Single coil floating pickup?

JohnRosett · #1 10-15-2011, 12:38 PM

Does anyone make a floating single coil pickup with adjustable pole pieces that can be mounted on the end of the fingerboard on an archtop guitar, rather than mounted to a pickguard?

mr. beaumont · #2 10-15-2011, 12:45 PM

I can't think of anybody doing it currently...I imagine jason lollar would wind you anything and put it in an appropritate housing...

Do any of the old dearmond models have adjustable poles? Those old pickups sound sooo good.

And actually, I know you're looking for a bit more tweakability, but the "guitar mic" model I have on my kay is surprisingly well balanced.

AlohaJoe · #3 10-15-2011, 08:44 PM

Hi John! Joe V usually has the neck-mounted pups from Kent Armstrong and those sound fantastic.
These on the other hand, I know nothing about.
- Joe (Taylor says hi!)

whiskey02 · #4 10-17-2011, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnRosett

Does anyone make a floating single coil pickup with adjustable pole pieces that can be mounted on the end of the fingerboard on an archtop guitar, rather than mounted to a pickguard?

Last time I looked Archtop.com had single coil floaters.

JohnRosett · #5 10-17-2011, 12:28 PM

I only see pickguard mount single coils at Archtop.com. Am I missing something?

whiskey02 · #6 10-17-2011, 12:36 PM

Sorry John,
I read your post too quickly while I'm awaiting my new bifocals. I guess if you have the mounting hardware you could find someone to make one for you but of course that'll cost you $$.

JohnRosett · #7 10-17-2011, 12:42 PM

Yeah, when you add the cost of the (almost) $200 pickup to a sturdy enough pickguard and hardware, it's pretty pricey.

JohnRosett · #8 11-03-2011, 08:36 AM

I thought I'd bring this up to the top one time...

cjm · #9 11-03-2011, 11:49 AM

I've been looking for a neck mounted single coil myself. I finally emailed Jason Lollar and he said he thought he could build a pickup that would produce sounds similar to a Rhythm Chief, even if not precisely replicating the older pickup -- and that it could be mounted in a housing similar to a Johnny Smith with neck mounting tabs.

It would also have adjustable pole pieces so it would be a bit more versatile in setup -- more like a Rhythm Chief 1100 than the standard Rhythm Chief.

Estimated cost wasn't a whole bunch more than for his standard Johnny Smith replacement.

But he also said he couldn't get to it until after the first of the year, so it is not something you can order right now for immediate use.

I'm still debating it, but I'm leaning toward ordering it when he is ready to discuss it further in January.

JohnRosett · #10 11-03-2011, 12:20 PM

I was just looking at Lollar's site, and saw no mention of any Johnny Smith, or other floating pickups. Do you have a link?

cjm · #11 11-03-2011, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnRosett

I was just looking at Lollar's site, and saw no mention of any Johnny Smith, or other floating pickups. Do you have a link?

Here's the Johnny Smith style: Johnny Smith Style Humbucker

The single coil pickup isn't shown of course, because it would be a custom built pickup and might never become a standard item.

Understand, I'm not recommending this pickup, because I've never heard one (and neither has anyone else). If I go ahead and order it this winter, as I probably will, I'll post my impression of it here...but that will be a couple of months at the earliest.

My hunch is that it will be a good single coil jazz pickup -- I base that on his take on the CC pickup for archtops. He does certainly seem to understand the jazz sound and how to build a pickup that delivers it.

Stevebol · #12 11-03-2011, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I can't think of anybody doing it currently...I imagine jason lollar would wind you anything and put it in an appropritate housing...

Do any of the old dearmond models have adjustable poles? Those old pickups sound sooo good.

And actually, I know you're looking for a bit more tweakability, but the "guitar mic" model I have on my kay is surprisingly well balanced.

Mr. B, do you know anything about these?

DeARMOND ROWE HARMONY SILVERTONE BLACK DIAMOND PICKUP POWERFUL SNGL COIL 10.00K? | eBay

I just got a KA hand-wound neck mount put on an old Patrician and it sounds great, but I'll probably have feedback issues.

I have another Patrician I'm working on now. The neck and back are off so I can see what's up with the bracing and I'm thinking about installing two pickups. I might put some in that need to be routed so as to cut down on possible feedback.

kamlapati · #13 11-03-2011, 05:33 PM

I bought a Lollar Johnny Smith earlier this year and it sounds great. I have it on my '77 L-5CN. I bought it because it is quite low output and bright compared to other JS incarnations. I like the brightness because it has an acoustic sheen to it, although it can be warmed up as much as you want using your amp controls.

I used to have a hand wound Armstrong single coil on my Grimes. It also was a great PU and I would definitely use one again. Although mine didn't have adjustable pole pieces, it did sound very good with acoustic strings.

Let us know what you end with.