Ladies and Gentlemen... I give you FrankenPaul!

[Dan Desy]

I've been teasing about my "project" for a while now, and I'm ready to unveil it. Mind you, as far as projects go, this is nothing like what DrPCR did with his Warmoth masterpieces or anything, but just as useful (maybe even more!).

Anyway, it's no secret I got a Les Paul Studio from eBay a few weeks back. It's a wine red 1991, all stock, with the desirable (to me) ebony fingerboard. Here's a picture of the riginal thing - not that it changed much since...

http://www.gpfband.com/images/gear/dan/LPStudio/LPBefore.jpg

... continued below....

[Dan Desy]

The first reason I bought this guitar was that I wanted (maybe even needed!) a stop tail guitar.

So anyway, I also decided to put in a piezo bridge system. I have a Parker P38 for thiose acoustic sounds (on sale in the Emporium), but found that now I use the Parker exclusively on songs where I need an acoustic sound, and hauling it (even though it's pretty light) was a burden for the limited use I made of it.

The Parker has a Fishman pierzo system which was fine, but I wanted to look at all the options. I researched online etc and decided to go with the Graphtech GHOST system. It looked like the best after market system available, and my discussions with their Custom,er service guy, Marty, confirmed that they are a great company with great prodructs (they're also Canadian, which is a plus ;)).

In order to put that thing in, I needed real estate, so I changed the LP controls to a single volume and tone, which sounds way easier than it really is. I also wanted to drop in P90s, but ddecided to wait and give the Gibson Humbickers a chance (and man, am I glad I did).

Here's a few pics of the control cavity with the Ghost hardware installed (I'll describe that later).

http://www.gpfband.com/images/gear/dan/LPStudio/LPCavity1.jpg

http://www.gpfband.com/images/gear/dan/LPStudio/LPCavity2.jpg

... to be continued (after lunch)...

[Dan Desy]

OK, I'm back!

So as I was saying, I put in the GHOST system. Rewiring the pickups was definitely more work than installing the GHOST. However, the Les Paul is not the easiest guitar, space wise, to use as a recipient for a preamp and battery. Still, I thought a LEs Paul would be just about the coolest platform for a piezo, given how untypical it would be to see a Les Paul and hear an acoustic tone!

The GHOST system consists ot the piezo saddles, preamp, Quickswitch and Mid-boost/Volume pot. For a Les Paul, the saddes come all wired on a tune-a-matic bridge. Even easier to install than changing the saddles on a Strat. Also, there's plenty of room for the conductors under the bridge pickup. There the six saddles conductors plug into a common connector block, from which the output is fed. This block can comfortably reside under the Bridge pickup.

The Quickswitch is a three way switch to select mag/blend/piezo. The GHOST system also support a mid-boost function, wich cuts highs and lows while boosting the midrange frequencies, for a slightly different tone. Yopu can hook up a switch to activate this function, but the preamp requires you to hook up a volume control, and Graphtech has a push/push (spring loaded) colume pot that supports both functions.

The really cool thing about the GHOST system is its modularity. Everythin is prewired and has connector terminators that just plug into the preamp module. So the Quickswitch, vol/midboost, battery and piezo output plug right into the pramp with no soldering required. The olnly soldering you need to do is from your mag output to one of the connectors, and the outputs to the output jacks. Too easy really.

The only complaint I have about the GHOST system is that it doesn't come with long shaft switches and pots - which are needed for a Les Paul. In my case, I decided to take the easy way out and route out the underside of the top using a 1 inch wood drill bit. It really wasn't hard to do, but long shaft components would be ideal.

Here's the "finished" product - note the piezo wires between the bridge and bridge pickup - kinda cool and no trouble at all. I'll post a review of it in a later post.


http://www.gpfband.com/images/gear/dan/LPStudio/LPAfter1.jpg

http://www.gpfband.com/images/gear/dan/LPStudio/LPAfter2.jpg

[aleclee]

Very cool!

[Dan Desy]

Again, it's no secret what I think about (this) Les Paul's (magnetic)tone. I posted about how much it amazed me through my Mesa Mark IV. Punchy sweetness. Almost made my SCT sound wimpy...

Now for the piezo side. The output jack is wired for stereo outputs, and I have a Y connector that splits it in two mono feeds. One goes to my Mark IV, the other to the PA - same setup as my Parker.

The sound - WOW! Sounds much fuller and deeper than the Fishman on the Parker. The soubnd is nothing compared to a real acoustic (Taylor/Martin etc) but is much more than usable in a rock band context. The output level is higher than the Fishman I would say. and again the frequency response is more even.

Activating the midboost function does alter the acoustic tone. Not as much as I expected, but it is somewhat different. I prefer the full range response of the "normal" position, but it may prove to be useful.

Given the results, and the ease of installation, I huighly recommend you guys check out the GHOST system. Feel free to email me any question you may have about the system.

In the meantime, let me rock out on my "new" FrankenPaul!

[merkenball]

Totally sweet. That is one unique guitar for sure!

[benb]

Nice! I bet people in the audience hear you start strumming that thing and get a confused look on their face..."Whazzat?"

[Chiba]

Very cool, Dan. Nicely done. Next time you have to do that kind of woodwork, try a Forstner (sp?) bit, it'll make perfect circles a lot easier than a regular drill bit.

--chiba

[Jo]

Very nice work Dan!

I'll be sending you my Birdy CE for you to "Alexify" for me ;)




:D
"It's my turn to drive, it's my turn to drive......"

[MCG]

That's a cool mod Dan! I emailed a link to this topic to a friend who is a Les Paul fanatic. He has 4 right now and I thought he'd find this interresting as well.

Rock on!

MCG

[Erik]

Dan,

You are the man...what a cool idea!!!

Erik H

[Dan Desy]

Very cool, Dan. Nicely done. Next time you have to do that kind of woodwork, try a Forstner (sp?) bit, it'll make perfect circles a lot easier than a regular drill bit.

--chiba
What is a Forstner bit? The one I used is lke a flat blade, with a sharp point on the tip.

[Dan Desy]

Very nice work Dan!

I'll be sending you my Birdy CE for you to "Alexify" for me ;)




:D
"It's my turn to drive, it's my turn to drive......"
I'm feeling my arm twisting ....
Jo, if you're serious, email me.

[San]

Great mod man, really tidy wiring too!! My mods usually end up as one huge lump of solder!

San.

[Dan Desy]

Great mod man, really tidy wiring too!! My mods usually end up as one huge lump of solder!

San.
It's kind of hard to do a sloppy job, given the modularity of the GHOST stuff. That's one of the things that I really love about it.

Also, I forgot to mention that the GHOST has a battery life rated at 500 hours!
Basically, put a battery in and forget about it for a year or so!
:dude:

[Jo]

Also, I forgot to mention that the GHOST has a battery life rated at 500 hours!
Basically, put a battery in and forget about it for a year or so!Unless you leave it plugged in overnight by accident :rolleyes:

:D

[Dan Desy]

I believe that's 500 hours of actual use, or plugged. So you can leave it plugged many nights before it's a problem...

What about that CE, Jo?

[Jo]

What about that CE, Jo?
Would it possible to add a graphtec without doing any additional routing on the body? My CE's currently been modified with a tap on the tone knob and 3way switch.

[Dan Desy]

Would it possible to add a graphtec without doing any additional routing on the body? My CE's currently been modified with a tap on the tone knob and 3way switch.
Let's take it to email...

[tulk1]

To me, it looks wrong. Not saying doing the mod to an LP is wrong. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It's the aesthetics. With the larger orginal knobs up front, and then the smaller controls behind, it looks ......... unbalanced. Other than that, I like the idea. And the detailed description of the mod is wonderful, as well. Any chance you've posted clips somewhere? Or did I miss that post?

[Dan Desy]

To me, it looks wrong. Not saying doing the mod to an LP is wrong. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It's the aesthetics. With the larger orginal knobs up front, and then the smaller controls behind, it looks ......... unbalanced. Other than that, I like the idea. And the detailed description of the mod is wonderful, as well. Any chance you've posted clips somewhere? Or did I miss that post?
I still need to work out the knob thing - but the speed knob didn't fit the new volume pot, so I borrowed a knob from my PArker for the time being.

I haven't posted any clips - The only PA I have access to is our rehearsal space, and it's a bit of a hassle to record there. I'll let you know if I ever get around to it.

[Mark]

That is way cool