adding pre-amp to Martin DX1

[Len Biglin]

Hi Guys , I am about to add a Fishman preamp to to the side of a DX1 with HPL body . Do I need to stiffen the area , or will it be ok ? Its a fishman classic 4. Len

[Greg Mirken]

Yes, you definitely will. I'd suggest a piece of birch hobby plywood, 3/32 thick. Glue it in place with thick superglue, then cut for the preamp.

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

I would reinforce too. Maybe only two pilars.
By the way, be carefull when cutting that HPL material : it breaks and it leaves very sharp edges.

[Ned Knepp]

I recommend rounded corners for the cutout. It can split at the corners and run pretty easily too.

[Greg Mirken]

Rounded corners for sure. The whole area needs an underlayment so you are cutting through the plywood layer as well as the hpl. It needs to extend maybe 1/4 inch beyond the screw locations. See if you can get a scrap of the stuff from a kitchen or bathroom remodeler to practice on.

[Len Biglin]

Thanks everyone , I drilled 4 large holes for the corners and sawed between . Len

[William F.Eden]

Just a thought I always take the green masking tape and mask the area to be cut out and draw the out line of the hole then drill a 1/8th hole in one corner take the dremall tool with a 1/16th router bit and follow the lines. you can back up the inside with some thin wood if the sides are not solid wood. If the sides are solid wood i just put two pieces about a 1/4'' squar up and down were the screws will be. good luck Bill.'''''''''''''''