Best electric pickup system for Guild F512 - factory original went bad...

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hello Gents, I am new here. I bought this gorgeous 2006 F512 with built-in electronics; very simple, no controls.
The seller told me it was factory builtin passive pickup; no battery.
The guitar sounds amazing and is mint.
I use it only for gigs as I have other practice guitars.
I used it on a couple dozen gigs before the lockdown, had no issues.
Just got it out of the case tonight for the first time in three months and the pickup is not working, making this terrible sound. I tried everything, different cables, different channel in the board.
No guitar sound, just loud hiss and popping sounds. Awful.
It's definitely the guitar.
After getting over the initial shock and trauma of this happening to my baby, I am regaining my senses and figured I would ask several questions for the forum(s):
Does anyone know what type of pickup was installed in this from the factory in 2006?
Is there any chance there actually is a battery inside the body that went dead? (Although I doubt a dead battery would cause that kind of sound.)
Any other speculation as to how and why it would just go bad like that sitting in the case?
I'm thinking since I have to take it in to the shop to get it fixed, maybe I should upgrade to the LR Baggs Anthem-SL.
I want to put in whatever is minimally invasive... with the best sound.
Any thoughts you might have would be very much appreciated.

Ron Roberts
Fairfield CT
 

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Br1ck

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Are your gigs solo or small acoustic groups, or a louder band? This is not a huge problem because amplification has come a long way since your guitar was built. Since your guitar is passive, what pre amp or acoustic amp have you been using to match the impedance? Your guitar might have an undersaddle pickup, to me the worst sounding pickup solution.

The Anthum is a proven system that includes an undersaddle piezo, Undersaddle pickups do reject feedback better than others, so you can blend pickup elements depending on the situation.

A very popular way to go these days is a Tonedexter, but you need to record your guitar's tone with a decent mic. It compares your pickup with the recorded sound a in real time and puts out the recorded sound. If I went this route, I'd just replace your pickup with something similar if that is the case. If your guitar indeed has a battery, you should be able to see it easily, maybe on the neck block, but I doubt this is the case.

My personal favorite is Dazzos, a soundboard transducer that can be tailored to your guitar. I have them in six guitars. Research the subject on the net and you will find countless amounts of information. Everyone will have a favorite. K&Ks are very popular, but I couldn't wait to dump them. They were in a guitar I bought. There will be a hundred others that love them.

I did have a friend who put Dazzos in his F 112 and loves them.
 

Brad Little

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Interesting, I would think that a factory installed pickup in a 2006 F-512 would have been the Dtar Load and Lock. Does this look like your jack? If so it unscrews and the batteries go in through the opening.
iu
 
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Thank you for your reply.
I play in both an acoustic guitar/vocal duet with pro-grade P.A. and a full band sometimes.
I like the idea of the multi-source systems, with both an internal mic and second type of soundboard or bridge pickup.
I know that the internal mics have a big feedback problem in the full band setting, but for solo or duet work, there is less ambient sound being picked-up by the mic. I'm looking at these options right now; i need an education:
LR Baggs Lyric mic system
LR Baggs Anthem-SL
Fishman PowerTap (which includes Matrix I believe)?

I want the least-invasive... meaning I don't want my luthier to have to take the bridge off or have to reglue anything to install.
No no no, not on my Guild....!
 
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No, it looks like this.
 

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Nuuska

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That connector was widely in use by 1950

EDIT - I was tired and about to hit the hay when I wrote that first sentence. When looking quickly it looks like

1593161596411.png


but now I can see it is not.
 
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HeyMikey

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Two good ones to look into are:

1. Seymour Duncan Wavelength Duo multi-source pickup, which I believe has an under saddle plus a mic.

2. Seymour Duncan Mag-Mic, which has a magnetic soundhole pickup plus a mic. I bought one of these and will be installing it on my F30R at some point this year.
 
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dreadnut

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I'm guessing there is a simple answer, possibly the wiring from the p/u to the connector. Or maybe there is a battery. Your luthier should be able to determine what's going on rather quickly. I'd retain the original setup if possible.
 

hansmoust

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That connector was widely in use by 1950

EDIT - I was tired and about to hit the hay when I wrote that first sentence. When looking quickly it looks like

1593161596411.png


but now I can see it is not.

That was what I was about to say:

It's a regular Switchcraft endpin jack with the strap part removed; it's visible on the right side of the photo.

connectors.jpg


Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

crank

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Ron,

I am kind of near you...lived in WIlton for many years and played gigs in Fairfield, Westport, etc. Still jam at a friend's place in Fairfield. Now live in nearby NY. Good Luthier up in Clinton CT is Paul Neri. He will give you good advice, not overcharge you and complete work in a timely manner. He would never take your bridge off to remove or replace transducer pads...I don't think.

But I checked out your facebook page and the way you are strumming that 512 you probably don't even need amplification! lol.
 
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I tried a few sound hole pickups on my Guild 12's over the years and found that everyone was built for the narrower string spacing of a 6-string. Depending on where the pickup was situated in the sound hole, I either lost the high E's or the low E's.

The great thing about K&K's is you don't touch the bridge such as when you're installing an under saddle transducer. If your guitar has never been modified for an under saddle pickup, your luthier will have to use a router to deepen the bridge slot to accommodate the pickup. Don't go the easy route of cutting the saddle down. The saddle will want to tip over toward the sound hole. Messes up intonation and other stuff too.
 

geoguy

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Is that jack next to (or above) a strap pin?

If so, then I don't think it is a factory-original pickup, FWIW.
 
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Mystery solved with my 2006 Guild F512 electronics. Turns out there is a battery inside the body.
The guy I bought it from told me it was passive, no battery.
Now I know. Problem solved!And from the input I received on here, looks like it is certainly not orig factory electronics, because there is a separate strap button.
Replaced the battery and it sounds better than ever.
Thanks for all of your input on here.
 
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Ron,

I am kind of near you...lived in WIlton for many years and played gigs in Fairfield, Westport, etc. Still jam at a friend's place in Fairfield. Now live in nearby NY. Good Luthier up in Clinton CT is Paul Neri. He will give you good advice, not overcharge you and complete work in a timely manner. He would never take your bridge off to remove or replace transducer pads...I don't think.

But I checked out your facebook page and the way you are strumming that 512 you probably don't even need amplification! lol.
Crank - Thank you for that. I suppose what you mean is I strum it too hard.
You might be right however I use a super thin pick; I just like the sound it gives better than a thick one.
Yes, I have been to Paul Neri before. He does good work.
Turns out there is a battery inside the body on my guitar and all indication is not factory original electronics.
I took it to a guy right near me here in Fairfield CT, has a shop in his house.
He does good work and doesn't overcharge. Only charged me $15 this time.
I would think that is unheard of. (his name is Nick and I can give contact info if anyone local is in need of a good luthier).
Ron
 

crank

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Crank - Thank you for that. I suppose what you mean is I strum it too hard.
You might be right however I use a super thin pick; I just like the sound it gives better than a thick one.
Yes, I have been to Paul Neri before. He does good work.
Turns out there is a battery inside the body on my guitar and all indication is not factory original electronics.
I took it to a guy right near me here in Fairfield CT, has a shop in his house.
He does good work and doesn't overcharge. Only charged me $15 this time.
I would think that is unheard of. (his name is Nick and I can give contact info if anyone local is in need of a good luthier).
Ron

Ron,

What I meant was that Guild jumbo 12's are pretty loud and on Hello Marylou you were strumming away.

I have played my 412 with a drummer and bass and only realized after a bit that I was not plugged in. I use kind of a thin pick for my 12 string as well.

Glad it was an easy fix.
 
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