Concerns about DRILLING to permanently installing a sound hole pickup

[long past dead]

I recently bought a Taylor without electronics. I generally use a mic for performing, and like the sound. However I purchased a Fishman Rare Earth pickup and it sounds beautiful. I got it mainly for recording in my home studio to prevent stray outside noises from interfering with my recordings. THIS is where I am concerned. The Taylor I have has LAMINATED sides (which I believe to give a better balance and not overly woody tone) However all of the installation instructions I have read from Fishman and LL Braggs, etc says to use a SPADE drill bit. They use masking tape over the wood but in my experience whenever I drilled any plywood with a Spade drill it SPLINTERED the top layer. Because of this I may never install the pickup permanently. (Which is the decision I made before the purchase.) Why did I not buy a Taylor with electronics you might ask? Finances. I would be saving for years and never own a Taylor. Has anyone else drilled through a laminated guitar body? If I were to try it I would first drill a 1/8 diameter hole then a 3/16, etc until I reached my final hole size. This Taylor is flawless and beautiful and the last thing I want is to damage it.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Maybe for something this tricky you'd be better off taking it to a good luthier.

 

[markb]

You should drill through the end block and fit a strap pin jack. You can always hook it up inside the guitar with a mini jack connector so you can remove the pickup.

Here's a link to a Taylor pdf on the process but this is one job I'd give to a pro like dvm suggested. A good repair guy will have this done in moments without damage.

 

[deeaa]

+1 on what markb said. Once did that on a 12-string Takamine of mine. I just used a hand drill and promptly pushed thru, no problems

 

[long past dead]

Thanks so much for the great input and the Taylor PDF is awesome. Yes I agree that a good Luthier should do it, BUT I knew one that I really trusted until the last time I brought a MIDI Guitar in for rewiring. After waiting almost two weeks and after coming in to pick it up I insisted on trying it and it did not work. After another 2 weeks I picked it up and they completely disabled the MIDI. It is now just another electric without the MIDI. And I looked at the soldering job and had to re-solder it myself. Over the years I have had to become the best Luthier myself because the only other Luthiers around here are KIDS at Guitar Center and Sam Ash. The idea of using a mini connector to pass through the endpin is very appealing and is probably the way to go.

 

[Heywood Jablomie]

The main thing with drilling is to go very very slowly to minimize peripheral damage. Also, apply masking tape on the drill site. I agree about being one's own tech. I recently installed new pots/switch/jack and rewired a Strat for the first time. It worked perfectly after I was done and cost me a whopping $20 for parts.