Heritage Mahogany

[FredH]

After searching for the past several years for a Heritage Eagle with the mahogany/spruce combination, I finally found a 1992 that was virtually unplayed. Unplugged, it is wonderfully resonant. But as I knew prior to buying it, the Heritage floating pickup does not do justice to the guitar's acoustical qualities. So I am looking for recommendations. I have played a Heritage Johnny Smith model fitted with a 12 pole Kent Armstrong. The HJS was a spruce/maple combination as I recall and it sounded okay - but was not overly impressed. I wondered how the same pickup would work with a mahogany/spruce combo?

Also, recommendations for other pickups that might work well. I know there have been posts over the years on this subject, so I'd appreciate the links if possible. Thanks for any assistance and recommendations.

[andrew]

I have a Kent Armstrong floating PAF (essentially the 12 pole built into the housing of the original Heritage pickup) on my all maple 16" Heritage and I think it sounds pretty darn good. I don't know about the mahogany specifically, but some of my other favorite floating pickups are the DeArmond Rhythm Chief (comes in 3 variations, a bit different but all good) and T.K. Smith's floating pickup.

[vernon]

I had a mahogany/spruce Heritage Eagle (2002) and sent the pickup assembly up to Kent to wind me one of his PAF pickups and he also changed the 250 ohm pots to 500. It sounded fantastic to me, capturing more of the acoustic qualities of the instrument. Not that expensive either… under $150. Downsizing, I gifted the guitar to a nephew who plays jazz and loves it.

[Marty Grass]

I have a Kent Armstrong floating PAF (essentially the 12 pole built into the housing of the original Heritage pickup) on my all maple 16" Heritage and I think it sounds pretty darn good. I don't know about the mahogany specifically, but some of my other favorite floating pickups are the DeArmond Rhythm Chief (comes in 3 variations, a bit different but all good) and T.K. Smith's floating pickup.

If KA will still do this, send your pickguard with the pickup attached to him. He will rebuild the pickup. I've known many who have done this, all with no regrets. It's easy to reinstall and leaves no holes on the guitar.

The story of the Floating #3 is that Ken Rambow, a Michigan local who built pickups, went through a series of floating models. Early Heritages had earlier models. The Heritage owners liked the output and tone of the Floating #3 and stuck with it. The pickup is a lower output on purpose and has a nice "airy" sound. Some may prefer a hotter pickup.

So, What Was so Good about the DeArmond Rhythm Chief Pickups?

I had a Floating #3 converted to a moderate single coil, which I like quite a bit. I have another Heritage archtop with a floating Benedetto. That's hot compared to the stock pickup. The Floating #3 has its advocates, and after all, it is what Heritage and Rambow decided was the best for their finest instruments.

I sold an early Heritage Johnny Smith to this guy when he was getting his music degree. This is a memorable story since his dad was a pilot on a mission to find the right guitar for his son. They were finicky. The father flew him from North Carolina to Seattle to try an archtop. No sale. He flew him somewhere else with the same result. He was going to fly to Kalamazoo to check my guitar out. I convinced them it was a dumb idea since I could overnight the guitar to him much cheaper. It arrived around 11 am. They had a 1 pm appointment with their luthier for a full evaluation. At 3 pm I got the call that it was a sale. He finished his bachelor degree with the Heritage. I lost track then. I now see he got a PhD and plays guitar variants. Here is an older video.

I don't know if he still has the HJS. His father kept in touch with me for over a year. Nate played that guitar three hours a day or more. That was with the Floating #3.

[Woody Sound]

I had two Eastman 805's at the same time, one maple & one 'hog. I was amazed at the difference in tone even though both had the carved spruce top.

[Gitfiddler]

Another vote for the KA 12-pole floater. My '93 Golden Eagle originally had the Heritage #3 pickup. It was fine, but I read so many positive reviews about Armstrong's pickup I had him wind one for me.

To my ear it woke up my already sweet sounding Eagle!

I love this big girl...

[ewall]

Wow! That looks like my Heritage GE- same year. Only mine has only a volume knob. I keep thinking of switching the p/u but the stock still sounds fine to me. And it's not shabby acoustically!

[Rickco]

I sent my stock '97 GE floater to Kent a few years ago. He said he did several of these a year mostly due to the low output of the original. I have KA 12 poles in several guitars and for my ear they are the best humbucker ever. Kent is a great guy who has done several rewinds and handbuilts for me. My GE has a very good acoustic sound and is played that way mostly, for pluging in I didnt want the "paf" sound. The great thing about Kent is he never rushed the call, gave me a lesson in pickup design and spent the time to consider what I was after. Per his suggestion we settled on his cut single coil which he said at the time he had not done on a GE. I unplugged the guard P.U. assembly and sent it off to him. I could blabber for paragraphs on how good this sounds, enough so that my wish list of fine guitars was whittled down to 2 guitars I could never find or afford. As far as I know Kent still takes calls and can be reached by email. highly recommended!