1980 d40 "electric"

[jph]

What is the pick up inside this guitar? This is a 1980 D40i've had since 1980. I bought it near new from a neighbor friend of mine who was moving up to a Martin. It says electric on the trust rod cover plate and it's got.
An input at the tailpiece That looks just like a strap post.
Inside there's 2 wires going to some little dinky one inch pickups on either side of the bridge.
Not really on the bridge.ee

 

[GAD]

Moving to Acoustics where it will get more visibility.

 

[SFIV1967]

Welcome to LTG! Maybe Barcus-Berry Hot-Dots? Does the bridge have the two dots next to the saddle?





Ralf

 

[jph]

Hmm, there is nothing on the bridge. Might be something similar. There's one silverish Gray little 1"x1/2". Pick up on either side of the x brace next to the bridge plate. That being said, the pickup don't sound very good. Maybe they require up special preamp like those
Hot dots.
Thanks
Jph

 

[hansmoust]

What is the pick up inside this guitar? This is a 1980 D40i've had since 1980. I bought it near new from a neighbor friend of mine who was moving up to a Martin. It says electric on the trust rod cover plate and it's got.
An input at the tailpiece That looks just like a strap post.
Inside there's 2 wires going to some little dinky one inch pickups on either side of the bridge.

Hello Jph,

Welcome! What you have in your guitar are 2 Guild GPA-106 pickups, which were an option during that particular period. It is one of the first generation piezo tranducers that became available at the time. By today's standards it is really outdated, but at the time it was a (small) step in the 'right' direction.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[GGJaguar]

I learned something new! Now I have to try not to forget it.

 

[SFIV1967]

What you have in your guitar are 2 Guild GPA-106 pickups, which were an option during that particular period.

Very interesting! I never saw such GPA-106 before.

March 1979 price list (still Barcus-Berry) vs. March 1980, which now also shows: "No pre-amp needed".



Ralf

 

[GAD]

Hello Jph,

Welcome! What you have in your guitar are 2 Guild GPA-106 pickups, which were an option during that particular period. It is one of the first generation piezo tranducers that became available at the time. By today's standards it is really outdated, but at the time it was a (small) step in the 'right' direction.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

That’s really cool!

 

[Br1ck]

All piezo pickups need a preamp. A lot of factory pickups have a battery and a pre built into the guitar. If a guitar does not have a pre built in, you will have an impedance mismatch resulting in a harsh ice picky tone. Nowadays, a lot of mixers have a hi Z switch ( z=impedance) and all acoustic amps do too. You still may want an acoustic pre for tone shaping and a strong signal, but it is the impedance matching you really must have. It will smooth out the pickups.

And yes, there are very much better pickups these days, my fave being Dazzos. I'll add a plug for SunnAudio pres.

 

[jph]

Hello Jph,

Welcome! What you have in your guitar are 2 Guild GPA-106 pickups, which were an option during that particular period. It is one of the first generation piezo tranducers that became available at the time. By today's standards it is really outdated, but at the time it was a (small) step in the 'right' direction.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Thank you, for years i have wondered. They dont sound very good. The guitar's been beaten over the years, I wish I had taken better care of it, I just took it up with me everywhere It was the party guitar that was always out. My martin got stolen I have a guild D4 From the 90s. that's cheap and unstable

Hello Jph,

Welcome! What you have in your guitar are 2 Guild GPA-106 pickups, which were an option during that particular period. It is one of the first generation piezo tranducers that became available at the time. By today's standards it is really outdated, but at the time it was a (small) step in the 'right' direction.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

thank you I have wondereed for years as I have never seen another guild with them they dont sound very good. I used a di box helped a little. another resposnse below nailed what they sound like . harsh and ice picky. The bridge is bellied so i may have the bridge plate replaced and will yank those useless pick-ups. Has anybody used a "bridge doctor" on a guild? I could do that myself I just dont like the look of the brass pins with the balls showing. Much cheaper real bridge work.

 

[Br1ck]

I dislike bridge doctors. Extra mass on a bridge is not something I'd do. It is as bad as shaving a bridge so the next owner has an even bigger problem when a neck reset is needed. Yes, old guitars come with expensive issues. I spent $1100 on my 70 D 35, some of it because a new bridge was needed. I've gotten eight or nine years out of my investment. No regrets.

 

[wileypickett]

Gotta call you on this one Br1ck!

Bridge Doctors have given the guitars I've used them in a whole new lease on life. Whatever mass they add is negligible; they're 100% effective; and in at least half the guitars I've put them in not only was the belly reduced, but the sound of the guitar was improved. Compared with the cost of replacing the bridge plate as a way to solve the problem, they're cheap.

And unlike shaving the bridge, you can remove them (in seconds) if you need to. Using them has no impact whatever on your future ability to have a neck reset done. (In a couple cases -- my Guild JV72 being one -- they obviated the need for a neck reset, though that's not what they're intended for.)

It's one of the highest rated items that Stew Mac sells:

JLD Bridge Doctor - StewMac

An alternative cure for over-bellyed guitar tops.

www.stewmac.com

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Thank you, for years i have wondered. They dont sound very good. The guitar's been beaten over the years, I wish I had taken better care of it, I just took it up with me everywhere It was the party guitar that was always out. My martin got stolen I have a guild D4 From the 90s. that's cheap and unstable

thank you I have wondereed for years as I have never seen another guild with them they dont sound very good. I used a di box helped a little. another resposnse below nailed what they sound like . harsh and ice picky. The bridge is bellied so i may have the bridge plate replaced and will yank those useless pick-ups. Has anybody used a "bridge doctor" on a guild? I could do that myself I just dont like the look of the brass pins with the balls showing. Much cheaper real bridge work.

You may already know this, but there are two versions of the bridge doctor. The one you describe has the advantage that the work is 100% reversible, but I don't like the look either! The other version needs a hole drilled through the bridge for a fixing screw (which is covered by a filler dot). This looks better in my opinion, but you are left with that hole if you ever remove it

 

[SFIV1967]

The other version needs a hole drilled through the bridge for a fixing screw (which is covered by a filler dot). This looks better in my opinion, but you are left with that hole if you ever remove it

I simply used a matching rosewood disk, so it is almost not visible. Similar to those two example pictures. I'm also happy with the sound after I installed the bridge doctor in one of my guitars. And the strong belly in the top totally disappeared. The top was also sunken in towards the soundhole and that all got corrected with the bridge doctor.





Ralf

 

[davenumber2]

I guess if repair cost is a factor use the BD. But to me it’s just putting a bandaid over the actual problem causing the bellying. It could be a trashed bridge plate, loose braces, etc. I’d rather fix the structural problem properly. I might do it on a low cost guitar but being an amateur wannabe “luthier” I’d likely take a shot at the repair.

 

[Westerly Wood]

 

[SFIV1967]

But to me it’s just putting a bandaid over the actual problem causing the bellying. It could be a trashed bridge plate, loose braces, etc.

None of the above. Why does Breedlove install one in many new guitars?

"The Breedlove Bridge Truss, also known as the BBT, is offered on select models- most commonly the Concert and Auditorium shapes. The BBT reduces tension on the soundboard of the guitar, so the top wood is able to vibrate more freely, producing remarkable sustain, balance, and clarity. This Bridge Truss also allows for a thinner graduated top wood without sacrificing structural stability. Relieving much of the string tension from the bridge prevents “bridge belly,” ensuring top stability for decades. "

Source: https://breedlovemusic.com/acoustic-guitar-blog/top-6-features-of-a-breedlove-guitar



Ralf

 

[wileypickett]

I've used the BD so often that I've learned to make a few tweaks to them which marginally improve their functionality. Hard to describe but easy to do.

I first read about the BD in *Guild of American Lutherie* magazine, 20+ years or more now. The article was written by a Martin repair person who tested the device. He'd recently replaced a second bridge plate on a customer's vintage Martin after bellying creeped back in a couple years after he replaced it the first time.

He noted two things which stuck with me: that since bellying affects such a large portion of the top of a guitar, both in front of and behind the bridge, expecting a new bridge plate, which is only slightly bigger than the bridge itself, to completely and permenently fix the problem is unrealistic. His second observation was that "wood has memory." Having bellied once, the top will "want" to belly again.

His final observation in the piece predicted the biases of the anti-BD folks: though the Martin repair guy rated the BD (which cost 20+ bucks at the time) as 100% effective and recommended it to his customer, his customer still preferred to have the bridge plate replaced (at the cost of a few hundred dollars each time) rather than have a BD installed.

Why?

Installing a BD wasn't the way bellying was traditionally fixed (at least at the time) and (unless it's a Breedlove) the BD isn't original to the guitar. (Neither is a new a bridge plate of course, but set that aside.)

He predicted that this would be an obstacle for those who prefer to keep everything original and to employ only the tradtional repair methods. His prediction was correct.

But we don't need to defend our decisions: our guitars, our money.

The problem I have is when people use falsehoods to defend their bias: "Bridge Doctors are just a Band-aid hiding the real problem"; "they make future repairs more difficult"; "they're just a temporary fix." None of those things are true.

 

[chazmo]

Gotta call you on this one Br1ck!

Bridge Doctors have given the guitars I've used them in a whole new lease on life. Whatever mass they add is negligible; they're 100% effective; and in at least half the guitars I've put them in not only was the belly reduced, but the sound of the guitar was improved. Compared with the cost of replacing the bridge plate as a way to solve the problem, they're cheap.

And unlike shaving the bridge, you can remove them (in seconds) if you need to. Using them has no impact whatever on your future ability to have a neck reset done. (In a couple cases -- my Guild JV72 being one -- they obviated the need for a neck reset, though that's not what they're intended for.)

It's one of the highest rated items that Stew Mac sells:

JLD Bridge Doctor - StewMac

An alternative cure for over-bellyed guitar tops.

www.stewmac.com

Hey, Glenn,

Any idea why Breedlove stopped using them? I know (for a while at least) they were part of many (all?) Breedlove builds?

 

[chazmo]

Oh, I just read @SFIV1967 's post... I thought Breedlove had stopped using JLDs... Never mind.