Graph-tech Ghost User Manual

Hexpander MIDI InterfaceBe the band.Acousti-Phonic Pre-ampUser Guide

10Acoustic AmpAcousticElectric Guitar AmpMagneticAcousticMagneticGroundSTEREOMODETipRingIn Stereo mode, the acoustic signal is on the Ring contact, an

11Two three-position switches provide fast, intuitive switching between all possible sound combinations: any one sound, any combination of two, or all

12This option lets you run your acoustic and/or magnetic signals down pin number 7 of the 13-pin cable plugged into the Hexpander, so you don’t need a

13When the Hexpander is piggybacked on the Acousti-Phonic, the mag-to-pin-7 harness is not necessary because Acousti-phonic passes the acoustic and/or

14Here are examples of possible control layouts on Strat-style and Les Paul-style guitars. The ghost® system is not just for Strats and Les Pauls, and

15* requires rewiring 3-way switch for master volume and toneVOLUMEBRIDGETONENECKVOLUMENECKQUICKSWITCHVOLUMEACOUSTICTONEBRIDGEVOLUMEMAGNETICVOLUMEMIDI

16J29 VOLTPlanninG yOur GhOst® installatiOnAdding a ghost® system to your instrument begins with careful planning. Decide which optional controls sui

17The ghost® boards are small -- about the size of a match box -- so they will t inside the control cavity of most guitars without any routing. You m

18Like an extension cord, it allows you to locate the pickups further away from the ghost® boards. For some installations this may be necessary, while

19The 13-pin jack that comes with the Hexpander can be mounted on the edge, on the front, or on the back of the instrument. Edge-mounting requires a r

2Overview Of the GhOst® system...5 Will it work with my guitar?...6 Intro

20The 9v battery that powers the Acousti-Phonic may require some routing to t it inside your guitar. Consider these possible locations for the batter

21The Acousti-Phonic requires a pot to control the level of the acoustic sound, but none is included. Choose one of these three methods to add an acou

22If you prefer to keep your tone control, you can also avoid drilling a hole for the acoustic volume pot by replacing one of your pots with a “stacke

23If you have room to add another pot to your guitar, you can drill a hole and add a pot for the acoustic volume. You can purchase a 250K or 500K audi

24Strats have the electronics on a front-mounted plastic pick guard which is easily removed, drilled, notched, and reinstalled. The control cavity is

25If installing the Acousti-Phonic, the board and 9v battery can be located beneath the magnetic bridge pickup. On some hollow bodies you may need to

26Required Tools• Electric drill and 5/16” bit (12” long recommended) for drilling hole between cavities and starting 13-pin jack hole; 9/32” bit for

27Optional ToolsRequired Tools

28Reversible installationIf you have a vintage instrument and its value may be aected by modications, or if you want to try the ghost® system before

29The wires on the ghost® saddles must go into the control cavity to plug into the Hexpander or into the Acousti-Phonic via the Summing Board and Dual

3 Saddles Notching the pick guard or pickup ring ...29 Slotting the base plate *optional*...30 Drilling between co

30Slotting the base plate of the bridge is an alternative to notching the pick guard or pickup ring. It will make the Ghost® wires practically invisib

31In some installations, you may have to drill a hole to route the wires between cavities in the instrument to pass the pickup wires through. This hol

32For mounting the Hexpander output on the edge of the instrument, the small PC board with the 13-pin jack requires a rectangular mounting hole in the

33Hexpander13-pin jack

34This space intentionally left blank for reverse of template

35Tape the template to the edge of the instrument, and mark the center of the circles onto the guitar by tapping through the template into the paint u

36Using a 1/16” bit, drill the four holes for the mounting screws in the outer most marks to a depth of 1/4”. Make these holes perpendicular to the su

37Using a 3/8” bit, drill holes within the inner rectangle to remove most of the wood in the cavity.

38Using a router, a Dremel rotary tool, or a chisel, remove the remaining wood to edges of the marked rectangle, to a depth of 1-1/8”. Be careful not

39In most cases, no enlargement of the cavity is required to install the main Hexpander board. Guitars with small cavities like Telecasters, or guitar

4 Program Up/Down (orientation) *optional*...52 QuickSwitch for MIDI/both/guitar *opt.*...53 MIDI volume *optional*...

40Usually, no routing is required to replace the 1/4” jack in your instrument with the 1/4” Stereo Switched Jack that comes with the Acousti-Phonic. I

41Ghost® saddles are made of our patented String Saver composite material which is rugged and durable. The pickup wires, however, are delicate and mus

42The ghost saddle pickups are all identical and can be installed in any string position. If you are installing the Hexpander and you must feed the wi

43Use the colored wire on the Extension Harness to make sure it is oriented properly, extending the pickup wires without reversing them. The blue wire

44Ghost® saddles are designed to be set up just like the regular saddles they replaced. For optimum performance, make sure that both height adjustment

45Locate the Hexpander where it can accept plug-in connections from the 13-pin jack, the saddle pickups, and the battery and options if applicable. Wh

46After the mounting hole has been routed and the 13-pin jack plate has been curved to conform to the edge of the guitar (see instructions in the Rout

47Plug the Interface Wiring Harness (ribbon cable) into the header pins on 13-pin jack; this connection is ‘keyed’ (one pin missing, one hole blocked)

48The Traktion Switch optimizes the output of the Hexpander for use with either Roland or Axon MIDI converters. Reach into the slot on the 13-pin jack

49Plug the six blue and silver wires from the pickups into the Hexpander on the pin pairs labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, with the silver wires nearest the

5The ghost® system is a set of modular components that adds acoustic or MIDI capability to your guitar without altering your magnetic pickup tone. Gho

5013-pin Hexaphonic Output Jack(fits hole: 1” x 1-1/4” x 1-1/4” deep)Traktion Switchghost Hexpander MIDI interface board(dimensions: 1-1/8” x 1-5/8” x

5113-pin Hexaphonic Output Jack(fits hole: 1” x 1-1/4” x 1-1/4” deep)Traktion Switchghost Hexpander MIDI interface board(dimensions: 1-1/8” x 1-5/8” x

52Drill a 1/4” hole in the pick guard or guitar top and mount the switch using the nuts and washers supplied. Orient the switch as desired: pushing th

53Drill a 1/4” hole in the pick guard or guitar top and mount the QuickSwitch using the nuts and washers supplied. Orient the switch according to your

54Use an existing hole, or drill a new 9/32” hole in the pick guard or guitar top and mount the pot using the nuts and washers supplied. Plug the MID

55Plug the Mag-to-pin-7 harness into the rst row of the Hexpander, nearest the edge of the board. It will span the pins labeled PMGVM, with the color

56Locate the Acousti-Phonic where it can accept plug-in connections from the 1/4” jack, the saddle pickups, the battery, and options if applicable. At

57Acousti-phonicGHSTVOLMAGBkGnMag pickupsMag VolumePiezo Volume250k or 500k audio taperBkYViTo convert your tone control to an acoustic volume control

58Acoustic volume with Mid/Dark switch *optional*mid/darkBkGnMagsViRBkBuAcousti-phonicMIDGHSTVOLMAGThis switch selects either the EQ’d ghost® aco

59Solder the Output Jack Harness (red, white, blue, two blacks) to the supplied Stereo Switched Output Jack, cutting the wires to a reasonable length

6The ghost® system is designed to t most guitars and basses. Installing it requires replacing the saddles on your bridge with compatible ghost® picku

60Drill a 1/4” hole in the pick guard or guitar top and mount the QuickSwitch using the nuts and washers supplied. Orient the switch according to your

61The Acousti-Phonic has a blue and white trim pot that can be adjusted with a small screw driver to match the level of the acoustic output to the lev

62A battery is required to power the Acousti-Phonic. The magnetic signal has to go through the Acousti-Phonic for blending purposes, so if the battery

63the black ground wires on the harnesses. These ground wires will all be lifted from the battery negative when the 1/4” plug is removed from the Ster

64Acousti-phonic connection DiAgrAmghost Acousti-phonic pre-amp board(dimensions: 1-1/8" x 1-5/8" x 1/2")TRIM POTto adjust piezo gainGR

65ghost Acousti-phonic pre-amp board(dimensions: 1-1/8" x 1-5/8" x 1/2")TRIM POTto adjust piezo gainGROUND ROW (all black wires)SIGNAL

66When installing both boards, connect them together with the Hexpander on top and Acousti-Phonic on the bottom. Plug the row of pins on the Acousti-P

67You can add a tone control to the Acousti-Phonic volume circuit to attenuate the high frequencies, the same as you would on your magnetic circuit. B

68This kit is for connecting the ghost® pickups to an output jack without the Acousti-Phonic. It provides an on-board acoustic volume control, and pre

69* not sold by Graph Tech -- available from most guitar parts suppliersThe bridge radius should match the ngerboard radius in order to prevent “fret

7Modular means that the ghost® system’s components can be plugged into each other in dierent combinations to create dierent systems. Once you’ve sel

70To prevent critical connections from being plugged in the wrong way, some pins have been clipped on the Hexpander, the 13-pin Jack board, and the Ac

71Because ghost® saddles are non-conductive, on some guitars this can isolate the strings from the grounded bridge and cause them to pick up hum. This

72Ground loops cause your guitar to pick up annoying hum or buzz (sometimes even radio stations!) and can be dicult to troubleshoot. The best strateg

73BADSometimes a loop can be formed accidentally, through cavity shielding or another conductive component. If you’re experiencing problems, “think li

74Shielded cavity caveatTo improve noise immunity, the walls of the control cavity are sometimes shielded, either with metal foil or conductive paint

75installatiOn nOtes

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8Output optionsReplacing the 1/4” output jack with the Stereo Switched Jack supplied with the Acousti-Phonic permits the output of two signals, magnet

9Mono and Stereo ModesThe Acousti-Phonic detects whether you’ve inserted a stereo or mono plug into the 1/4” jack and automatically switches to Stereo