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really bummed about this... tried to install a new DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000 on my new D'angelico EXL-1 - tried to glue the tab to the underside of the pickguard after opening the cutout a bit with zero luck, then cut the rod to length and was making the final adjustment before drilling when the rod snapped in half - can anyone offer any tips or tricks to mounting one of these ?
thanks in advance
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11-18-2017 03:34 AM
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Looking at the reissues on eBay before posting, the bracket isn’t that long, I’m urprised you cut it. I would guess it didn’t like being cut, thus splitting. Lucky you the same brackets are available on eBay
Big
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I bought one of the reissues and the diameter of the mounting bracket was simply too large in diameter to fit on the bracket. Fortunately, I had a bracket I had bought on eBay before. That one fit.
I still have the bracket that wouldn’t fit mine. Maybe it would work for my pickup. I’ll send it to you if you would like to try it. Just PM me.
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I had a luthier install one of the Guild Dearmond 1100 reissues in my EXL-1 this way. The rod is installed on the side of the neck.
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I'm a little confused ... the diameter of the mounting bracket was too large to fit what?
Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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On a related note, I have a query posted in the DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1100 thread asking about where to buy them:
DeArmond 1100 Rhythm Chief
I'm sorry to hear about your diffuclties. I have a new EXL-1 and I have been considering mounting an 1100 on mine, so I'm very interested in your success. Originally Posted by tfling
Where did you purchase your 1000? I have only found 3 suppliers so far for the 1100 -- directly from Guild for $185 (MSRP), and two guitar parts sellers on ebay that are about $55 cheaper.
I contacted both of the ebay sellers and neither one of them is selling their Rhythm Chief 1100s in Guild retail packaging with factory warranties. I asked whether they were selling Guild's retail product, an OEM version without packaging, brand-new take-offs from a Guild guitar or used pickups. Both sellers were evasive, not answering my question about factory packaging and factory warranty on the first round of emails. Neither seller went on the record saying that any sort of factory warranty was included from Guild. After repeated inquiries it became evident that both were selling pickups with no factory warranty, no factory packaging, no installation instructions, and their own seller-provided warranty. They said these were "OEM" pickups and never gave a clear answer about whether I could get any kind of support from Guild. The pups were only offered with the seller's personal warranty.
One of the sellers does mention prominently in his ad that the mounting brackets are easy to break, and that you can't apply pressure anywhere near the mounting holes or the brackets will fracture. Needless to say, quality metals are supposed to be malleable. The propensity for reissue brackets to fracture, and the fact that they warn you about it before the purchase, bothers me. It doesn't inspire confidence in the quality of the product.
What bothers me most is that while the Guild pickups are supposed to be made in Korea, there is a fellow from China who recently sold two of them on ebay for $18.50:
1968 DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000 eBay | eBay
I hate to say it, but now I'm worried about buying a counterfeit.
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I was forced to cut the rod down to fit in the channel routed in the neck , the break happened at the drilled mounting hole as I was carefully attempting to put a slight bend in it (after reading more online it seems like the reissue rod is very fragile) - I have another one on order, and now I know that I need to be very very careful
I ordered my pickup from Djangobooks in Seattle and was happy with the service - paid $125 for the RC1000
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I imagine that I will have to perform a similar modification, as the length of the Rhythm Chief's mounting rod where it fastens to the neck appears to be longer than the channel that is cut in the neck of the guitar. The guitar's channel appears to have been intended for a short, flat Johnny Smith type of wrap around bracket.
By any chance would you happen to have measurements for the length of the mounting rod, specifically:
a) the spacing between the holes, and
b) the length of the rod, starting at the end with the holes and going all of the way to the first and second bend?
Looking at my EXL-1 the available channel length is only 1.5" (25mm). I imagine that the Dearmond bracket would definitely have to be cut to fit in the channel, and that it might not even be possible to use both screws. I imagine that to make the mounting rod fit within the length of the channel the rod would have to be trimmed so short that one of the mounting holes would need to be cut off. The mounting might only allow use of a single screw. I hadn't realized that before. By any chance could you take some pics?
What kind of packaging did the pickup come in? Does guild sell them in a retail type box, or does the pup just come in a plastic baggie?
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To those who have a DeArmond reissue installed on their guitar - what is the "correct" height to set it from the strings?
I read that the originals were supposed to be set 1/16" from the strings when depressed at the last fret , how does everybody here set theirs?
thanks in advance
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Originally Posted by BeBob
My pickup just came in an unmarked plastic bag, on the EXL-1 i found that only one of the screw holes could be used, and the bracket would have to be shortened
I will try and take some pics and measurements and post them up later today
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So I'd think a Guild dealer could order you one and give a break (pun?) on the list price. I wish they made the 1100 in chrome or nickle. The rod behavior sounds like a casting versus bent round stock with a flattened end. I'd be tempted to get some stainless round stock and tap flatten the end for the hole to make sure it is malleable if bending is needed. You might get a clue about the metal by looking at the break to see the grain.
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looking at the grain structure of the metal, my guess is it is just poor casting - the pickup itself sounds good on the guitar though - so there is an upside to this story
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Maybe they "fell off the truck." Originally Posted by BeBob
Both sellers were evasive, not answering my question about factory packaging and factory warranty on the first round of emails... After repeated inquiries it became evident that both were selling pickups with no factory warranty, no factory packaging, no installation instructions, and their own seller-provided warranty...
I hate to say it, but now I'm worried about buying a counterfeit.
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Here is a post where someone came up with a novel solution to mounting a DeArmond pickup to the end of the fingerboard. See post #4:
Fitting a DeArmond Guitar Mike Pickup
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LOL. That’s bad editing on my part. The diameter of the bracket rod was too large for the hole in the pickup. Originally Posted by BeBob
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So you're saying that the vintage rods are a larger diameter than the reproduction rods, and the vintage rods won't fit into the reproduction pickups? If that's the case then I'd think that anyone with a vintage pickup who needed a replacement rod would find the reproduction rods to be too lose. It sounds like it'd be useful to mic them with a caliper. I'm wondering of the news ones might be metric.
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I don’t know if that’s the case at all. The reproduction that I ordered directly from came with a rod that would not fit the pickup. The rod that I had previously bought on eBay happened to fit perfectly. Originally Posted by BeBob
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The repro rods ARE too loose for a REAL DeArmond. I bought one and had to go another route. The Asian stuff is junk compared to the real thing. You get what you pay for.... Originally Posted by BeBob
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you mean that you bought a repro rod and a repro pickup together, and the parts didn't fit each other? who was the supplier? Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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Guild/Cordoba, ordered directly here. Originally Posted by BeBob
Guild DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1000 Pickup - Nickel | Guild Guitars
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Yesterday went much better - got the mini pots switched out with full size solid shaft pots, installed an orange drop capacitor, got the DeArmond installed using double stick foam squares, and got it strung up with Thomastik .013 flatwounds. The rod broke in a place that I was still able to thread a screw into it, I have a replacement on the way, but I may just leave the broken rod as-is and return the replacement. I'm still a bit unsure about the "correct" height for this pickup, but it sounds pretty good where it is currently located.
Here are a couple pictures , excuse the missing knobs - I ordered a pair from Germany that I think will complement the EXL-1 very well, but they are currently sitting in US customs.
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thanks for posting that third pic -- that's the one i was hoping to see.
I get the impression that if you want the pickup to sit snug up against the fingerboard then your only choice is to cut the bracket short so that the bracket fits in the recess in the side of the neck.
on the other hand, if you don't mind having a space between the fingerboard and the pickup, then you could move the bracket farther up the neck (to the right in the photo), which would allow both mounting screws on the bar to fit in the recess in the side of the neck. on my guitar the channeled space in the neck is 1.5" long, which should be enough space to fit the bar with two mounting screws -- provided of course, that you don't mind having that angled part of the rod extending beyond the end of the fingerboard, which will create a bit of space between the pickup and the neck.
i like the flush appearance when the pup is flush against the neck, but i've seen a lot of installations where there's a gap there. the monkey on a stick pups always seem to have a bit of a gap. i don't think the tone of the pickup would suffer, I think it's more about aesthetics than anything else.
i really like the custom bracket that mounts on the end of the fingerboard. the fellow who made that should consider selling them.
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… and modify the design to use countersunk screws for the metal tab that is attached to the end of the fretboard. Originally Posted by BeBob
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I have 2 reissue 1000s and 2 reissue 1100s they have been fitted to different guitars several times with no bracket mounting problems, if the recess on the guitar is problem just make a spacer to fit the recess and mount the bracket normally. I prefer the pickups away from the end of the fretboard I like them closer to the 24th harmonic.
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If Harry DeArmond said so, that should be about right - at least it works for my guitars. Originally Posted by tfling
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