by VintAxe » Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:58 pm
Hey ashgray,
I see 2 perspectives when it comes to adding pickups to an acoustic hollowbody. First, there is the collectors perspective that says as soon as you cut holes in the top of this guitar, it's firewood. Any value the guitar currently has will be lost.
The second perspective is that of the modder. This is the fella that likes to buy cheaper vintage instruments and tinker with them. The modder is not particularly concerned with what the long run value of their modified instruments might be, they are paid back by enjoying the modification process and having a customized instrument that suits their needs.
So, before cutting holes, decide whether you are a collector or a modder. If you think you might be a collector, I would suggest putting this guitar in stock, playable condition and then selling it. You can then take the money from the sale, combine it with whatever you would have spent on parts, and buy a guitar that is closer to what you want.
If you are a modder, then break out the saw or do as Scott suggests which is a less radical approach to electrifying the guitar.
The main issue I see with modding a cheap guitar is that you seldom recover your investment in time and parts. I learned this lesson in high school when a friend of mine wanted a porsche but owned a volkswagon. His solution was to buy a fiberglass mod kit for the volkswagon and pour a bunch of hours and money into making his VW as close to a porsche as he could. Of course, a VW will never be a porsche so he ultimately became dissatisfied and decided to sell his project. Well, it ultimately sold for about 50 cents on the dollar for what he had invested not counting all the time he put into it.
The moral of my story is don't try to make your volkswagon a porsche unless you are not particularly concerned with what it's resale value might be.