My 10 String Stick came with the GK-2 synth pickup already installed. When I bough the GR-20 synth it came with a GK-3 pickup which I'm not using. It's still in the original plastic packaging.

I have an NS Stick on order. Will the GK-3 synth pickup work with the 4 melody strings of the NS Stick without major modification? Having the pickup installed on the NS isn't a major concern of mine however since I already own it it would be nice to be able to use it.

The GK-3 may not have the ideal spacing for the NS but it may be ok if the profile is flat, at least for the top 4 strings.... the spacing gets wider for the bass strings. When I had an NS I had the MIDI pickup installed and SE used a custom GK pickup housing with the proper spacing and it covered the top 6 strings.

Is the GK-3 that SE offers a custom model that Roland makes just for SE or is it a standard GK-3 that I can get anywhere?

I have the GK-3 on my guitar, and looked at my NS for comparison. I marked off the NS melody string spacing on a piece of Post-it note, then held it up against the GK-3. It lines up just fine, but the GK-3 has curvature meant for a guitar. I would prefer putting a flat MIDI pickup on my NS if I chose to do so. I don't have the GR-20, is there a sensitivity adjustment for each string? If so you might be able to compensate the curvature.

The GK-3 does adjust curvature for fretboard radius, but I don't see it going perfectly flat for an NS.

The GR-20 does have a string sensitivity adjustment so it may not be an issue. I wonder if the flatness or lack of can be compansated for? Thanks for looking into this for me. I actually wrote SE about this but haven't heard from them. We all know e-mail is not their best means of communication!

As far as I know, when SE installs a MIDI pickup on any of their instruments they always use a custom, flat pickup housing that is very close to the strings.

When I set up my guitar, I didn't quite reach the specs they called out, but the VG-99 compensated it with no problem. I can't say that for a flat radius. I'm thinking your best bet is to get one from SE, you could get more for a trade or just sell the GK-3 for more if you don't want it.

As I told SE when i wrote them, having a synth pickup on my yet to be built NS Stick is not a priority. But since I OWN a brand new GK-3 pickup it would be nice to have it installed on the NS Stick if I can do it myself or the cost is low. If I have to order a new custom pickup from SE and have them install it I won't bother. Having a synth on the NS is not worth the extra cost to me ... it would simply be nice to use the GK-3 I already own.

Follow up synth pickup question.

I wrote SE about my new non-modified GK-3 pickup and asked a few questions, (If it could be put on my new NS Stick, etc.) ... got no reply. Before I call and bother them I was wondering if someone knows the answer to this question. ... If I have them install one of their "modified" GK-3 Stick synth pickups on my new NS Stick DURING the build process do they charge for the pickup AND the extra money for installation or is that extra installation charge just for pre-owned Sticks you send to them for the upgrade?

I'd "like" to use midi on my NS Stick but not $480 worth of "like."

Personal opinion, but I would think adding an extra step to an existing build (read, expensive instrument purchase) would have to be cheaper than sending an existing instrument back for the same mod. As much as a phone call can be tricky, it's usually worth it.

Mmmm, I wonder if your "unwanted" MIDI pickup would fit the spacing of my new Grand 10?!?!?

Cheers,

EG