the Fly Clone Project

Glad to have joined this group!
I just got my first Parker Deluxe
I also got the VG 8 guitar system and now need to get my GK-3 installed.
I'm nervous about this process. Ideally I would like to have it internal but right now the cost is an issue.
SOOO I would like to mount it on my new baby with the tape that came with the GK-3.
Does anyone out there have any experience with this type of install. Is it stable? can it be removed without damaging the finish of the guitar?
hopefully I can afford to get it internally placed at some point.
Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions

lori

Hi Lori and welcome! Congrats on the new Fly!

Others here—for sure—have more experience with installing/removing the GK series transducers, but I can say that naphtha and a little patience is usually all it takes to remove tape residue from those sorts of devices on a Fly.

that is reassuring, thanks

Hello, Lori.

locul wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:18 pm Does anyone out there have any experience with this type of install. Is it stable? can it be removed without damaging the finish of the guitar?

Though the tape Roland supplies should be safe for your Fly's finish, I remember it being lower tack than the roll of M3 mounting tape I have (which is also safe). As VJ says: If there did happen to be any residue, a common finish-safe cleaner such as naphtha/petroleum distillates (common lighter fluid, depending on your region) would take care of it. Note that the Fly has a carved top; so you may have to experiment a bit with mounting it. You may also find you need to raise your string action to accommodate the pickup.

For what it's worth, I've owned external and internal GK-mounted Flys (I ended up screw-mounting them to deal with the carved top). I never did figure out why the Roland pickups kept turning the guitars orange.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:55 pm Hello, Lori.

locul wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 12:18 pm Does anyone out there have any experience with this type of install. Is it stable? can it be removed without damaging the finish of the guitar?

Though the tape Roland supplies should be safe for your Fly's finish, I remember it being lower tack than the roll of M3 mounting tape I have (which is also safe). As VJ says: If there did happen to be any residue, a common finish-safe cleaner such as naphtha/petroleum distillates (common lighter fluid, depending on your region) would take care of it. Note that the Fly has a carved top; so you may have to experiment a bit with mounting it. You may also find you need to raise your string action to accommodate the pickup.

For what it's worth, I've owned external and internal GK-mounted Flys (I ended up screw-mounting them to deal with the carved top). I never did figure out why the Roland pickups kept turning the guitars orange.


gk out.jpeg

gk in.jpeg

Hey @mmmguitar ,

For internal GK installaton how many holes you need to drill on the top? I'm asking because since I'm gathering more info on the new BOSS GK5 kit, I see that there is the lead wire in the middle so how this connect to the electronics cavity?

My 2 cents here. My previous attempts at installing a pick up were defeated by the carved top curve. And I ended up using screws which deface the guitar to some degree. If I were to do this again, I would get a type of double-sided tape that is extremely difficult to remove, unfortunately, but is thick and spongy, and instead of trying to glue down the entirety of the pick up, I would just do the ends. The tape is thick enough to absorb the difference in height, and I think that might work better than trying to tape the whole thing.

@KenanJ, three holes are required to be drilled for the internal pickup mounting (I'm using the GK3 for reference; because I haven't installed a GK-5, yet): Two for mounting screws, and one pilot running from the underside of the pickup into the control cavity so that the wire bundle terminating in an 8 pin quick-connect header can be fed through.

For factory installs (Mojo MIDIs), there was a large diameter hole drilled to push this quick-connect header through from the guitar face to the control cavity. With the GK3 pickup, you could actually disassemble the pickup housing to the point of removing the wires at the pickup end and get away with drilling a smaller diameter pilot hole for feeding the wire bundle from the control cavity to the face of the guitar without having to accommodate the dimensions of the quick-connect header.

However, the GK5 pickup is potted with silicone to mitigate some of the microphonic noise and crosstalk issues the GK3 was susceptible to (this also results in the GK5's pole piece radius being fixed at 12"/304.8mm, whereas I could mod the GK3 pickup to have its pole piece radius conform to the saddle radius of a given guitar) - So I assume that's no longer a practical option. I have three guitars I'd like to install the GK5 kit in; and I'll update this post with my findings.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:33 pm @KenanJ, three holes are required to be drilled for the internal pickup mounting (I'm using the GK3 for reference; because I haven't installed a GK-5, yet): Two for mounting screws, and one pilot running from the underside of the pickup into the control cavity so that the wire bundle terminating in an 8 pin quick-connect header can be fed through.

For factory installs (Mojo MIDIs), there was a large diameter hole drilled to push this quick-connect header through from the guitar face to the control cavity. With the GK3 pickup, you could actually disassemble the pickup housing to the point of removing the wires at the pickup end and get away with drilling a smaller diameter pilot hole for feeding the wire bundle from the control cavity to the face of the guitar without having to accommodate the dimensions of the quick-connect header.

However, the GK5 pickup is potted with silicone to mitigate some of the microphonic noise and crosstalk issues the GK3 was susceptible to (this also results in the GK5's pole piece radius being fixed at 12"/304.8mm, whereas I could mod the GK3 pickup to have its pole piece radius to conform to whatever I needed to match a particular guitar) - So I assume that's no longer a practical option. I have three guitars I'd like to install the GK5 kit in; and I'll update this post with my findings.

Nice to know. I’ll try to install the gk5 kit on my end too, using a switcher to have only one 1/4 jack would be insanely nice. I also saw on Roland website that the gm800 synth modeler already has a GK in so I assume there no need to use the gk dc converter ? It’s still a bit blurry but since you said they announced a new unit maybe I’m misunderstanding something in their release agenda ^^

KenanJ wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2024 1:55 pm I also saw on Roland website that the gm800 synth modeler already has a GK in so I assume there no need to use the gk dc converter?

The GM800 is a "GK Serial" (1/4"/6.35mm T/R/S plug) unit which receives a digital signal. There is no input port on the device for the previous generation analog GK-13 DIN cable. So a guitar with a GK-5 pickup plugs directly into the GK-Serial units via the "GK-IN" port. For my guitars with 13 pin-outs, I will need to use the GKC-AD analog-to-digital converter box. GK5 pickups are also backwards-compatible with older 13 pin gear via a D/A converter box. Officially, Roland has discontinued GK-3 series and 13 pin products (they have been moved to the "legacy" product page; meaning no more will be produced once existing inventory is sold by dealers). For better or worse, Roland is 100% committed to the GK-Serial (GK-5) format going forward. This puts companies such as Graph Tech and RMC in an awkward position; because they either have to add a disclaimer about their piezo-fed 13 pin products requiring additional Roland hardware to work with the new generation of guitar modelers and synths, or find a way to license Roland's onboard GK-5 A/D converter in a way which allows it to receive piezo input.

It seems safe to assume that the new unit currently scheduled to be announced at the 2025 NAMM will share the same rear panel I/O as the GM800 (click to enlarge):


The "GK Out" jack will allow the units to be daisy-chained with a T/R/S cable running between them.