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Excellent. Looks like it is coming along great!
I will look forward to seeing the finished beauty someday. I bet it will be great! What a rescue!
Here is my own L-7. It's 1944 or 45. I'm trying to find a clever way to mount this reissue DeArmond without using the neck rod attachment. I'd rather not drill a hole in the side of the neck. But I may surrender the fight.
Anyways, I hope you'll keep us posted.
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09-01-2022 12:54 AM
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You can use Blu-Tack or similar to mount the pickup. It's entirely removable, and holds the pickup in place securely enough. Whit Smith used it to mount a DeArmond FHC to his Gibson while touring. You can get a lifetime supply for under $10 on ebay or Amazon.
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Thanks for the tip, sgosnell. I've been using the Blue-Tack stuff. It works well, but seems to eventually melt and loosen in warm weather and I find the pickup sorta dangling. I try not to use too much goop, and that may be the problem. More goop would probably be more secure.
On the upside, the BlueTack does clean up and come off the guitar without a problem. And it gives me plenty of opportunities to experiment with pickup location.
I've already broken three of the neck rods that come with the DeArmond reissue. The bend isn't quite right. It needs to bend more to the left, but snaps when I try to adjust it. Clumsy me. I attached the tab on the right of the pickup to the underside of the pickguard with a piece of a 3M mounting pad. That side seems to hold OK.
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Those rods do break easily. I use a vise to hold the part with the holes, and bend the rod with pliers. The pot metal won't take much bending, and the holes create a really weak area. You cannot bend the rod there. The vise holds that part straight, and the bend only happens in the existing bend. Everything else needs to remain straight. Using one's fingers is a recipe for failure.
I use as much putty as necessary to get the pickup to the height I want. It may gradually move a little, but it's not at all difficult to replace it where I want it. IME too much is better than too little, as the excess can easily be removed.
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When Whit started using a TK Smith pickup it looked like he was pretty much using a whole pack of putty to hold it on.
Originally Posted by sgosnell
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Thanks again guys. Good tips on bending the rod. I've got a couple more I can try.
I also followed an idea someone else on the forum once suggested, and cut a carbon fiber "tongue" in hopes it might support the pickup, at least partially, and let the top resonate as much as possible. I have a spare pickguard to mess around with. The big idea is to smooth out and shape the edges; then attach the tongue piece to the bottom of the pick guard; mount the DeArmond on the tongue; and use the smallest dab of putty to support the left end of the tongue. There might not be enough room (between guitar top and strings) to pull it off. And I don't know what I'm doing. That rarely helps.
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Whatever it takes... Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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The top doesn't really resonate much at that location, just in front of the neck. There is little vibration there. IME the guitar sounds better with putty fully under the pickup than just floating. But my opinion of good sound may not be the same as yours. It's not that hard to try multiple ways of doing it, though, and then deciding which sounds better to you.
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Good morning archtop enthousiasts!
For my first post, i would like to share picture of my L-7 from 1947.
It has a repro pickguard as I didn’t want to modify the original one when I decided to add a DeArmond pickup that I recently purchased from Retrofret
The guitar has been cleaned and set-up with Thomastik 0.12 by Paris based Luthier Galerie Casanova.
Enjoy!
Eric
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That’s a beautiful L7 and you did a really nice job on the pickup installation. Are you sure your guitar is from 1947? I believe the straight (not slanted) script headstock logo like yours was replaced by a slanted script logo sometime in the mid-1940’s. My 1947 L7 has the slanted script logo, which I understand was replaced by the modern slanted block logo later that year. Originally Posted by EricS75
Keith
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'44 L7 headstock on mine: Originally Posted by floatingpickup
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Where did you get the knobs? I have an original McCarty assembly but the knobs are missing. Tnx. Originally Posted by icr
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The angled script was only around for a year or so in '47ish before the modern logo appeared. Originally Posted by floatingpickup
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wednesday nov 9th Originally Posted by Steph17
Hi ! this morning, i went to see my luthier for the next step of restoration. The varnish has been completely removed, the previous shade could not be completely removed from the wood without damaging.This should not be visible after applying sunburst shades.
I was very happy to see my old L7 in such a homogeneous state ! So now, giving up on a natural finish, I had to choose the details of the sunburst finish. I'm hesitating between a typical 40's dark sunburst or more modern, lighter...
The varnish won't be glossy but satin
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Here’s my ‘47 with the short-lived slanted script logo. Originally Posted by skykomishone
'44 L7 headstock on mine:
Keith
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Thank you Keith!
yes definitly a late 47 just before logo transition. The main point was to get a hand-made repro pickguard to fit the pick-up as I kept the original intact. The team at Galerie Casanova did a great job.
She sounds very sweet and big.
Cheers
Eric
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I found my knobs by searching "Super Chet Knobs;" Each Super Chet had six of them. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Thanks! Originally Posted by icr
I found my knobs by searching "Super Chet Knobs;" Each Super Chet had six of them.
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-------------- Originally Posted by Steph17
wednesday nov 9th
Hi ! this morning, i went to see my luthier for the next step of restoration. The varnish has been completely removed, the previous shade could not be completely removed from the wood without damaging.This should not be visible after applying sunburst shades.
I was very happy to see my old L7 in such a homogeneous state ! So now, giving up on a natural finish, I had to choose the details of the sunburst finish. I'm hesitating between a typical 40's dark sunburst or more modern, lighter... The varnish won't be glossy but satin
wednesday Jan 4th 2023
Here is the result of finish just finished : sunburst with nitrocellulose satin varnish.
The reassembly will start after the tailpiece is chromed
Can't wait to play it again, after rebirth !
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_________________________ Originally Posted by Steph17
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wednesday Jan 4th 2023
Here is the result of finish just finished : sunburst with nitrocellulose satin varnish.
The reassembly will start after the tailpiece is chromed
Can't wait to play it again, after rebirth !
Hello,
I had to be patient ... I finally recieved my guitar yesterday ... Thank you Sylvain Zbinden, luthier in La Rochelle (France)
I am so happy to have restored beauty and nobility to this old lady.
Thanks to this forum's people who gave me some advices.
And now ....let's play !!
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I still cannot understand the insistence of guitar collectors on having completely original finish.
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Wow... that is beautiful!! Originally Posted by Steph17
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...sound domos?
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The finish wasn't original AT ALL when I bought the guitar. You can see it at this moment on the beginning of my thread : it was awful...repainted with a terrible color and finished with PU or Polyester. Many finger prints on it.... Really no regret to give back to the guitar a better look, close to original Originally Posted by sgosnell
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The guitar is at my luthier, changing trussod (broken) and fingerboard...I'll make a sound when the guitar is totally on his top Originally Posted by frabarmus
...sound domos?
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