RMC Hex Pickup and Poly-Drive Install for Roland GR-55 Synth Access

Here’s my recap of my process of upgrading my Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93 semihollowbody guitar with new RMC Pow’r Bridge ‘G’ pickups in the bridge along with the Poly-Drive 1 electronics module and all new control wiring.

Watch The Video



Overview

The synth access equipped guitars on the market, for example such as those available from Godin (LGX-SA and LGXT-SA) or Carvin (Frank Gambale FG1) were very attractive to me but cost more than I wanted to spend on a guitar. Besides I love working on things so I decided to do this upgrade myself and document what I did in case anyone else wants to give it a try too. I had already had a few years experience using the Roland GK-3 external mount pickup on my Epiphone “dot”, which worked great, but it was big and ugly. Sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, buy in my beholder eyes I decided I didn’t like it. Also, I had moved on to the smaller body (ES-339 style) Artcore AM93 and I wanted to keep it as stock looking as possible while still being able to enjoy synth access.

Perhaps the biggest challenge was the bridge.  The RMC “PBG pickup saddles” retro-fit the Schaller GTM (Nashville) bridge as well as the TonePros TP-6 bridge, but they don’t fit in the Gotoh tune-o-matic bridges because the intonation screws are too high in the Gotohs.  The bridge in the Artcore is called by Ibanez the Art-1 bridge and I don’t know who makes it, but I took measurements and determined that the RMC pickups would not fit.  In the end, I decided to buy a Schaller GTM bridge, but the main problem was that the Schaller bridge posts/bushings were smaller than the Artcore bridge posts.  I fashioned wood plugs for the holes and drilled them out to fit the new Schaller posts.  This required very careful measuring and rechecking.  Once it was verified I glued them in with Titebond hide glue.  Be careful to wipe up any excess glue from the guitar finish!

Before beginning any work, I carefully planned what I would do. Below is a copy of my proposed control layout diagram. I couldn’t find graphic of a blank Artcore body online, so I went with this one and about the only major difference is the extra hole on the top for the ¼ inch output jack which is on the side on the Artcore.

I also did my own wiring diagram that would be specific to my particular guitar. My install included what RMC calls the “Cool Circuit” which provides a master tone, guitar volume, synth volume and RMC/Mag pickup blend control.

RMC Poly-Drive 1 Controls Layout for Ibanez Artcore AM93 Rev. 2

RMC Poly-Drive 1 Wiring for Ibanez Artcore AM93 Rev. 2

 

Procedure

1  Bridge Post Hole Retrofit For Schaller Gtm Bridge

  1. Remove guitar strings. I discarded the factory strings as I had new D’Addario NYXL strings that I wanted to install when I was done.
  2. Remove stop bar. (It will actually slide off its posts as soon as you remove the strings.)
  3. Remove stock bridge. Set it aside until you are ready to replace the saddles with the RMC pickups.
  4. Extract stock bridge bushings. Place a short screw or bolt in the bushing hole and then tighten the bushing against the screw until the bushing lifts out of the hole.
  5. Measure bridge post hole diameter and depth.
    • ID:
    • Depth:
  6. Fabricate post hole plugs:
    • OD: 17/64”
    • Length:
    • ID of Schaller bushing:
  7. Verify Schaller bushings fit in the fabricated post hole plugs.
  8. Re-verify post hole depth and plug length:
    • Depth:
    • Plug Length:
    • Hole spacing:
  9. Install plugs and glue in place.
  10. Press in Schaller bushings.

2   Bridge Saddle Replacement

  1. Remove and replace bridge saddles with RMC saddles per RMC instructions.
  2. Remove bridge pickup and move it out of the way.
  3. Install Schaller bridge.
  4. Route pickup cables into guitar body.

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3   RMC Wiring connections

  1. Remove the volume and tone knobs. Tip of the hat to Sweetwater’s Insync for the helpful suggestion to employ the tip of a spoon as a lever to pry the knob up. Be sure to protect the finish with a cloth or napkin and pry gently.
  2. Remove the nuts and washers from the volume and tone pot stems, the pickup switch and the ¼ inch jack. (Save them in case you need an extra nut or washer later.)
  3. Remove all stock wiring through bottom F-hole:
    • Volume and tone pots. (Label the pickup wires)
    • ¼” guitar jack
    • Pickup selector switch
    • Discard pots and ¼” jack.
  4. Mark and drill holes for S1 and S2.
    • Drill size:
  5. Mark and cut opening for the battery box. (Note:  it is not shown here, but I applied masking tape first over the areas where I needed to cut into the guitar to avoid chipping the nearby finish.)
    IMG_1998IMG_1996
  6. Mark side for jackplate opening.
  7. Make template for jackplate opening cutting/routing.
  8. Cut/route side opening for jackplate.
  9. Connect mag pickups to selector switch.
  10. Connect all Poly-Drive wires per RMC drawing.
  11. Connect mag pickup ground wires to Poly-Drive module per RMC drawing.
  12. Connect pickup selector switch to Poly-Drive module.
  13. Connect RMC pickup wires to Poly-Drive module per RMC drawing.
    • Add cable tie down to secure inside guitar.
  14. Route battery wires to battery box.

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4   RMC Wiring Harness Installation

  1. Insert Poly-Drive module and ¼” jack through F-hole.
  2. Attach module with two screws and ¼” jack with nut to dual jackplate.
  3. Attach jackplate to guitar with screws.
  4. Attach all pots and switches.
  5. Connect battery wires to battery box.
  6. Secure internal wires to guitar interior.
  7. Reinstall bridge pickup.
  8. Install strings.
  9. Tune and check string action and intonation.
  10. Install 9V battery.
  11. Test all functionality:
    • S1: Changes GR-55 programs?
    • S2 = Gtr + connect ¼” to amp: Mag pickups work?
    • S2 = Synth + 13 pin to GR-55: RMC pickups work?
    • S2 = Mix: Both pickups work?
    • Guitar volume works?
    • Master tone works?
    • Mag/RMC blend works?
  12. Polish guitar.
  13. Create GK Set in GR-55 with setting applicable to RMC piezo pickups.
  14. Go play your guitar!

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Ibanez Artcore with RMC synth Access1

 

 

 

Ibanez Artcore with RMC synth Access2

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Install the Roland GK-Kit-GT3 Divided Pickup Kit

One weekend I spent a day  capturing on video my adventure…..

in modifying my brand new Fender Modern Player Marauder to install the Roland GK-KIT-GT3 permanently, internally in the guitar.  Last year I wrote about my first venture into GK land and how I installed the Roland GK-3 external pickup on an Epiphone Dot semi-hollowbody guitar.

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Per Roland’s product description:

This kit includes all parts for permanent installation of a GK-3 Divided Pickup into an electric guitar: a GK-3 Divided Pickup, circuit board, switches, power indicator LED, 13-pin connector, wiring and hardware. Professional installation is required.

  • Divided guitar pickup for use with Roland V-Guitar System, GR-20 Guitar Synthesizer, or BOSS GK Effect Pedals
  • 3-position switching between divided pickup, natural bass pickup, or mix of both
  • Mounts on any electric or steel-stringed acoustic guitar

Fender-Marauder-closeup-with-GK-3-pickup4-550x412

UPDATE:  Since the above picture was taken the S1 and S2 buttons have been recessed so they are below the surface of the guitar to avoid accidentally making a change mid performance!

First here is my video….wow, I surprised myself….I am actually getting a little better at camcorder action and iMovie editing….and then I have transcribed below my 40 steps from my spiral notebook to install this unit.  Due to YouTube’s rules, I had to split this into two parts to stay under their “10 minute rule”:

Part 1

Part 2

Since this is what I did specifically for my Fender Modern Player Marauder all of the steps might not apply to your guitar if it is not a Marauder or you decide to wire things differently than I did.  By the way, there is a great resource on all things related to V-guitar and DIY guitar projects at the V-guitar user forums site at www.vguitarforums.com.

  1. Plan the layout.
  2. Disassemble guitar. (be careful not to scratch or damage anything!)
  3. Mask the guitar as needed to protect it while you are working on it.
  4. Mark the locations for the GK components.
  5. Remove the volume and tone pots and guitar cord jack from the metal face plate.
  6. Drill test holes in scrap material.
  7. Verify the fit of all GK parts in the scrap material.
  8. Adjust hole sizes if necessary.
  9. Drill the metal face plate per your planned hole locations.
  10. Drill the S1 and S2 switch holes.
  11. Countersink the S1/S2 holes.
  12. Drill and route the GK 13 pin connector opening.
  13. Drill an opening from the GK 13 pin connector opening over to the existing guitar control cavity.
  14. Make final routing adjustments to fit the opening to the GK 13 pin connector.
  15. Route a groove in the existing guitar control cavity to all the GK preamp board to fit installed on its side.
  16. Do a test fit of all the GK parts. Make any needed adjustments.
  17. Solder the wires (per the Roland wiring diagram) to the GK select switch and the S1/S2 switches.  Be sure to route the wires through the holes you have drilled prior to soldering.
  18. Solder the wires to the GK volume pot. (per the Roland wiring diagram)
  19. Solder the guitar signal wires. (per the Roland wiring diagram)
  20. Attach the connectors to the GK 13 pin connector.  Route the harness through the tunnel and into the control cavity.
  21. Drill pilot holes for and install the GK 13 pin connector into the guitar.
  22. Install the S1/S2 switches into the 5/8″ holes.
  23. Reinstall the original guitar pots and jack.
  24. Install the GK LED.
  25. Install the GK volume pot.
  26. Install the GK select switch.
  27. Drill or route an opening for the GK divided pickup cable near the bridge pickup.  You will need to make a notch also in the guitar’s pickup ring.
  28. Temporarily mount the GK divided pickup and route the cable over to the guitar’s control cavity.
  29. Tuck all wires into their final locations and secure them as needed with tie-wraps.
  30. Attach all connectors to the GK preamp board.
  31. Place the preamp board into the control cavity.
  32. Reattach the metal plate to the guitar body with screws.
  33. Reattach the pick guard to the guitar body with screws.
  34. Install strings.
  35. Tune and set intonation.
  36. Determine proper location for GK pickup according to the string location.  Note:  Maximum distance from bridge to the pickup is 20 mm.
  37. Mark pickup screw hole locations and drill pilot holes.  Install pickup screws.
  38. Use springs or spacers as needed to obtain a 1 mm clearance between the GK pickups and the strings.
  39. Adjust the GK pickup settings on the GR-55 according to the Roland instructions.
  40. Have fun playing your GK equipped guitar.

Fender-Marauder-w-GK-3-pickup-412x550

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Finally, here is a tune I recorded using the Roland GR-55 for the cello portion and along with a mic’d ukulele.  Or Click here to check out my music!

 

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