TriplePlay on a 7-string guitar

Started by Piece_Maker, March 04, 2021, 01:14:16 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Piece_Maker

Hi everyone, 

I'm looking to join the world of MIDI guitar, and it seems like the TriplePlay system is probably going to be the way to go with this, however I can't see that there is much support for 7-string guitars. 

I see there's a 'lefty mod' for the pickup involving switching around the 6 coloured cables inside the control box - is it feasible to simply perform this mod and mount my pickup upside-down (so the wire is facing the ground)? I understand this would stop the pickup 'hearing' my lowest string however that's a compromise I can live with as long as the setup works. 

So has anyone done this? My main worries are about the low string interfering with the low E, and my string radius being slightly too shallow.

Thanks!

admin

The Tripleplay Pickup employs identical wiring as GK-3 Hex PU

and many prefer a "flipped / upside down installation.

But its not compatible with the low string on a 7 string guitar, and proximity of that low vibrating string to the adjacent low E string may yield tracking errors

Electrical Mod for reverse mounting the pickup
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=3365.0

Piece_Maker

Yeah that interference is exactly the sort of thing I'm worried about. What about if I employ some sort of mute to my bottom string when using the MIDI setup? 

It sounds like it's worth a try if that's the worst that can happen (And thanks for linking the electrical mod - looks simple enough!) 


Piece_Maker

OK, so I went ahead and did this experiment myself - as suspected I had to mount the pickup upside-down (Doing the mentioned re-wiring to account for this), otherwise the big lumpy bit on the end with the wire hit my pickup/bridge. 

I've mounted it using the Tune-O-Matic bridge mount as opposed to the sticky pads, though I did try the sticky pads and they worked just fine I had some issues with the pickup's shape causing the low E to barely be picked up at all, so the bridge mount allows the whole thing to be raised up a fairly significant amount. Because my 7-stringer bridge is obviously wider than a 6, it's only mounted to one bridge post rather than two, but it seems to hold it perfectly steady anyway, there's no wobble. 

I had to shim the low E end quite a lot more than the other end, again because the pickup is shaped to fit the curvature of a normal 6'er neck. 

There is no interference from my low string at all, though obviously it doesn't do anything with MIDI as the pickup is nowhere near it (100% expected so no complaints there). The thing works perfectly now, although I'm sure there are many people who would argue it wasn't worth the bodge! 

Not sure if I'm allowed to attach pictures, but if anyone wants to see just let me know and I'll add them.