Hi Brad,
I'd been thinking about a custom pickup for my '92 AA for some time, though not a tailpiece. I'd tried a Benedetto S-6 pickup for a while (not permanently mounted) and felt it did improve the amplified tone of my guitar which was a bit to "brittle" sounding to my ear with the stock pickup. The S-6 pickup tamed some of the overly bright sound and also improved the dynamic response, or sensitivity to hard and soft picking. But it still wasn't quite right because I was using the stock 500K ohm volume control which is for single coil pickups. (The Benedetto specs recommend a 250K ohm pot.)
A few months ago, I consulted a luthier for some help with a neck finish problem on another archtop. While there, I asked him about what he could do for my Guild. I did want the guitar to keep a somewhat 'authentic Guild' appearance, so I asked about a custom pickguard in the Guild Benedetto Artist Award style.
This is what we came up with:
- custom ebony pickguard, white-black-white binding; mounts to the '92 AA using the same bracket and screw locations
- thumbwheel style volume AND tone controls which I feel give the guitar a cleaner, less cluttered look
- both controls are 250K ohm potentiometers; easy to adjust while playing, and they feel quite secure so I think they'll be quite reliable. The amplified tone is excellent to my taste (jazz chord-melody/bebop lines) -- and it's versatile with a good range of tonal control.
Additional work: installed new nut (old one was too low causing 1st & 2nd fret buzz), careful leveling of all frets. The guitar now plays like a dream for the first time since I've owned it with a virtually flat neck (zero relief). The stock pickguard/pickup and volume control remain intact and could be swapped back quickly, though I don't think I'd ever do that now.
The luthier is Todd Stock, a superb craftsman and builder, located in Germantown, MD.
http://greenridgeguitars.com/
Below are some photos to help you think about whether this is the right look for you. I'm still using the original gold screws on the pickguard, but may track down some correct sized screws with a black finish to blend in better with the ebony. I don't remember the capacitor value for the tone control, but can find it for you if you're interested in pursuing this dual tone control path.
Hope this helps with your quest,
George