Adding piezo to a Silhouette; too difficult to be worth it?

[panther_king]

So I've gotten a hankering for a guitar with a Piezo system, and since it's quite obvious to me that I can't just add one to my BFR Luke, I was wondering if it might be possible to slip the system into my Silhouette.

It doesn't have a battery box, but I was thinking I could slip a battery and the board under the pickguard. If needed it could go from HSH to HH with a new pick guard, and place the circuit or battery in the middle cavity should I need the space. I think the tough part is going to be dealing with the new saddles. The guitar is a hardtail, so I don't have the trem cavity to work with when installing the saddles, and dealing with the wiring.

I was wondering if anyone has had some experience with this, or if I should just go and try to give up my Luke or Silo for something with the Piezo ready to go?

 

[beej]

I did an Ghost install on my Morse some years ago. It's a bit of work, but goes pretty smoothly if you plan everything out.

The big downside is that you won't recoup the money you put into it. It's still an aftermarket mod, not a factory install. And given how good the factory installs are, my personal opinion is that it's a better way to go (selling/buying a piezo). Unless you don't care so much about the cost, and enjoy doing the project. In which case it's fun.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Have to admit - I'd like to know how it's done on a hardtail too?

 

[dannymusic]

in a word...fugetaboutit

I had one and wouldn't. It will never be as good as the factory EBMM. AND the wiring tends to get all mashed up under the PG, because there is just alot more crap. Waiti until one becomes available. The factory ones are well thought out, and have a great electronix system to go with. Anything 3rd party add on is just a mistake. And, nobody will want it afterwards (terrible resale)

 

[beej]

Have to admit - I'd like to know how it's done on a hardtail too?

Piezo saddles. Then run the wiring under the edge of the p/g, or drill a channel for it.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Beej, on the JP6 for example, the Piezo saddle leads go to a PCB that is screwed to the Trem block. Leads from the PCB then route to the Pre amp.

In the case of a hardtail, is a PCB still used and if so, where does the factory fit it - under the pickguard?

 

[Jack FFR1846]

If you are adventurous, you can do some routing for a battery box like is done on other EBMMs and then perhaps some more routing for the PCB. There's plenty of room under the PG for everything if you are not afraid to take sharp, spinning power tools to your guitar. If you go this route, plan carefully. Put the battery box as close to a route as you practically can. For example, if it can just barely touch the output jack hole, you then have an easy way to route the wiring. I did this with my heavily modified sub 1 (in my avatar pic) with the silo spec HSS setup and silent circuit and finding a way to get the wires from the battery to the control cavity was the most challenging thing in the entire project. Putting it near the output jack hole is an afterthought......which I wish I had thought of before hand. Would have made it far better.

 

[beej]

In the case of a hardtail, is a PCB still used and if so, where does the factory fit it - under the pickguard?

I'm not sure how they do it at the factory. In the retrofits I've seen/done, the piezo wires are fed to a board/connector under the pickguard. Certainly it would be advantageous to have the connector sit elsewhere- save space under the pickguard.

 

[Zoom]

Speaking of resale value you could always take it off and sell separately or just keep it for the next project.