Godin 5th Avenue Archtop pickup install ~ UPDATED!

The folks at Godin have done an excellent job re-creating a classic acoustic archtop design.  These Canadian made guitars are very well crafted and in many ways better than the various manufacturers that mass produced these types of guitars in the 30's-60's.  With the solid top, they are sure to age well and sound better and better as they are played.

Although they come with optional soapbar style pickups installed, the owner of this one wanted something a little different.  He dropped this off with most of the components required for a pickguard mounted humbucker and thumbwheel volume & tone controls.

The pickguard will be a bit of a challenge, as it has become warped over time as the owner likes to rest his fingers on it while playing.  This was bound to happen with the usual two anchor points not providing support where he needed it.

The first order of business is to protect the pickguard and lay out the components to see how they'll line up.  This pickup will be mounted in the neck position up against the end of the fretboard.  As you can see, the pickup housing will encroach into the pickguard 7/32" for proper string alignment.

After a visit to Dad's old scroll saw and some minor hand filing, the pickup mounting tab slid nicely in place under the pickguard.  Now for some creative fabrication...

The height of the pickguard causes the pickup to be pressed against the strings if the mounting tab was flush against the underside of the pickguard.  I need a way to add height adjustment screws without sacrificing stability of the pickup mount, considering it's only anchored on one side...

After selecting some similarly coloured hardwood, I made an "elevator channel" with a cork bottom that will protect the soundboard of the guitar.  It's the same height as the spacer that mounts the pickguard to the body just below the fretboard, and allows about 1/2" of travel up and down for the pickup.

Mounted to the underside of the pickguard with countersunk screws, it will provide lateral stability for when the spring loaded pickup mounting screws are installed.

Holes drilled and machine screws inserted ~ now I need a way to stop the nuts from spinning independently when adjusting the height of the pickup...

















That should do the trick ~ after carefully measuring the distance between the edges of the nuts when mounted then adding 1/8", a small hole was drilled in the side of the nuts and a piece of lockwire was soldered in.

The full assembly.  From the bottom:  The cork layer that will sit flush against the body, the adjusting nut, the pickup mounting tab, the adjustment spring and the pickguard.  Now to wire it all together...

Removing the tailpiece revealed a hole already drilled (top).  I imagine this was done at the factory, as some of these guitars come equipped with soapbar pickups that would require a grounding wire to the tailpiece.  Saves me some work!  The bottom hole I drilled after removing the strap pin that had a stripped screw that required a little extra drilling and extraction.

The jack will also serve as the strap pin once installed in the bottom hole.

After sanding off the plating from the underside of the tailpiece, a grounding wire was soldered on which will be fed through the top hole.

Piecing it all together ~ this being a jazz neck pickup, I selected a .15uf capacitor to retain some high end and leave it with some bite at higher volumes.  The controls were adhered with industrial double-sided tape that is strong enough to stand the test of time but can also be removed for adjustment if needed.

Prior to assembly, I gently flattened the pickguard from it's warped state by using an iron at it's lowest setting and a damp cloth while applying lots of pressure.




The final result ~ a great sounding, height adjustable, pickguard mounted pickup with no additional holes drilled in the body of the guitar.

1990 Hamer Centaura ~ UPDATE!

With the owner of this project due to arrive back home in a few weeks, I thought I'd post some more pics just to keep him excited!

In the previous post I pointed out where the body cavity near the switch was sanded dangerously thin.  While I won't divulge how the hole was patched (it's a surprise), I will show how it has been reinforced.

Inside the body cavity was a recess machined further into the surface to accommodate the 5-way switch.  With the body sanded thinner, the recess is no longer required and the remaining surface is only about 1mm thick.  The recess is deep enough to fit two layers of mahogany veneer, so I'll cut them to shape with the grain alternating direction for added strength.

A straightforward technique that I remember from elementary school art class!  Capturing the outline of the recess on some tape, then transferring it on to the piece of veneer, with some careful cutting and sanding will achieve a form-fitting piece.

Under the tape is the veneer.  The main concern now is to ensure adhesion in the edges but avoiding direct pressure near the weakened slot that houses the sliding switch.

A pair of used frets taped to a small sanding block will do the trick! Two layers were fitted this way and a final third layer will be added (after sanding off the remaining old finish) to cover the entire switch area, making the area much stronger and able to withstand regular use.

A new control cover was also required.  Sanding off the original finish left the cavity too shallow to accommodate a new plastic control plate, so the area will have to be milled down.  A Dremel with cutting wheel and an improvised jig will get it started.

Set to the appropriate depth, a groove was cut around the edge below the surface. A good sharp chisel and some delicate elbow grease will do the rest!

Now to make the control plate.  A much cheaper option than ordering a pre-feb one for this discontinued model.

Once again transferring the traced outline, this time on to a sheet of black pickguard plastic.  After a trip to the bandsaw and belt sander and some tweaking with a sanding block, this dropped right in to place.

Now to align the holes.  Many people would simply drill new ones and fill the old ones, but the time it takes to transpose the location of the original holes is about the same.

Painter's tape has been my best friend on this project!

Aligning the pencil marks with the corresponding corner allowed pinpoint accuracy for the screw holes.

Countersunk and ready for the finishing touches!  More updates on this project to come!

Broken Strat whammy bar

Can't believe it was May since my last post!  I've been so entrenched with basement renos (to include a new workshop ...eventually...) and summer fun that my guitar projects have taken a back seat.  Thankfully my clients haven't had any emergencies!

Until now...

This part of the Strat tremolo is often overlooked during the preparation process.  These threads need to be lubricated and cleaned quite often, as the beep hole in the trem block is the perfect place for grime to hide.

Many players use a graphite lubricant for many areas of the guitar, but for this particular spot I recommend just a drop of clear mineral oil on the bottom few threads.  Graphite lube in this area will only accumulate more grime over time.

With this guitar, the bar has broken off rather deep ~ below the surface of the trem block if it were to be removed.  In cases where they break off flush or slightly below the saddle plate, removal of the trem block would allow you to unscrew the broken piece by hand as it would be exposed above it's surface ~ no drilling required.

Despite centre punching the piece, these extractions can often go awry due to the uneven surface created from the break.  After a visit to the drill press, the hole meandered off centre but I caught it on time before it damaged the threads of the trem block.  Just enough of a hole to use the extractor bit to remove the piece.

I noticed the piece was quite short, meaning not a lot of thread was turning in to the trem block.  When I attempted to install a new arm, the threads were very stiff and it was obvious they needed a good cleaning.

A liberal amount of mineral oil on the threads of the new arm, and working it back & forth in the threads began to work the grime lose.  The threads were so tight with buildup that the arm could only be threaded in half way before it was tight, which explains why the old arm broke off so short.

Each time the new arm was threaded in tightly, it was removed, cleaned, re-lubricated and threaded in again going further every turn.  

It didn't take long to feel the results ~ the new trem arm threaded in all the way down with the appropriate amount of tension.