1983 D-25 pickup question - is it factory installed

nyimbo

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I have a guitar inherited from my Dad (D-25 SB) 1983 R.I. build.

Mom gave me the file folder with the paper work. There is nothing mentioned on the receipt about a pickup being installed in the guitar before it was sold. I did not ever hear my dad mention that it was an aftermarket add-on installation (but it could have happened and I just wasn't around to hear the story - I wasn't living in the area when he purchased it - so possible) There are no controls for volume or balance etc. There is only the jack in the end pin.

So I wondered if anyone with some historical knowledge knows if this may have been sold originally with the pickup installed that way or if it is more likely that it is an aftermarket add-on. The reason I'm leaning toward the position that it was purchased that way is because my dad was type "A" personality and there is no paperwork in the file for a later add-on.

So any thoughts from the group???????

My follow up question is if it was factory installed what kind of pickup is it likely to be.
My follow up followup Q is if it was after market installed, is there anyway to know what is in there?

Thanks, Keith
 
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hansmoust

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Hello Keith,

Might be able to help you out, but first you need to answer this question:

You have 1983 D-25 pickup question - is it factory installed in your heading, but you also say I have a guitar inherited from my Dad (D-25 SB) 1993 R.I. build in your posting. What is the real year of manufacture? Can you give me the serial number, so I will know what kind of pickup could have been installed from the factory?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

adorshki

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83 serial number I'll check later I not sitting with guitar at the moment

Hans is THE expert for sure, but another indicator, while not 100% reliable because Guild wasn't 100% perfect with its labeling, is that typically an instrument with a pickup had an "e" after the model number on the label, ie, "D25e" or maybe D25SBe in your guitar ("SB" for "SunBurst")
Sounds like you have what's called a "UST" for Under Saddle Transducer if there's nothing in the soundhole.
I don't know if Guild actually used those at the time.
Can you see inside with a mirror to see if there's a wire coming through the top from under the bridge?
 

Ross

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Hi Keith:

Original pickup or not, please post a photo(s) of the guitar. I have a 1983 D-25SB, and the dark burst is a real beauty!

PS - I had an after-market PU installed - a Dean Markley Sweet Spot. No knobs, just a chrome socket at the endpin.
 

Br1ck

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Well, if it was factory or not, transducers have come a long way, and I would see no reason to keep an under saddle pickup from 20 plus years ago.
 

nyimbo

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Hans replied privately: He doesn't think it is factory. I'll have to do some more investigation from here. Pic is coming when I get a chance to take some photos and then look at how to post them, k
 

adorshki

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Hans replied privately: He doesn't think it is factory. I'll have to do some more investigation from here. Pic is coming when I get a chance to take some photos and then look at how to post them,
Suspect you've already figured out you can pretty much take what he says to the bank.
:friendly_wink:
Some of us like that kind of feedback though, like me as a D25 lover, trying to keep informal track of what was available when.
 

hansmoust

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Hans replied privately: He doesn't think it is factory.

Suspect you've already figured out you can pretty much take what he says to the bank.
Some of us like that kind of feedback though, like me as a D25 lover, trying to keep informal track of what was available when.

Don't worry adorshki! I don't know what's in there either and you will hear it once we've figured it out.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

swiveltung

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Well, if it was factory or not, transducers have come a long way, and I would see no reason to keep an under saddle pickup from 20 plus years ago.

Have they? I was not aware the modern piezo was much different.. is that the consensus? I replaced the one in my Songbird a while back as I was having some hum issues but it didnt seem to change the tone at all. (or the hum, but that is a long story!)
 

Br1ck

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Undersaddle pickups no. They are still as quacky as ever, but there are a very many soundboard transducers like Dazzo, K&K, JJB, Trance Audio, Pickup the World, etc, that are far better.

I use Dazzos exclusively, and they have now paired up with Sunnaudio for onboard pre amps. I had them make me a prototype Blender DI outboard pre which I just got last night and much as I have liked my RedEye, the Sunnaudio has so much more frequency extension and richness. Hopefully I'll get to hear K&Ks through it tonight.

And just because I'm on a crusade, you can't just plug a piezo into a mixing board. Yes, it will make noise, mostly horrible, but you need a devise to match impedance. A DI or pre with an input impedance of 1 Meg Ohm or more is needed. Most acoustic amps do, acoustic pres do, some DI boxes do. Mixing boards have 800 ohm input impedance. This won't ever sound good with piezos.
 

Westerly Wood

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I have a passive K&K in the Br. Plug straight into soundboard via some Aviom or Axiom system, i dont know.
very decent sound i can get but i attribute that more to the old woods and all hog keeping it warm.
one day i plan on investing in a preamp, i hear the Para DI is a good one, something affordable and simple.
i like easy, i just want to plus and play and not worry about batteries or buttons.
 

nyimbo

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Hi Keith:
Original pickup or not, please post a photo(s) of the guitar. I have a 1983 D-25SB, and the dark burst is a real beauty!

I wasn't sure why you wan to see a pic since you all have seen these but regardless, I thought it might be an excuse to learn how to post a picture - so am using this as my test case, Keith
iSGbKwL.jpg
[/IMG]
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhSJh9r
Let me know if this works???
 
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GardMan

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Nope... not seeing it. Make sure the image address inside the tags ends with .jpg (or some other acceptable image format).
 

hansmoust

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Hello folks,

Well, I already stated that the transducer was probably not factory original, but I did not know what type it was.

Here's a photo of the bridgeplate, showing a cable that goes to the saddle slot:

Undersaddle_1.jpg


Anyway, what’s in the guitar is an under-the saddle pickup housed in a braided cable. There are several different manufacturers that make those, but none of those were used at Guild during that particular time.

That’s pretty much what I can tell without seeing the actual pickup, but I guess that answers the question about originality.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

GuildFS4612CE

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I have a passive K&K in the Br. Plug straight into soundboard via some Aviom or Axiom system, i dont know.
very decent sound i can get but i attribute that more to the old woods and all hog keeping it warm.
one day i plan on investing in a preamp, i hear the Para DI is a good one, something affordable and simple.
i like easy, i just want to plus and play and not worry about batteries or buttons.

The Para DI is good...it's also 9v battery.
 

Nuuska

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Undersaddle pickups no. They are still as quacky as ever, but there are a very many soundboard transducers like Dazzo, K&K, JJB, Trance Audio, Pickup the World, etc, that are far better.

I use Dazzos exclusively, and they have now paired up with Sunnaudio for onboard pre amps. I had them make me a prototype Blender DI outboard pre which I just got last night and much as I have liked my RedEye, the Sunnaudio has so much more frequency extension and richness. Hopefully I'll get to hear K&Ks through it tonight.

And just because I'm on a crusade, you can't just plug a piezo into a mixing board. Yes, it will make noise, mostly horrible, but you need a devise to match impedance. A DI or pre with an input impedance of 1 Meg Ohm or more is needed. Most acoustic amps do, acoustic pres do, some DI boxes do. Mixing boards have 800 ohm input impedance. This won't ever sound good with piezos.


Hello

I think a piezo is a piezo - under saddle or somewhere under soundboard - location may well play bigger role than expected - when I started with piezo, it was Barcus-Berry - first the ones that came with that blue gook, that actually was like a pillow between singers mouth and U67 - then came Hot Dots that were drilled into bridge -also BB preamps - they were not stellar - then came the time with Barcus-Berry Insider - and same time Guild was offering under saddle pickups. At that time I was in MPLS in Guild-dealer music store and sent my then three Guilds to factory so they could install them pickups - they came back with wider compensated saddles, which I still like - plus pickups and preamps with volume & tone controls mounted up next to neck. At the time that was about the best there was - later I took the preamps out and started using external amps - all kind different experiments have been going on ever since - no "Endlösung" or "final solution" so far.

Like we discussed in another thread - the preamp input impedance is crucial - if it´s not high enough, anything you try after that is waste of energy, time, money and joy of life - to start with. My biggest problem with under saddle piezo has been the unevenness in string balance - it is fairly simple to get decent overall sound, but the plain B&E strings tend to be weak. Adding more transducers in right spots under the soundboard may help that - but it has to be tested. perhaps experimenting with different saddles and saddle bottom curvatures might lead somewhere. Ah - to be young and have that energy and enthusiasm.... Hopefully somebody young will read this.

So IMHO the piezo itself is probably not the problem - but how you execute it - preamp it - eq it and so on.

Meanwhile I have been using the mix of piezo and soundhole humbucker wired in "stereo" through two preamps into two channels. Gives me usable tone.
 

geoguy

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I wasn't sure why you wan to see a pic since you all have seen these but regardless, I thought it might be an excuse to learn how to post a picture - so am using this as my test case, Keith
aHsmhSJh9r

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhSJh9r
Let me know if this works???

Let's see if I can post your photo:

album-72157695045232345


Nope . . . you need to copy a link back to LTG that ends in an image-file extension (for example, jpg).
 
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nyimbo

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Thanks, I can see now the image appears directly in the post when I used the imgur.com recommendation from the site FAQ. That is more enjoyable to read than having to click a link and for to another site.

Hans you commented on the bridge. Here is the photo, which I sent by pm also. Thanks again all, Keith
DXqo9ze.jpg
[/IMG]
 
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