Sunday, March 31, 2013

Hidden Pickup Electric Guitar

Wanted to try something really DIFFERENT! and UNIQUE!.   I made this electric guitar, but instead of the standard exposed pickups, they are installed under the top plate.  The top plate thickness where the pickups  are installed is ~ 1/8th inch thick. There is a cavity in which they are installed and it is accessed from the side in the lower bout of body.   The back is mahogany, and the top is quilted maple.  I also wanted to keep the design as simplistic and 'clean' as possible, so no fancy inlay work.  There was a flaw in the back, so I did breakdown and do a painting on the back.   You might think that this wouldn't work, but it does play.  I used  over-wound humbucker hot pickups (~13K) each.  There is a slightly greater distance between the strings and the pickups than normal, so the end effect is a warm rich sound more like vintage humbuckers.  The tone  knob is push pull so it can go into single coil mode.   Also under the rear access are switches to allow phase shifting, and selecting to use either inner or outer coils in single coil mode.   Overall I'm pleased.