Tackling the most finicky task known to mankind. Hope you enjoy the ride, and thanks for watching! Join us on Instagram: / tom_sands_guitars Website: www.tomsandsguitars.com
Can I just say that from the line of great Symogi apprentices, Tom Sands and Kostal are the ones that speak to me. The importance of Symogi wasn’t lost on me when the first guitar in the NA guitars shop came in, played by Will McNicol and had them in tears🤯 it’s such a great moment
Just subbed to the channel, really quality content & Tom is definitely a quality character. I have a pair of Grand Symphony's, one 2011 with the ES1 & a 2017 Ltd with an ES2. I despised the ES2 so much that I had this brand new, expensive, beautiful guitar that I wouldn't dare take to a stage because of how awful I thought it sounded plugged in. I've heard many other Taylor's with ES2's that didn't sound as under water awful as mine so naturally I spent several hundred dollars having the guitar tweaked & prodded in every which way. Spent a few more hundred dollars on adding gear to my pedal board, all to make this guitar playable in a live setting. In 2021 I had the ES2 gutted & the Trinity mini onboard installed. Couldn't be more pleased with the K&K but watching your video let's me know how much trouble my luthier went thru making all that happen lol.
Great video! Anyone know if the Trinity system would work well for a floating bridge instrument? I like the mic/spot combo. The spot placement should be in similar positions on soundboard under the floating bridge I'm guessing. Thanks.
Tom, very helpful video. Two questions: how do you make sure the wire doesn't vibrate against the wood inside the guitar? Also, do you feel the K&K accurately reproduces close the the true sound of your guitar (assuming a quality pre-amp)? Thanks, John Gig Harbor, WA
Hey John, yeah you’ve got to make sure you pin down the wires pretty well, there’s a bit of trial and error involved. I quite like the K&K system, if you pair it with a decent preamp you can get some pleasing results. Of course, it depends on the situation you find yourself in. I’ve also used a different microphone in previous installations which changed things considerably.
@@TomSandsGuitars Thanks Tom, I am thinking of having you drop a pickup in my Model S when it is finished. I like the K&K because there are no holes drilled through the bridge and top. Thanks, John
@@johnlind5819 sure thing John, it’s always a nice option to have. We’ll chat before the guitar starts because I actually prefer to do most of the instal before the guitar is closed up if I can.
The superglue installation is the single thing that prevents me from using K&K pickups. Competitors use 3M double sided tape that works well and can be removed when the time comes to replace or upgrade the pickup system.
Anyone who has been put of pick ups because of that awful digital piezo sound may be pleasantly surprised by these K&K jobs? My second hand 12fret Brook Taw came with the dual highlander pick up system with the goose nec mic. I believe that’s what Knopfler used so I’d be interested to know if you have any experience with the Highlanders and if the K&K are as good?
Can we talk about your Makita routers and Dremel addiction please ? XD Love the K&K pickups also. I recommend them a lot and customers are always happy with them.
Good move to cover that thin foam with paper towel. IMHO it would be a better move still to get out of your shop altogether. During manufacturer the mould rollers that pump that stuff out are sprayed constantly with silcone release agent. Being foam, that matting absorbs its fair share, easy enough to cause cross contamination and then the nightmare of fisheye as you try to apply finish....but that's not such an issue for a finished guitar? Probably not but the formulation required to make foam supple requires lots of plastersizer. Leave that in contact with a finish and it will quickly soften it enough to make it like a tac rag with all kinds of crap sticking to it. Leave it long enough and you will be literally peeling the foam off the guitar leaving behind a nice basket weave tattoo.... I now use once detergent washed acoustic foam for its egg carton profile. The guitar sits up on the peaks, and any crap gets held in the valleys away from the instrument or, just plain old bath towels covered with paper if I'm applying any kind of glue. I use mostly hide and that picks off like soft snot if you get it early......doesn't taste as nice though..😆
Love that tip. I’ve noticed the release agent you speak of. Bath towels always seem to hold onto bits of crap so I’ll definitely give the acoustic foam a try. Thank you!
@@TomSandsGuitars Yeah the acoustic foam works well but sometimes you need something with less give so that's when I use a fresh bath towel, but only on jobs that won't involve any fret work or other sources of metal contamination. I made an adjustable guitar clamping cradle when first starting out, and that, along with a gobar deck and a selection of radius dishes I routed myself ( outside in a VERY stiff breaze ) is something I don't regret doing. The craddle both clamps and craddels the body at 4 rubberised cork lined points. These are actually slotted 'L' brackets fitted to a flat base of 19mm ply. The brackets can be swung horizontally side to side and slid in and out and are fitted with a vertically adjustable support step to carry the back/top of the guitar allowing for side tapper. You surely have one because aside from being good for holding every guitar made by mankind, routing the binding ledge would be a right PIA without one.....well it would be with my articulated arm setup because that all depends upon setting the body 'level' for a crisp verticle step all around.
This is an example of the craddle I mentioned but this guy must deal with very wriggly Hudini instruments cause mine only has 4 clamps and not a single guitar has ever escaped. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5TbNKmbiuWs.html BTW, If ever your tempted to swing over to vacuum to hold guitar bodies, be aware that the rubber gasket used against the instrument will need to be very low profile. Too high, and the back braces will be popped off as the thin wood of the guitars back deforms into the vacuum clamping caul. In life I have learnt all by myself that the taller the seal, the greater the deformity....that's a nice thing to share here, but not so much to a paying customer who has arrived to pickup his guitar that only needed strings until you decided to test out the new jig.....worked great on the Les Paul too.😖 Oh and must add, never tried the Trinity, but I've fitted K&K Western Minis on heaps of acoustics and love them. Simple, reliable, and acurate sound reproduction that leaves all the finicky active EQ equipment outside the guitar where it can easily be got at when required.
