to the sound post, so my comment was directed at that.
Now I realise the guitar Paul was referring to, a ES330. I've worked on those and the 335 over the years.
Taff
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