External GK3 with Gibson SG

Started by autodidactic, September 05, 2014, 09:23:23 PM

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autodidactic

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a GP-10 with GK pickup. I wanted to get another guitar specifically for use as a guitar synth and found an SG that I'm in love with http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SGJ14HVSC-14. Unfortunately after a closer look at the images I'm almost positive I wouldn't be able to mount the GK to the bridge via the included adapter. Is there any other way to make this work without messing up the guitar? I found a suitable epiphone for half the price but I'd rather have the Gibson.
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Mrchevy

#1
While it looks like it might not fit, it actually should be ok. It should be no different than a Les Paul. looking at mine, it to looks to close but I have had it on my LP and it was fine. I actually had the pickup reverse mounted with the wire at the bottom (keeps it out of the way) and all was fine. Just remember if you run the wire to the bottom, to set the pickup to reverse in the GP-10. If the GP-10 does not allow for this setting then just mount normally (to the top side). Buy with confidence it will work fine. If it doesn't, I'll let you return the guitar ;)

Picture from another forum member

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

Elantric

#2


Its going to be tight on that 2014 Gibson SGJ14

But many simply remove the 4 screws that hold the bridge PU ring to the guitar and slide the whole Humbucker PU approx. 1/8" inch closer to the neck to make room for the GK-3.Redrill 4 new PU mounting holes for the new Bridge PU location and reinstall the screws. 

The Gibson PU route on that guitar has barely enough room to do this 

But the Roland Gk-3 " Lea Paul mount on the T.O.M. Bridge ( see MrChevy's LP  above) will never fit on that SG - use two Roland screws provided in the GK-3 package to permanently mount the GK-3 PU on the guitar as close to the bridge as possible, leaving a hair clearance for the Gibson bridge height adjusters.


Review the " Post Your GK Guitar Pic Here!"  thread to review GK PU mounting strategies  others performed to make room for the GK-3

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=359.msg1249#msg1249

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=359.msg42968#msg42968

Here is a nice  TSC - Proix (Japan)  GK Internal install on a Gibson SG
http://www.proix.com/gui_syn.html








autodidactic

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm hesitant to start drilling holes just yet. I've never used any sort of guitar synth type product before and I would like to see how I like it before I start permanently modding a brand new Gibson out of the box. I'd rather do something a little less permanent now and then do a gk internal kit. I've read on this forum about pickup ring adapters. Is anybody still making these? The only one I've found online is this http://www.shapeways.com/model/1186994/roland-gk-pickup-mount-quick-release-version.html but I'm afraid that even that might still be tight. What do you think?

1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Elantric

#4
QuoteThanks for the replies guys. I'm hesitant to start drilling holes just yet. I've never used any sort of guitar synth type product before and I would like to see how I like it before I start permanently modding a brand new Gibson out of the box. I'd rather do something a little less permanent now and then do a gk internal kit. I've read on this forum about pickup ring adapters. Is anybody still making these? The only one I've found online is this

Those GK PU Rings provide no solution to the very tight clearance issue on that type Gibson
I say skip the Gibson and get one of these instead and test the water with your first Gk3 13pin rig

2014 Squire Bullet HS Telecaster
(Review the specs)
Great guitar that  can't be beat for the price.

Same Gibson 24 3/4" scale length and 22 frets too. Close your eyes and feels like a Gibson  - open them and its still a nice looking Tele - The 2014 Fender Squier Guitars are fantastic values

too bad you missed last week when it was $90 - - still a great guitar @ $125   I got the  metallic Black Squire Bullet HS Tele two weeks ago.  -
plays like  $1300 1986 Schecter  Tele - insane quality and sound for the low $

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier-Bullet-HS-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar-109322396-i3225413.gc

Metallic Orange, Sunburst, Metallic Black

Squier Bullet HS Telecaster Electric Guitar Features:
Telecaster body
Basswood body
Bolt-on maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard and dot inlays
22 frets with 24-3/4 scale
Humbucker bridge pickup
Standard tele neck single coil pickup
One volume and one tone control
3-way pickup selector switch
Standard non locking tuners ( that are very good actually)
Black hardware -( plenty room for a GK-3 PU too!)
Case sold separately
Modify message


Mrchevy

#5
I still think the bracket w/GK pickup will work and here's why. See pic below....
These are the dimensions on my LP with the tune-o-matic bridge. I assume the TOM bridge made by Gibson is going to be the same dimension. If that is the case, it is 5/16" from center of pin to leading edge (measured with a metal precision rule). On my LP, the distance from leading edge to pickup ring is also 5/16". The GK bracket and pickup fit on on my LP. It is very close but does fit. Next I take this photo and scale it till I get the same 5/16 from center of bridge post to leading edge and get the same for leading edge to pickup ring (5/16"). Using this highly scientific and precision form of measurement  ;D, I conclude it will work. (Disclaimer; margin of error +/- 1 ft )  ;) . I also measured the actual pickup itself and got 1/4" width, so I will even go out on a limb and say there will be room to spare. By the way, the Red LP pic above is not mine, but an image from another forum member.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

autodidactic

Thanks for the reply. It seems it would be worth the effort to at least try to make the Gibson work. I want that guitar in either case because I don't have a solid body guitar in my arsenal. If the GK doesn't work I'll probably just pick up a Squire. Are the Squire Bullet Stratocasters any good?   
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Elantric

#7
QuoteAre the Squire Bullet Stratocasters any good?

Far less interesting to me, as I already have too many Strats in my man cave.

The Squire Bullet HB Tele is unique. Few fenders have those mix of features with the Gibson 24 3/4" scale length that makes string bending much easier than other Fenders.

Mrchevy

I am happy with my CV 60's Squire but I have done mods to it (pickups and wiring) and I'm really not a Strat guy so others will have to chime in about that. I honestly think if you get the SG, you won't need the Strat.........or will you?!!!!! (insert evil villain laugh here). How many guitars to you need?......... just one more Sweetums  :-*
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

autodidactic

Quote from: Mrchevy on September 07, 2014, 11:34:37 AM... I honestly think if you get the SG, you won't need the Strat.........or will you?!!!!! (insert evil villain laugh here). How many guitars to you need?......... just one more Sweetums  :-*

Actually I would have a use for a cheap strat even if the SG worked out. I have a pick guard autographed by Alice in Chains that I'd really like to hang up on a wall. My wife would totally understand too since it was her idea to do the meet and greet  ;D

Quote from: Elantric on September 07, 2014, 11:29:37 AM
The Squire Bullet HB is unique. Few fenders have those mix of features with the Gibson 24 3/4" scale length that makes string bending much easier than other Fenders.

Good to know. I'll keep that in mind if I need to start shopping around for a strat.

Once again thanks for the good info guys.
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Elantric

The Bridge PU location on Gibson SGs varies quite a lot.

The 2014 Gibson SGJ14 has  the Bridge PU located very close to the bridge



Compare above to a 1968 style Gibson SG Standard spec - like ShawnB's below - where the  Bridge PU location is much further away  - allowing ShawnB to install both a GK-3 and a FTP PU between the Bridge PU and the Bridge

autodidactic

Quote from: Elantric on September 07, 2014, 12:21:38 PM
The Bridge PU location on Gibson SGs varies quite a lot...

I noticed that the ones with the "batwing" style pick guard tend to leave more distance. Unfortunately, if I was going to find an SG like that, it would have to be an Epiphone. There is an Epiphone G310 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EGG1EBCH that seems to have the distance right but I'm not very confident on playability and I'm not a fan of the finish either.
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Mrchevy

Nothing new to add at this point but wanted to request a follow-up from OP as to how this works out with the SG. Let us know.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

autodidactic

#13
I've decided I can't do 2 guitars if the Gibson doesn't work out. I'm going to take that Squire money and put it towards a Behringer B212D speaker. I went to my closest Guitar Center to check out the Epiphone SGs and the Gibson SGJ. There is a TV Silver edition Epiphone SG that definitely has enough space, and the SGJ OTOH looks like a tight fit but doable. I asked the GC staff if they had  a GK pickup so that I could check the distance and no surprise, they did not. Hell, I then asked if they had a simple tape measure and they didn't have that!  ::)

I'm going to go back during the week armed with a tape measure and I'll take pictures this time. I took a look at the Roland GK pickup installation web page and I'm confident the GK pickup itself will fit between the bridge pickup. I'll have a better idea when I go back again.

EDIT: I saw an SGJ come up for a discount and couldn't resist. I'll have my new rig Thursday! Can't wait!  I looked over Mrchevy's rough measurements and checked over the Roland pages too. Considering the GK3 needs little over 1/4 inch from the edge of the bridge to the humbucker, I think it will work with the SGJ. If it doesn't, I will put the GK3 on my ES347.
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

autodidactic

#14
Well my stuff just arrived! It's a day later than I originally expected but it's here. First off I love the SG! Tried it through my little Blues Jr amp and it has a great tone on it's own. I then ran it through the GP-10 and into the Behringer B212D. I have to say that  GP-10 is really fun just as an effects pedal. I took the GK3 out and just tried to see if there was enough space by holding it in place and it seems to fit (image attached). I have to run a few errands and then I will try to mount the pickup. I'll post back when I have it up and running.

1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Elantric

Glad to hear and see the GK-3 "just fits" on your new SG

Mrchevy

#16
That's great news. One thing you may want to try (mainly just a preference) is running the GK pickup wire out the bottom like in the attached image. This is reverse mounting and some like the wire out of the way. You will need to change the pickup setting in the GP-10 to "reverse". See pg. 13 in the manual. This is how I had mine routed when it was on my Les Paul. Very neat and out of the way. I ran the wire under the strings between the bridge and tail piece.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

autodidactic

Just wanted to follow up. I had an issue with the bridge itself (I thought I had the saddle screw stripped) but I got it sorted out. and finally got my GK3 installed. I just finished jamming out for 2 hours straight and I have to say that this setup is great.

Up until now I've been playing either jazz on hollow bodies or acoustic guitar stuff. This is the first solid body I've had since high school and this GP-10 is a ton of fun! I love a lot of the factory presets but the TX Blues (#32 I think) is outstanding! To have all that the GP-10 offers on top of an already excellent guitar is a dream come true. Tomorrow I'll bust out the tone editor and see how the MIDI tracking is. I can't wait!  :D
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Mrchevy

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

arkieboy

If you do much palm muting you will want to reverse the pickup and have the wire coming out of the bottom of the pickup rather than the top as mrchevy suggests.  Your pickup will last much longer.


Another thing you might have considered doing is getting another pickup mounting ring and shaving or cutting off the edge closest to the bridge so you can get the supplied tuno-matic mounting plate in place.  Keep the old one if you ever want to sell the guitar on



I used a 'The SG' with a GK2 (into a GR50) for many years - nice controller guitar
Main rig: Barden Hexacaster and Brian Moore i2.13 controllers
Boss SY1000/Boss GKC-AD/Boss GM-800/Laney LFR112

Other relevant gear: Line 6 Helix LT, Roland GR-33, Axon AX100 MkII
Oberheim Matrix 6R, Supernova IIR, EMu E5000, Apple Mainstage, Apple Logic, MOTU M4

autodidactic

@arkieboy:

I don't really do much palm muting so I don't think that will be a problem. I'm actually pretty happy with how it is now. I just have a couple of issues I have to troubleshoot on the GP-10 itself, but that I'll save for another thread.

Quote from: Mrchevy on September 24, 2014, 05:42:18 AM
Pics ???

My apologies! Here is a shot with the whole Roland rig.




1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas

Mrchevy

Very nice. i have a second GK3 pickup that I'm trying to decide what guitar to mount it to. Was thinking of maybe my Martin acoustic. I don't have an SG, never liked the looks of them, so I've never even played one. I was in GC the other day and just for the hell of it I overlooked the look just to see how it felt. Once I found one with decent action I started playing around with it. It felt pretty good actually and one thing I REALLY liked about it was how easy it was to reach the upper frets (19 thru 22).  :o Don't care for the Epi's so if I did pick one up it would be a Gibson with a thin neck. It's been about six months since I bought anything, a Tubemeister 18 being the last. Once thats paid off, I might have to take a second look at an SG. GAS is starting to stir. The only thing I have right now with even close to the same upper fret access is my Vantage Entertainer, but it's still a little thick up there. (see pic). This is not mine but looks exactly like it. HMMMMMM.......An SG with an Ebony fret board and coil tap Humbuckers could be in the near future for Mr Chevy  ;)
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

autodidactic

The SGJ had an appeal to me for a few reasons. It feels and sounds great. Also something about the natural finish together with the Roland guitar really had a Moog-like analog synth kind of visual aesthetic. Lastly, the TOM bridge for easy external pickup mounting and 24 frets for a nice full range.

I have a few other nice guitars but my electrics are all very similar. Mainly hollow bodies with humbuckers and some sort of burst finish. I mainly play them for Jazz and some R&B. I wanted something completely different for this rig and the SG had it's own vibe that I liked. This particular Gibson model can be had for under $500 and I can honestly say it's a great guitar. It has some great classic tones out of the pickups. Great for distorted sounds but also good for chicken pickin' and other clean tones. It's a lot more versatile than I thought it would be. Then add the synth stuff on top of it and it's pretty slick. I was originally going to get an Epi because I assumed anything above that would be out of reach, then I saw this and the choice was clear.
1965 Gibson J45
1979 Gibson ES347
90's Epiphone Joe Pass
80's Yamaha Classical
Bouzouki by Dekavalas