On Jul 13, 2009, at 8:41 PM, jazz_guitar@yahoogroups.com wrote:

> 2b. Re: ZEEK! How's that GK-3 working out on the archtop?
> Posted by: "Dave Woods" david_woods@... davec7b5
> Date: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:38 pm ((PDT))
>
> Thanks Zeek,
>
> I'd love to see some pictures. Do you have to cut into the guitar
> at all?
> Hmmm. did he answer this already in his post.

Hi Dave,
Nope, no modifications to the guitar itself, whatsoever.

I did decide the silicone type glue they used to stick the little
block of wood on under the pickguard (ebony finger rest, to be
perfectly correct) to raise and hold it onto the guitar's top by the
neck, was not sufficient by itself to hold the weight of the GK-3's 13
pin cable, without pulling it off (which I did once accidentally, even
before I started to put the GK-3 on). So, I drilled a hole in the
side of the block and inserted a tiny long screw in that wedges under
the fingerboard, where the neck design separates from the body and
slopes upward and above the top, extending for several inches to the
end. The screw can be removed without leaving a mark on the neck,
since it only contacts the underside that isn't visible, and it exerts
just enough force to keep the pickguard on there solidly, putting
pressure on the double-sided tape I used to hold it, instead of more
silicone. The industrial-strength tape also comes with the GK-3, on a
sheet of paper that looks like a book of stamps at first glance. The
block of wood appears to be epoxied to the pickguard, but I didn't
want to use that on the top or drill a hole all the way through the
ebony pickguard AND the top. It's really on there good now, anyway.
This will be more clearly understood when you see a picture of it...

I got the new knob today and had to grind the rim's edge to decrease
the diameter to fit in the control box's cutout, and it's on, but
still fits a little too tightly. I also want to thin it out a bit on
the bottom, so it sits down further on the Roland's synth volume
shaft, which is unusually short. I'll finish it up tomorrow, my
fingers gave out for today, and then I'll take detailed pix tomorrow,
too. I think it all came out nicely so far, and more importantly, the
guitar plays great, and tracks MIDI perfectly well. One more day, and
it's done. Well, except for experimenting with strings. ;)

I had a "brainstorm" tonight, since I like .011-.052 so much, I think
I'll try a set of Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze, Custom Lights. I've
been using the same set except 80/20 bronze on my Martin, and thought
the Phosphor was too bassy sounding, but they might work great on the
archtop with the piezo bridge PU. No idea what the mag PU will do
with them, but I just happen to have a set on hand. :)

Best regards,
...z

Sometimes, the same mistake is to much fun to make only once...

Fingerstyle guitar jazz from your friend,
Zeek Duff in BEAUTIFUL COLORADO
http://www.zeekduff.com for more info
http://www.MySpace.com/zeekduffmusic for streaming whole songs
http://www.cdbaby.com/zeekduff for audio clips and CD purchases