K&K Guitar Pickup Install - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, Robbie O’Brien shows how to install a K&K pickup inside an acoustic guitar.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: Can you create an instructional video on how to install a K&K guitar pickup?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from Florida.
"Dear Robert, I recently purchased the pure mini pickup from K&K Sound. I have read the installation instructions and think I have a good grasp on how to install it. However, it would really help if I could see it being installed before I attempt it myself. David in Florida."
Drill the hole
David, I have a guitar on my bench right now waiting for this exact pickup to be installed. What are the chances of that? So feel free to look over my shoulder as I install this pickup. David, the first thing I'm going to do is address the end pin jack hole here. This guitar came in with a press fit end pin, and that means there's already a hole there. So now all I have to do is just step that hole up to half-inch size. What I'm going to use is a step drill bit I got from my local hardware store and take it all the way up to the half inch.
If you don't have a hole there, then you're going to want to mark the location you want the hole, put a piece of duct tape or masking tape, mark exactly the location. I like to use a punch to mark it, and then I come into it with either a step drill or a regular 12 millimeter or half inch bit to drill the hole [Robert drills the hole using a drill]. It is always a good idea to remove the debris from your work surface so it doesn't get under your guitar and damage your finish.
Prep the bridge patch
The next thing I'm going to do is reach inside the guitar with a fine piece of sandpaper and just lightly sand the bottom of the bridge patch. The reason why I'm doing that is I wanted to make sure there's no debris from the bridge pin holes and that it's all clean so there's a good place for the transducer to sit on the bridge patch.
Find the best location for the transducers
I'm also going to take a mirror and look inside the sound hole to make sure I have a good location for the transducers on the bridge patch. And looking inside this guitar, I can tell that the recommended location for the transducers, which is under the saddle, will not work on this guitar because the bridge patch ends right about there. There's not enough room to put them on there, so I'm going to put them behind the bridge pins back here. Now, somebody who made this guitar didn't do it properly. Those bridge pins should be in the middle of the bridge patch.
Install the transducers
K&K sends a super high-tech tool to help in the correct placement of the transducer on the bridge patch. So what you do is you take this little piece of plastic in this configuration, run this little white pin through it, place it in the high E-string hole, then place this little golf tee in the G-string hole. You then place a piece of putty on the plexiglass on the plastic, then place the transducer on top of it with the metal side up so that it sticks into the putty. You then remove the plastic piece, it goes inside the guitar in the sound hole, and then comes back up in the high E side. And this goes back in the G-string hole, and that's the correct location. So wherever you place it here, it's going to go exactly in the same location under there where you can't see it on the bridge patch.
However, we've determined that there's not enough bridge patch for me to install the transducers under the saddle. So I'm going to change the configuration a little bit. I'm going to put it this way, put it in the G-string hole, and my transducer will go back here directly behind the bridge pins. So you get three transducers. I'm going to place one right in between the high E and the B string, another one in between the G and the D and another one in between the A and the E.
You might want to rehearse this step to make sure you can do it when the glue's applied. So now that I'm well rehearsed and I have my template in the correct location, I'm going to place a piece of the putty in the location I want to apply the transducer. So then come in and just place the transducer into it, make sure the metal side is up. I'm now going to place a very small amount of thick viscosity CA glue, also known as super glue, onto the transducer. And it's better to have too much than not have enough. Now K&K recommends you use the gel variety. I didn't have any in my shop today, so I'm using the thick variety, which is pretty close to a gel. I'm now going to come inside, place that white pin into the high E, make sure that this goes back in the G, and then push that up against the top. And it is making contact with the bridge plate now. And I'm going to wait for a couple of minutes for the glue to dry.
So after a couple of minutes, I can now come in, remove the pins, and repeat the operation. I'm now going to place this into the G string hole and then the fifth string hole, which is the A. And place a little bit more putty. Now it looks like my putty stayed inside there, so just reach my hand inside the hole and peel it off. And if you have a little residue left in there, it's okay. If you want to rub a towel in there to help pull some of that off, you can. Now, I don't like to reuse the same putty, so I just grab another little piece on here and repeat the operation. Make sure that the metal part of the transducer is up, place it into the putty, and once again, small amount of the thick-viscosity CA glue. And then place it back inside the guitar, come back into the same holes.
And once again, I'm going to apply a little bit of pressure, and after a couple of minutes I will remove it and do the last one. So after a couple of minutes of dry time, I'm now ready to remove the template again. For the final one, I'm going to turn the template over. That goes in the low E. This goes back into the D-string hole, and I'll repeat that operation again. So place the putty in exactly the location you want the transducer to be, and then place the transducer on it. And let's put a bit of the thick-viscosity CA glue and into the sound hole. We go again up to the low E into the D-string hole, and then apply pressure and wait for another couple of minutes.
So after a couple of minutes, once again, I'm just going to remove the template and the transducer stays in place.
Install the end pin jack
Next, I need to insert the end pin jack into the end block. I'm going to start by removing the strap button as well as the nut and washer. On the wires that come from the cables, there's a little rubber piece here. You want to slide that up within an inch or two of your transducers, and that helps keep the wires close together To help determine the thickness of my end block, I'm just going to take a little dental pick here, slide it in there, and this is going to give me an idea of how thick that block is with the sides. That can help me adjust the end pin when it's time to install it.
So now I'm going to place the end pen jack into the guitar, and it's going to come out the hole that I drilled in the in block. Here's a little trick to help you find the hole. Just take a small dowel, place it into the hole that you drilled, insert it into the end pin jack, and then use that to fish the in pin jack back out through the hole. So once the end pin jack has been fished out through the hole, place the washer on, place the nut on, and then test to see if the strap button covers everything with the correct amount of threading. And that looks about right. I like for that end piece to be recessed ever so slightly, this part to be recessed ever so slightly into this. That way there's no risk of damaging that.
So once you've determined that you have the correct amount exposed, go ahead and tighten this. I'm going to come in with my dental pick through the hole it's drilled through that part there, and then very carefully with a pair of needle nose pliers, tighten that nut. Now it's not a bad idea to also let this thing go around a turn or so. That way, the wires on the inside have a slight twist in them to keep them from banging around inside the guitar. Then I'm going to put the strap button on, and life's good. The only thing left to do now is string it up and make music.
David, as you saw, the installations actually pretty straightforward, and I think you should have no problem installing this pickup now in your guitar.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instructions available.]
