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I thought it might be a good idea to create a new post devoted to my transplanting a new pickup and preamp system in my Cort Sunset NY guitar. For reference and to read all about the ailing B-Band A11 preamp system, you can read that post. Click here...
For starters, I want to thank Frank P at Fishman Preamps for providing assistance with this project. I also want to thank Yus Yusuf of YusTech guitars for his assistance with insights on the B-Band.
And here is what I did...
I started the project by removing the B-Band transducer and replacing it with an Artec PG-607 piezo. The Artec pickup fit perfectly into the existing saddle slot. I stripped the end of the cable so that I can hard wire it onto the lower PC board of the Fishman.
I removed the B-Band preamp but saved the output jack.
I bought a Fishman Presys 101 preamp. This is unit that would normally mount on the side of a guitar. I picked the Presys 101 because it was the simplest unit I could find - in terms of controls and me being able to hard wire a piezo and external pots to it. Had I looked harder, I might have found a Fishman Clasica model. I think that one has a Volume, Bass, and Treble control. The idea here is that I wanted something that be a close match for the external pots- a Volume, Treble, and Bass control. The Presys 101 has a Mid control, but I decided to leave that pot as-is and in the center (detent) position. So it is still there on the PC board. I guess I could have removed it and installed a pair of 24K resistors. But I wanted to limit the soldering onto the PC board.
I disassembled the Fishman and pulled out the two PC boards. For the bottom board, I soldered the battery cables and the piezo pickup. For the output jack, I used the molex that came with the Fishman but soldered the wires coming from the original output jack. The jack has the signal, the ground, and switched ground connections.
The Cort Sunset has the controls mounted on the sound board. So I needed to run wires from the pots back to the PC board. The second PC board slides off the bottom board. There are two multi-pin connectors (very convenient). I cut the leads to the Volume (10K), Bass (50K), and Treble (50k) pots that are on the PC board. I though it would be easier to solder onto the thicker legs from the pot as opposed to the PC board itself. The PC board traces are very thin and I believe this is a double sided board. So soldering to the legs of the pots was much easier. I also ran a wire from a ground point on the PC board to the back of each pot. So you will see 4 wires going to each spot on the PC board (where the original pot resided). I then covered the solder connections with some heat shrink tubing.
Once I had the pots wired up, I mounted them to the body of the guitar for a test- the Artec pickup and Fishman preamp sounded MUCH MUCH better (compared to the B-Band). There is plenty of volume and clarity. Keep in mind this is a thin body guitar so I wouldn't expect thundering lows. But I was happy with the results. I then put some caulking over the phase and tuner buttons so that they do not accidentally engage. I don't care for those controls. I then wrapped the PC boards with some bubble wrap and pushed that assembly into the cavity or the guitar. One more test and everything was working great.
If you read the other posting, you'll see some comments related to the B-Band. I guess they are finicky units and the transducers tend to fail. So I am hoping this new setup will last me a while. The Sunset NY is a discontinued model. There are similar style guitars out there. But I thought it would be cool to have this one. And once I got the electronics working, I could then get a new saddle and maybe drop in some fret markers.
I appreciate the replies on the other post. This one is for anyone who strays onto this thread and interested in doing a similar project.
Tom
I thought it might be a good idea to create a new post devoted to my transplanting a new pickup and preamp system in my Cort Sunset NY guitar. For reference and to read all about the ailing B-Band A11 preamp system, you can read that post. Click here...
For starters, I want to thank Frank P at Fishman Preamps for providing assistance with this project. I also want to thank Yus Yusuf of YusTech guitars for his assistance with insights on the B-Band.
And here is what I did...
I started the project by removing the B-Band transducer and replacing it with an Artec PG-607 piezo. The Artec pickup fit perfectly into the existing saddle slot. I stripped the end of the cable so that I can hard wire it onto the lower PC board of the Fishman.
I removed the B-Band preamp but saved the output jack.
I bought a Fishman Presys 101 preamp. This is unit that would normally mount on the side of a guitar. I picked the Presys 101 because it was the simplest unit I could find - in terms of controls and me being able to hard wire a piezo and external pots to it. Had I looked harder, I might have found a Fishman Clasica model. I think that one has a Volume, Bass, and Treble control. The idea here is that I wanted something that be a close match for the external pots- a Volume, Treble, and Bass control. The Presys 101 has a Mid control, but I decided to leave that pot as-is and in the center (detent) position. So it is still there on the PC board. I guess I could have removed it and installed a pair of 24K resistors. But I wanted to limit the soldering onto the PC board.
I disassembled the Fishman and pulled out the two PC boards. For the bottom board, I soldered the battery cables and the piezo pickup. For the output jack, I used the molex that came with the Fishman but soldered the wires coming from the original output jack. The jack has the signal, the ground, and switched ground connections.
The Cort Sunset has the controls mounted on the sound board. So I needed to run wires from the pots back to the PC board. The second PC board slides off the bottom board. There are two multi-pin connectors (very convenient). I cut the leads to the Volume (10K), Bass (50K), and Treble (50k) pots that are on the PC board. I though it would be easier to solder onto the thicker legs from the pot as opposed to the PC board itself. The PC board traces are very thin and I believe this is a double sided board. So soldering to the legs of the pots was much easier. I also ran a wire from a ground point on the PC board to the back of each pot. So you will see 4 wires going to each spot on the PC board (where the original pot resided). I then covered the solder connections with some heat shrink tubing.
Once I had the pots wired up, I mounted them to the body of the guitar for a test- the Artec pickup and Fishman preamp sounded MUCH MUCH better (compared to the B-Band). There is plenty of volume and clarity. Keep in mind this is a thin body guitar so I wouldn't expect thundering lows. But I was happy with the results. I then put some caulking over the phase and tuner buttons so that they do not accidentally engage. I don't care for those controls. I then wrapped the PC boards with some bubble wrap and pushed that assembly into the cavity or the guitar. One more test and everything was working great.
If you read the other posting, you'll see some comments related to the B-Band. I guess they are finicky units and the transducers tend to fail. So I am hoping this new setup will last me a while. The Sunset NY is a discontinued model. There are similar style guitars out there. But I thought it would be cool to have this one. And once I got the electronics working, I could then get a new saddle and maybe drop in some fret markers.
I appreciate the replies on the other post. This one is for anyone who strays onto this thread and interested in doing a similar project.
Tom
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