Be the band.
Acoustic MIDI System
User Guide
i n t r o d u c t i o n
Modular components
Saddle Pickups
Pagoda Shim
Hexpander
Traction Switch
Program Up/Down Switch *optional*
Tone Control
1/4” Jack and 9v Battery Connector
i n s t a l l a t i o n
Locating ghost® Components
Tools Required
Do not le saddles!
Saddle Pickups & Pagoda Shim
Putting plugs onto pickup wires
Installing Hexpander & 13-pin jack
Mounting the Tone Control
Variable Control Layouts
Control Knobs
Wiring Connections Diagram
t e c h n i c a l d e t a i l s
Component Dimensions
Mounting hole diameters
Part Numbers
i n t r o d u c t i o n
The ghost Acoustic/MIDI system lets you add MIDI
capability to almost any acoustic guitar, as well
as amplify the instrument’s natural sound without the feedback problems of microphones or the
string choice restrictions of magnetic pickups.
The ghost saddle pickups turn the vibrations of the
strings into electrical signals that drive both of the ghost
Acoustic/MIDI modules: the Hexpander MIDI interface, and the Tone Control adjustable acoustic preamp.
The ghost Acoustic/MIDI system was developed
for Carvin’s highly popular NS-1 chambered solid
body acoustic guitar, and now is available for
use in other applications. It is suitable for both
nylon-string and steel-string acoustic guitars.
Modular Components
9 VOLT
The ghost Acoustic/MIDI systems installs without
any soldering. The pickups, modules, switches, and
jacks plug into each other with small, computerstyle connectors. This makes the system easy to
install, and allows you to congure it to your needs.
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Saddle Pickups
Acoustic/MIDI saddles sets are available with two notch
sizes, for either steel-string or nylon-string guitars. The
dimensions and installation procedures are the same.
Both types of saddles t in an 1/8”(3.2mm) saddle
slot, and are slightly oversized to permit sanding to a snug t. The plastic connectors are not
attached when you receive the pickups, so that
you can pass the wire through a 7/64” hole in
the bridge, and attach the connector afterwards.
dimensions: 0.130”(3.3mm) thick, 0.385”(9.8mm)
wide, and 0.236”(6.0mm) high.
standard wire length: 9”(230mm)
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Pagoda Shim
The Pagoda Shim goes in the saddle slot and provides
six “steps” at dierent heights for the saddles to sit
on, resulting in an 18” radius. For guitars with at
ngerboards, the Pagoda Shim is not used. It doesn’t
matter which way the Pagoda Shim is inser ted.
The stepped
roofs of a
pagoda
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Hexpander
ROLAND AXON
The Hexpander is the MIDI interface board
with integrated 13-pin connector. It interfaces
with most pitch-to-MIDI converters, and is designed to be installed with the Tone Control
Traktion
TM
Switch
The TraktionTM Switch selects between two output
curves to optimize tracking for your converter and
playing style.
The Traktion
TM
switch is located
in the slot below
the 13-pin jack,
and slides left for
Roland, and right
for Axon. For converters by other manufacturers,
try both settings and use the one that tracks best.
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Program Up/Down Switch *optional*
The program selector QuickSwitch scrolls up or down
through the MIDI patches. Modular plug connects
to the Hexpander or Tone Control bus bar without
soldering. The Up/Down Switch is optional, and
omitting it doesn’t require any jumpers in its place.
Tone Control
The OEM Tone Control is an adjustable acoustic
preamp that delivers true acoustic sound from
piezo pickups. The middle pot is wire mounted
so you can create custom control layouts. It is
designed to be installed with the Hexpander.
1/4” Output Jack & 9v Connector
The Acoustic/MIDI system includes a plug-in wiring harness with the 1⁄4” output jack and a
9v battery connector. A metal battery holder
with self-adhesive backing is also provided.
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i n s t a l l a t i o n
Installing the ghost Acoustic/MIDI system requires
some permanent modication of the instrument,
including holes through the sound board for the
pickup wires and preamp controls, and a hole in
the side for the 13-pin jack. If you’re uncomfortable
with any of the steps in this manual, please nd a
qualied guitar technician to do the work for you.
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Locating ghost Components
Adding the ghost® system to your instrument
begins with careful planning. Begin by plugging the components into each other and lay
them out on top of the guitar to decide the location of each component. Choose locations that are
convenient for you, and look for space conicts
with structural parts on the inside of the guitar.
Make sure that the harness wires are long enough
to reach the location of each component. Remember that any of the optional controls can be
added to the system later if you’ve left space for
it, but drilling a hole in the wrong place can be
hard to hide. Some routing may be required to t
the components in your particular instrument.
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