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  1. #1

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    I recently posted in the gear section about my guitar day, a modified/restored German archtop from the 1950s-ish era. This is a solid carved top guitar with a rhythm chief 1100 re-issue pickup mounted directly to the top.

    Overall, I quite like it. I’m having one specific problem, and that is that the first string makes contact with the pole piece when fretting at or above the 12th fret. The close proximity of the string to the pole piece also creates a noticeable string volume imbalance as I fret higher up the neck. I have screwed the pole piece in as far as it can go.

    The guy who did the work for me seems like he’s ready to put the project to bed and hand it off to me.

    So here I am! He suggested trying to file the pole piece, but I am really not interested in damaging the pick up. I have read that filing the pole pieces can affect the sound and even get shavings inside the pick up and just generally risk messing things up. Plus, if I can’t get this pickup to work I want to sell it and need it to be in salable condition.

    Here are some potential solutions. I’m looking for opinions on these, and suggestions for options that I haven’t thought of:

    1. Shift the pickup mount to slightly misalign the pole piece from the string. Might require some reshaping of the new pick guard, which I am fine with.

    2. Removing wood from the treble side to seat the pickup lower. Probably beyond my skills.

    3. Set the guitar up and send precise measurements to Pete Biltoft to see if he can come up with something for a not too expensive price.

    4.???







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  3. #2

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    The polepiece won't screw in any further? If not, you can remove it by screwing it completely out, then file the other end of the polepiect to make it shorter (or even hacksaw it), and then screw it back in. Just take care with the threads, by filing them slightly so they fit in the receiving threads. Unless the screw heads won't fit down in the holes. I'm not completely familiar with that pickup.

  4. #3

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    Looks like an unbearable situation, at least for my sore eyes! Your repair guy should have known better before the refretting, etc., and mounting the 1100 "directly to the top".
    "The guy who did the work for me seems like he’s ready to put the project to bed and hand it off to me"? Sorry for being outspoken (but that's how I work): the guy's a hack!

    Some of the older guys still claim that especially the high E pole screw of the DeArmond 1100 gets touchy if it is maximally screwed in, and the flaws are said to have been copied on the replicas.
    I'd neither change the pickup nor the guitar, but restore the guitar to its former glory. Or would you perform the solution #2 on a Gibson L10 or L12?


    It is likely that your guitar is in need of a neck reset for whatever reason - if the neck is set, not screwed and adjustable a la Stauffer. What about the angle of the strings over the bridge? How much clearance over the top do the strings have at the bridge (the bridge height)? The acoustic performance of the guitar will suffer if these points are not correct according to the principles to which the maker of this guitar had it designated. But why then playing an acoustic guitar?

    There were few of the old-fashioned 1940's and early 50's German archtop designs (coming from the makers of classical or flat-top steel string guitars) with an originally deep sitting neck that allows too little space for a floating pickup being mounted at the end of the fretboard. However, compared to many US archtops, and more often than not, the entire fretboard extensions hang freely over the top, generally allowing for more pickup clearance . That's the violin style, enabling the carved top (plus the graduation - what else is a carved top good for?) a maximum of vibration.

    Since German archtops almost never show a dovetail neck joint, a neck reset often is easier to accomplish... done with very thin, sharp blades and Japan saws without using steam; just a little heat or alcohol on the blade if necessary. This way there's no risk at all of compromising the structural stability of the neck block by possibly escaping steam, or of ruining the finish.








    So, I think in a way [Charles] Mingus tested you. He tested his musicians all the time, and he'd test interviewers. He also tested the women in his relationships. It was a constant sort of process with him to see whether he could cut away the bullshit and get to the truth. I think that was a big theme in his life. - John Goodman, author of 'Mingus Speaks'
    Last edited by Ol' Fret; 11-17-2017 at 07:55 AM.

  5. #4

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    It looks like the fingerboard could have and maybe should have been made slightly shorter than it is now. It appears you have enough room to add another fret slot there. The end of the fingerboard need only be a couple of millimeters beyond the last fret. It is hard to tell from the photo but it looks like you may have more room for the pickup if you could mount it closer to the last fret.
    Last edited by Matt Cushman; 11-17-2017 at 09:58 AM.

  6. #5

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    Just take the screw out.

  7. #6

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    Had an old Gibson and the neck angles a long time ago were different from today. The convention wasn't to put a steep angle with a lot of clearance and for that guitar, an old L-10, I used a D'Armond, but the one without pole pieces. That close to the strings, that difference in the pole piece will be less. The one I had, had a maroon coloured face plate and no adjustment. Sounded great.
    If you file it down, maybe remove the pickup, screw the screw to the bottom if it isn't already, and dremel the protruding screw flush. If you remove the screw, you won't have much to hold it with being so short and if you burr the threads, it'll be frustrating at the very least getting it back in.

    Good luck
    David

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    Just take the screw out.
    I don’t think it comes out. I will have to try again, but last night it got to a certain point and then wouldn’t come any further.

  9. #8

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    Hard to say from that pictures however if you have space between pickup and top you can move pickguard a bit lower which should help on treble side (no idea if wire won't disturb). I would also recommend file a pole from the "invisible" side if you cannot lower it with screwdriver...

  10. #9

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    even if you manage to work out the pole piece problem, the whole pickup still looks to be too close...its the wrong pickup for that guitar...that guitars neck angle cant accomodate a pup like that...hard to say from pics, but i agree with ol' fret, i wouldn't be surprised if it needs a neck reset

    luck

    cheers

  11. #10

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    This is the pickup I have installed on my ElRey4, it is pictured on the website. This is the thinnest humbucking pickup I have found. I initially had Jason's humbucker for D'jango type guitars but I found it too bright, too microphonic and too thin for the sound I wanted. At the time he didn't have anything else but he did some R&D and I tried a couple of the iterations and the last one sounded very good. Give him a call or shoot him an email and he can wind to your taste.


    Micro-Stealth PAF-Style Pickup for Archtop Jazz Guitar

    PS: I tried a DeArmond 1100 and it was too tall i.e. while the stings were a tiny fraction beneath the polepieces, it left no room for fingers, pick etc.

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by rob taft
    This is the pickup I have installed on my ElRey4, it is pictured on the website. This is the thinnest humbucking pickup I have found. I initially had Jason's humbucker for D'jango type guitars but I found it too bright, too microphonic and too thin for the sound I wanted. At the time he didn't have anything else but he did some R&D and I tried a couple of the iterations and the last one sounded very good. Give him a call or shoot him an email and he can wind to your taste.


    Micro-Stealth PAF-Style Pickup for Archtop Jazz Guitar

    PS: I tried a DeArmond 1100 and it was too tall i.e. while the stings were a tiny fraction beneath the polepieces, it left no room for fingers, pick etc.
    Thanks for that. Will take a look and listen.

  13. #12

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    Or consider the handwound Kent Armstrong "2D" pickup. archtop.com sells them, but I'd contact Kent directly. He's excellent to do business with.

  14. #13

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    Wzpgsr, The Guild DeArmond pickup is 11/32" thick excluding pole pieces. This is the same dimension al the KA 2D which doesn't have any pole pieces. I don't have a 2 D on hand so I took the measurements off the website. I own a Guild DaArmond and I measured it using my dial calipers. I also have a spare Krivos pickup and that measures 8/32" excluding the pole pieces which in the case of this pickup can be flush with the pickup.

    When I originally ordered the ElRey, I asked for a KA pickup and Kent sent Eastman his thinnest and it but it was too tight, so I found Jason Krivos on the web and contacted him. As I have mentioned earlier, in hindsight I should have just had a built in pickup but having the guitar in hand I was loath to route a hole in it so Jason tried a couple of different winds and magnet combinations and even ended up buying a KA handwound and tried to replicate it. I'm satisfied.

    If you contact Jason get him to send you the pickup with the cord and phone plug attached. That way you can try it without any pickup/guard mods. No tone control but it will give you an idea if you like it. Don't be concerned about the putty mount. I have had the pickup off my guitar at least 6+ times and it is nitro finished. No damage.

  15. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by rob taft
    Wzpgsr, The Guild DeArmond pickup is 11/32" thick excluding pole pieces. This is the same dimension al the KA 2D which doesn't have any pole pieces. I don't have a 2 D on hand so I took the measurements off the website. I own a Guild DaArmond and I measured it using my dial calipers. I also have a spare Krivos pickup and that measures 8/32" excluding the pole pieces which in the case of this pickup can be flush with the pickup.

    When I originally ordered the ElRey, I asked for a KA pickup and Kent sent Eastman his thinnest and it but it was too tight, so I found Jason Krivos on the web and contacted him. As I have mentioned earlier, in hindsight I should have just had a built in pickup but having the guitar in hand I was loath to route a hole in it so Jason tried a couple of different winds and magnet combinations and even ended up buying a KA handwound and tried to replicate it. I'm satisfied.

    If you contact Jason get him to send you the pickup with the cord and phone plug attached. That way you can try it without any pickup/guard mods. No tone control but it will give you an idea if you like it. Don't be concerned about the putty mount. I have had the pickup off my guitar at least 6+ times and it is nitro finished. No damage.
    Thanks I think I’ll be moving in that direction. I was also thinking of contacting Pete Biltoft. I can’t really afford to sink much more cash into this guitar at the moment so I’ll probably sell the Dearmond (as much as I love the sound) and play the guitar acoustically for a few months until I decide what to do.

  16. #15

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    Just curious… Why can’t you move the pick up about an inch towards the bridge to get a bit more clearance.

  17. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by SamBooka
    Just curious… Why can’t you move the pick up about an inch towards the bridge to get a bit more clearance.
    Good question. Will check it out.