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Where do you find them? I'd possibly like to install something with a built in tuner. I can't find them.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

There are dozens of choices, however not many with a tuner built in. First you need to decide the kind of transducer(s) you want to use - UST, soundboard, internal mic, combination. Then you need to decide if you want an active system with on board electronics - usually you get a preamp with volume and possibly a simple tone control - or whether you want to use an external preamp or DI. If you go external you can easily add the tuner.

Most people installing active devices do not want to hog out a big hole in the side so the controls sit inside the soundhole. You can buy the barn door style but now you need to make completely sure that your sides are the same shape as what you are buying - otherwise it won't fit smoothly. You will need to add a battery container of some sort and the output jack.

Different styles of transducers interject their sonic characteristics - piezo USTs can be "quacky" and tricky to balance, bridge plate sensors can feed back, magnetic pickups sound like, well, often an electric guitar. The little goose neck microphones are expensive but fairly natural sounding. If you truly want the barn door style electronics with a tuner I would try to buy one from and OEM (like Takamine) that fits a body the shape you are building.

https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Ele ... ystem.html

http://www.brookmays.com/prod_disp.aspx ... gLXLfD_BwE

https://reverb.com/item/2381611-takamin ... w.ds&pla=1

Don't forget Squeebay.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I'm of the school of thought that the less permanently installed on board electronics, the better in the long run. Electronics can fail and built in electronics can become obsolete and hard to swap out when the next new and improved technology comes along. If the guitar is really going to be played through an amp or PA, having functions like EQ, volume, and a tuner external to the guitar gives you way more flexibility and choice in components. Plus you don't have to mess with an on board battery and it makes building the guitar a bit less complicated. My two cents.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

+2 cents more...

I agree totally with Jay and Haans. I install aftermarket pickups for people - usually Fishman if they want active, K&K if they want passive. I have K&K pups in a couple of my personal guitars, however I almost never plug them in.

Electronics become obsolete very fast, compared to the life of an acoustic guitar. If you are going to install onboard electronics, I think the best way to “future-proof” the installation is to keep the modifications to the guitar minimal. An end pin jack and a hole in the bottom of the saddle slot for an under-saddle transducer are pretty standard, and do not scar the guitar for life. Neither does a battery clip adhered somewhere inside the body, or discrete controls adhered inside the soundhole. Those bass side control panels, on the other hand, are an abomination, because they require large, rectangular holes. Have the fancy stuff (tuner, EQ) on the floor in a pedal, so you can upgrade at your pleasure. That’s my view.

OK, I'm convinced, no built in electronics. Thanks for your input and time. I may try the Lyrica endorsed by Ricky Skaggs instead.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I think the LR Baggs Lyric, paired with a Venue floor pedal, is a great way to amplify an acoustic guitar. I like microphones better, but if you need to use a pickup, a Lyric and Venue system is very good.

I prefer microphones as well, but only for an acoustic bluegrass band. If i'm playing with a rock band I really need the pickup and nobody in the audience would be able to hear the difference anyway. This is why I own a Taylor 110CE.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

LR Baggs rock. The Lyric is awesome. The Anthem is more awesome,

Hutch, I think you've decided against your original idea but I happened to have something on my work bench that I thought would work. This is a Martin GPCPa with their factory built in Fishman electronics. It has a UST with two PCB's - one has the preamp and tone circuit, the other is the tuner. The PCB's mount using the volume and tone pots and the LCD for the tuner - there are no other holes in the side of the guitar. This particular model has the battery pack built into the strap/jack assembly at the butt of the guitar.

This is probably the least invasive of all of the active systems - you would still need three holes thru the upper bout side of the guitar. You would also need to put a reinforcing piece on the inside of the upper bout side (which you would need for any of the barn door electronics). My suggestion would be that if you have any notion you might want to install one of these in the future go ahead and put that reinforcement in - it won't hurt anything and it would be much easier when the box is open

While this would not be my choice, it does meet the criteria in your opening post



The two black things on the right side of the right PCB are the tone and volume controls - their knobs hold the PCB in place

Where would I find one of those if I wanted it, which I don't. That was one of the problems I had. Would I contact Fishman? I don't think they sell those to the general public.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Martin's 1833 Shop sells a lot of luthier products. Most of their authorized servicemen can get parts. Our John Hall at Bluescreek Guitars would be a good place to start. Just like when I pointed you to replacement Takamine electronics, parts are available.

Martin's 1833 Shop is one of the places I looked. Maybe if I had inquired there. I still may do this but maybe on guitar 4 or 5
Thanks for your help

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!