How To Install the TurboTail on Your Guitar

Installing the TurboTail is simple. Just follow the step-by-step video and written instructions below. 

Or share this link with your local guitar tech and have them install your TurboTail for you. 

 

TurboTail Box Contents

A TurboTail base, Two Wire tensioners (2” or 3”), an install kit containing: (a hex wrench, two #4 wood screws, two 1mmx8mm flat washers, two mini wire ferrules, a push pin), One 6’ coil of wire, Two twist ties (for 3” tensioners on small guitar), and printed installation instructions.

Tools Required

• Sharp bypass cutters (aka non-serrated tin snips). Do not use standard, anvil-edge wire cutters; they crush the end of the wire, which impedes the wire from feeding into the wire tensioner.
• Phillips screwdriver with #1 bit
• Electric drill with the following drill bits: 2mm (5/64”) for the wood screws,  ⅛” (3mm) for the wire ferrule, or if not using ferrules, use a 1mm micro bit (which will make the hole less visible) or a 1/16” (1.5mm)  drill bit. (Note: A 1mm micro drill bit usually requires a micro chuck.) 
• Pliers
• Straight edge/metal ruler
• Thin, straight rod (such as a knitting needle, BBQ skewer, piece of metal coat hanger, etc.)
• Thin, instant drying Super Glue.
• Painters’ quick-release tap (usually blue)
• Fine-point pen or pencil
• Non-corrugated cardboard (such as a cereal box) to protect the guitar top during installation.

Installation Steps 

(Read ALL instructions before you begin.)

Prepare the Guitar For Installation

1. Remove guitar strings, or instead, loosen the strings and pull them away from the sound hole, securing them to the guitar with painter’s tape.
2. If there is a strap button, remove it.

Step 1. Seal Wire With Super Glue

We chose 49-strand stainless steel wire because of its high strength and small diameter (.7mm), as well as its capacity to be knotted. However, the wire will immediately unravel (like crazy!) upon cutting unless Super Glue is applied BEFORE cutting.

1. Uncoil the wire.
2. Use a ruler to measure and mark two 12” lengths of wire. Do not cut yet.
3. Spread a line of Superglue about 1-1/2 inches long centered at both the 12” locations you marked.
4. Wait 10 minutes for the glue to dry completely (even if the glue bottle says that it dries in 10 seconds!). 

Step 2. Cut Wire

• Use sharp bypass cutters to cut the wire at the glued 12” marks. You will now have two 12” lengths of wire sealed with SuperGlue at each end, plus an extra 4-foot coil of wire.

Step 3. Mark the Centerline

1. Adhere painter's tape over the centerline at the butt of the guitar.

2. Use a straight edge to mark the center line on the tape. 

Step 4. Position TurboTail

1. Place the TurboTail on the guitar so that the line you marked on the tape is visible in the center of both screw holes.
2. Make sure to hold the TurboTail snug to the top of the guitar as you draw the outline of the bottom screw hole by inserting a fine-point pen or pencil into the screw hole. 

Step 5. Drill Screw Holes

1. Use a 2mm (5/64") bit to drill the bottom hole. 
2. Keeping the tape in place, install the TurboTail using one of the #4 wood screws in the bottom hole. (Tip: Apply bar soap to the screw threads to make installation easier).
3. Without removing the TurboTail, mark the upper screw hole.
4. Unscrew the bottom screw and remove the TurboTail. 
5. Carefully drill the upper hole.
6. Remove the painter's tape.  

Step 6. Attach the TurboTail

1. Clean up any wood dust or soap residue.
2. Screw the TurboTail onto the guitar. Be careful not to over-tighten.
3. Re-attach the strap button if you have removed it.

Step 7. Prep for Wire Installation

1. Tape cardboard between the TurboTail and the bridge. 
2. Draw a line on the cardboard at a 90-degree angle to the neck of the guitar and 3 1/16" (for 3" wire holders) or 2 1/16” (for 2" wire holders) from the butt of the guitar.

Step 8. Drill Two Holes in the Bridge. The holes should be behind the saddle but in front of the ball ends of the guitar strings. This way, the tension of the strings and the tension of the TurboTail wires force the bridge together. If you install the TurboTail wires behind the ball ends of the guitar strings at the extreme rear of the bridge, your TurboTail will be pulling the rear part of the bridge away from the front part, and it’s possible that the bridge could split over time. We recommend drilling one hole between the 1st and 2nd strings and a second hole between the 5th and 6th strings. Although you might achieve extra lateral motion by drilling the holes closer to the center, say one hole between string #2 and string #3 and another hole between string #4 and string #5, we don’t like the look of that as well. 

For classical guitars, we like the look of using a 1mm drill bit, without wire ferrules. We locate the holes in the gap between the saddle and the tie block. 

For steel string guitar bridges, use a ⅛” drill bit for the wire ferrules. The wire ferrules prevent the wires from cutting into the bridge. They fit snugly in a ⅛” hole and give a clean, professional look. The ferrules are bright steel. To darken them, use a black Sharpie marker.  

1. To precisely locate the holes, insert a thin rod (e.g., a knitting needle) through one of the holes in the dome of the TurboTail. Position the other end of the rod between the strings of your chosen location. 
2. Mark this spot using a pen, push pin, etc.
3. Repeat for the other hole.
4. Use a 1.5mm (1/16”) or 1mm bit to drill holes at the spots you marked.  

Step 9. Install Wire At Bridge

1. Fold painter's tape around one end of one of the 12” lengths of wire so the wire won’t slip through the hole you drilled in the bridge.
2. Insert the untaped end through the first wire ferrule (or the drilled hole for classical guitars).
3. Reach into the sound hole and pull the wire out.
4. Wet the tip of your index finger to pick up a flat washer, and insert the wire through the washer’s hole.
5. Tie an overhand knot 1/2” from the end of the wire. (Don’t leave the knot’s wire tail too long; it may audibly vibrate.)
6. Use pliers to pull the knot tight, being careful not to scratch your guitar.
7. Pull back firmly on the taped end of the wire toward the butt of the guitar.
8. Reach inside the sound hole and check to be sure that the washer is seated flat against the inside of the soundboard or bridge plate and that the knot hasn’t slipped. (We have never had an issue) 
9. Remove the tape from the wire.

Step 10. Install Wire Tensioners

1. Remove the machine screw from one wire tensioner. 
2. Insert the free end of the wire through the tapered front end of the tensioner (rotating the tensioner counterclockwise can help).
3. Continue to push the wire all the way through the tensioner until it exits the rear. 
4. Tie an overhand knot precisely above the 3 1/16” line (for 3” wire tensioners) or the 2 1/16” mark (for 2” wire tensioners) that you drew on the cardboard.
5. Slowly, carefully pull the knot tight, using a fingernail to be sure that the knot draws tight precisely above the line you marked. This assures that sufficient screw threads will remain visible to allow for future adjustments, but not so many that the finished installation looks sloppy.
6. Cut the wire ½” behind the knot for the 2” wire tensioner. You can cut up to 1” behind the knot for the 3” wire tensioner.
7. Pull slowly back on the tensioner so that the knot is drawn inside and stops at the front end of the tensioner’s side slot.
8. Insert a machine screw through the back of the TurboTail base and screw it into the wire tensioner.
9. Tighten using the Hex wrench. As the tensioner draws tight, the wire holder will rotate. To prevent this, insert a push pin, small screwdriver, or similar into the side slot. Tighten firmly, keeping in mind this is not your final adjustment. 
10. Repeat for the second wire. 

Step 11. Tension The Wires

1. Continue to tighten the machine screws slowly until the wires are taut. You should hear a slight “ping” when you pluck the wires. (Note: We do not use a tuner to find the perfect tension. We have been unable to tighten both string holders to precisely the same pitch. This isn’t a problem.
2. For aesthetic reasons, once you have finished tightening the wires, use the hex wrench to make a half-turn so that the tensioner’s side slot is out of view. It’s possible that you may need to tighten the machine screws again; if so, be sure to protect the top of your guitar whenever you are making adjustments. After a day or so, there should be no need for further adjustment. 

Congratulations! You now have a Turbo "Free Soundboard" Guitar.

Please contact us with any questions or feedback. We’d love to hear from you: Contact us.

Free the Soundboard!