GK mounting plate, nice!

Started by doha1696, March 14, 2011, 01:00:13 PM

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doha1696

For a lot of guitars, when the space between the bridge pickup and the trem's too small, there's that cool accessory : a stainless steel mounting plate... easy to use, not too expensive... I've mounted it on my brand new Ibanez JS 2400! More details :

.
Dominik Hardy

http://fret-time.com

Elantric

Nice Installation tutorial for GK-3 Floyd users.!

Thanks Dominic!

mariogag

Quote from: doha1696 on March 14, 2011, 01:00:13 PM
For a lot of guitars, when the space between the bridge pickup and the trem's too small, there's that cool accessory : a stainless steel mounting plate... easy to use, not too expensive... I've mounted it on my brand new Ibanez JS 2400! More details :

.

Dominic,

It's all nice but what happens with the 2 screws that are sticking out....I'm guessing this needs to be cut?

mario

ILoveMadoka

Where can I buy one of these plates?
I'm about to try to get a metal shop to make me one.

Help! Help! Help!


Thx!

Elantric

#4
QuoteWhere can I buy one of these plates?

Ebay

Click this link and check his ebay items for sale

http://myworld.ebay.com/peteroni/?_trksid=p4340.l2559



neophytte

#5
I painted mine black and mounted it on a PRS Torero: pics

Cheers

Richard


Elantric

#6
I recently used one of these Ebay GK-3 Mounting Plates to install a GK-3 on my JTV-69.

Very cool that Zero Holes or any other modifications are required using this plate to install the GK-3 on the guitar. Makes this totally reversible!







I did have to tweak the plate size with a bit with a grinder to make it fit the JTV-69 . Its made of Stainless Steel and very tough!
and repetitive instal / remove / install while sorting out the correct GK-3 PU height scuffed the black paint off the pickup a tad - but a black Sharpie marking pen will fix that. 

I have attached the the GK- Plate PU installation instructions as a PDF

MCK

Great job! It can be installed upside down as well if you wanted to right?

Elantric

QuoteGreat job! It can be installed upside down as well if you wanted to right?

My goal was ZERO MODIFICATIONS TO THE GUITAR.

If I mounted the GK-3 mounting plate "upside down with GK-3 PU reversed"  - this would definitely require carving the JTV-69 pick guard. 

MCK


Player99

These mounting plates could be made out of aluminum much easier than stainless. How does the pickup attach? Any pics of the plate without the pickup on it?

ecca

One of these came included with my new GR55 in January.

Elantric

#12
QuoteHow does the pickup attach? Any pics of the plate without the pickup on it?

Download the Install manual to see how the GK pickup attaches to this custom plate from the UK
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3434.0;attach=4516

QuoteOne of these came included with my new GR55 in January.

Must have been a used GR-55, as these Custom stainless steel GK PU Mounting plates are NOT supplied by Roland.

As far as I can see, Ebay seller "Peteroni" in the UK fabricates and sells these direct on Ebay

Click this link and check his ebay items for sale

http://myworld.ebay.com/peteroni/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

He has separate Strat stainless steel GK Mounts too.


ecca

Nah, it was brand new.
I'm in the UK.

Elantric

QuoteNah, it was brand new.
I'm in the UK.

post a pic?

ecca

Here's a picture of the mounting bracket at the relevant page of the GK3 booklet.

Elantric

#16
QuoteHere's a picture of the mounting bracket at the relevant page of the GK3 booklet.

Yes - That Gibson type tune-o- matic bridge GK PU mounting plate has always been included with the GK-3 

However, in this thread we are talking about the Ebay seller "Peteroni"'s  GK-3 mounting plate that replaces the bridge humbucker pickup surround ring - like these:


http://myworld.ebay.com/peteroni/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

Ebay Link: Item number:   230382219884
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pickup-mounting-plate-for-Roland-GK-2A-GR33-VG88/230382219884?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=013&category=42455&cmd=ViewItem





ecca

Oops ! I got the wrong end of the stick. Sorry about that.

Now_And_Then

#18
 At US$47.51 (GBP 30.00) they are fabulously overpriced. I bought one a long time ago from that guy for about half of what he wants now.

With a piece of plastic, or metal if preferred, and a dremel drill, it would be pretty easy to make one yourself. I don't mind paying for things, but $47.50 is just way, way out of line.... 

(Having done a bit of research, I find that I bought http://www.ebay.com/itm/Roland-GK-2A-Pick-Up-Holder-4-Les-Paul-Type-Guitars-GR-/140712624365?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20c32040ed 0in 2007. I seem to recall having bought a mounting plate that attaches to a humbucker bezel, but never actually used. I will have to look. But at any rate, US$47.51 is still fabulously overpriced.)

tekrytor

Ditto! I noticed that price increase too. I think I also paid around $30 for mine. But that was about 5 or 6 years ago. It may be the only place to by one. The service was good though. It came with the nylon screws and nuts to mount the GK pickup and instructions. At $30 it was a little pricey. But at $50 US plus with delivery, it seems quite high to me too. It's a pretty simple design, no moving parts. Although, GK pickups have also gone up about the same. They used to be just under $200 retail, and now the GK-3 is just under $300. With the cost of oil impacting everything, we may soon look back at today's prices as a deal. We're also dealing with a weakened dollar. Maybe the pound price is unchanged?

But, they don't look that hard to make either. It does not need to be steel. A good plastics shop can sell you a nice piece to cut one out of for a few dollars. Trace your humbucker ring onto it and add the gk strip. That's what I would do. You could afford to throw a few away as practice pieces until you perfected it. But if you think about the time you put into making one, $50 may not be a bad price. It depends on what your time is worth.
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

Zummooz

Quote from: tekrytor on February 29, 2012, 09:37:15 PM
Ditto! I noticed that price increase too.
Although, GK pickups have also gone up about the same.
They used to be just under $200 retail, and now the GK-3 is just under $300.

WHAT  :o  NO WAY .....

I've been paying $175 for the GK-3 internal in the last year & can still get at that price, here downunder.
http://www.turramusic.com.au/Pages/CatalogueItem.aspx?CIID=4545

Suggested selling price from Roland Australia $199
http://www.rolandcorp.com.au/products/productdetails.aspx?p=235&c=116

Whoever is selling for close to $300 is ripping you off !!
The  Fact  Is......"We  are  all  tactile  creatures  &  physical  interaction  has  always  been  a  big  part  of  making  music"

gumbo

Was about to reply to this when I realised that Zum had beaten me to it (again!....   sigh!)  ;D

One of the funny (?) things about the pricing of Roland stuff in Oz seems to be that we have a different supply line from Japan (or wherever Roland are currently sub-contracting out their manufacturing...)  .. a number of components seem to be a whole lot cheaper here..but also remember that AUD1 = USD1.07 at the moment..

The other side of things seems to be the case whereas you guys win on complete pieces of kit (like the GR-55 for instance) as our prices are always substantially higher..the only saving grace is that most of the musical instrument suppliers in Oz are in the middle of a massive blood-letting, and the word 'competition' has finally been added to their vocabulary...   ::)

We are said to have a 'strong' economy (by World standards) in this country, but that really is because we have been taxed into oblivion by successive governments over the last decade or so...down side of that is that most of the country has no money left for anything other than buying the latest wide-screen TV set on time-payment, or food from the local (overpriced) supermarket and charging it to a credit card....    people selling things like musical instruments are battling to not 'go to the wall' in droves....


WELL...

to get it all back 'on topic'...  I made my own GK mounting plate to go with the Wilkinson roller bridge on my Bigsby Palm Pedal Tele...cut it out of 1mm thick steel plate..   :o

I too looked at the price of all that stuff on FleaBay and thought..   "No Way!"

...or for Oz readers..  "Tell him he's dreamin' ! "

Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

Elantric

#22
QuoteWhoever is selling for close to $300 is ripping you off !!

In October 2011, All Roland Prices Jumped dramatically here in the USA.

Yes the GK-3 is now $219, GR-55 is $799, and VG-99 is $1,599

and these are the so called "street prices"

By comparison, in 2009 our VG-99 group buy was around $900, and last year the GR-55 was almost half that.

Those days are over.

In November 2011, i was informed our group buy pricing had to be raised to cover Rolands new raised pricing costs.


tekrytor

#23
Quote from: Elantric on March 01, 2012, 07:37:07 AM
In October 2011, All Roland Prices Jumped dramatically here in the USA.

Yes the GK-3 is now $219, GR-55 is $799, and VG-99 is $1,599

I got my "just under US $300 price last week over the phone from the Roland Parts dept. I assumed that was MSRP: which most folk, including me, almost never pay. They did not mention a recent price increase, but I assumed that price to be MSRP and that something was up because I got a GK-3 internal kit about a year ago for $175, NIB off eBay. US prices are increasing on everything but flatscreen TVs (: keep the opiate of the masses cheap - must work for both communist and capitalist societies :). I was pricing a replacement hex pickup (PU only) when they first offered me the whole GK-3 for $295, which stunned me, plus $6 shipping. But I can understand them quoting MSRP prices on retail products to hold the line on their retail prices, as a business decision. We do put a lot of pressure on them for prices. I don't think the parts dept wants to compete with their resellers either.

I lived in Germany for ten years and equipment prices were often up to 50% higher in Europe over US prices. Every trip back stateside had my bandmates begging me to bring gear back for them. Having worked in the electronis industry for a few decades, I know that prices in countries are usually determined by two things: market size and what the consumers in that market can generally afford or are accustomed to paying. That's often why we see the big differences in prices between countries.

The replacement hex PU only was priced at $73 though, which did seem fair IMO.
SY-300/BeatBuddy/VoiceLive 3/GR-55(v1.50)/33/1/50/700/VGA-7/V-Bass, Yam-G10, GPK-4, DIY X-Bee HighlyLiquidCPU "Cozy-Lil-Footie", FCB-1010, other MIDI stuff, Godin Freeway SA and various other GK equipped controllers, Sonar X1, Audacity, KXstudio, Misc devices

Now_And_Then


Don't underestimate the impact of VAT, import duties, etc on prices in the EU.

By the way, these humbucker bezel-adapter mounting plates would probably be an excellent thing to fabricate using a 3D printers. Too bad I don't have access to one.

I've bought GK pickups for $50 - $80 on eBay and that is another reason why $50 for a mounting plate seems like crazy money to me. Especially if you want to put GK's on more than one or two guitars.