Does a piezo wire hole in top reduce the guitars value?

constantine

I have a dupont nomade and I use piezo pickups. For an internal installation, you obviously need to drill a small hole under the bridge to run the wire through. Is this something that would diminish the value of the guitar?

thanks

Jeff Moore

Short answer: Yes
You may luck out and the future buyer wants your Nomade with the element you chose, but its gonna be easier to sell without any alterations.
Having a good plug and play guitar seems a must for some of us though.

klaatu

constantine wrote:

For an internal installation, you obviously need to drill a small hole under the bridge to run the wire through.

Yes and no. For bridge-mounted piezos (e.g., Bigtones), obviously yes. UNLESS you get one that has been prepared for external mount - see option on the Dupont Bigtone: http://shoppingcart.djangobooks.com/ecom-prodshow/dupont-bigtone.html

A good Bigtone like the Dupont may or may not enhance the guitar's value, but probably won't really detract from it. I could be wrong, of course.

An internally mounted pickup like the Schattens or K&K don't require drilling the top and are easily removable, but they do require an endpin jack. For someone who wants a guitar in absolutely original condition, this might be an issue.

BluesBop Harry

If it was a vintage Selmer then yes but on a Nomade I don't think it's a problem, if anything it would add the price of the pickup to the total when reselling.

Jazzaferri

I would be inclined to say that installing a pickup in an acoustic guitar which involves drilling a hole would likely eliminate some potential buyers.
That may or may not affect the price depending on other factors ... the most important being there being buyers who want that particular guitar with that (or similar) setup when you come to sell

If Fishman were to come out with an Aura system for GJ guitars then that would likely become the preferred setup for higher volume amplified acoustic play.

frater

Selmer, Busato and Favino have usually far more serious repaired damages on their tops than a wire hole... do this reduce their value? The opposite, I suspect...