DeArmond 1100 pickup installed on D'Angelico EXL-1

[zephyrregent]

I just got back my D'Angelico EXL-1 from having the luthier install a DeArmond 1100 pickup, reissued by Guild. It sounds great and the installation looks clean. The stick of the monkey on a stick pickup is short as the pickup doesn't move anyway and is set in place with a a notch on the replacement pickguard with 7-ply binding kindly provided by D'Angelico. The luthier also performed a setup and it plays better now too.

[2bornot2bop]

Looks great! How do you like the pickup change?

[zephyrregent]

The tone is a big improvement over the Korean Kent Armstrong "Jazzy Joe" pickup that came with it from the factory. The tone is bright but full and has more personality than the generic sound of the KA. It brings out more of the natural tone of the guitar and is less boomy than the KA was. Of course, it's way different from my other guitars with single coil, floating, P-90 or humbucker pickups. P-90's and humbuckers have a fatter sound. I like this one for the clarity, transparency and richness of tone. Now the guitar sounds more like an amplified acoustic than it did with the KA pickup.

[neatomic]

what you string it with?

looks great!..& you have some flexibility with pup pole piece height..if need be

cheers

[zephyrregent]

I use Thomastik George Benson GB112s on it, 12 gauge flatwounds. I would use .14s but they are getting harder to find and I had these. I used to use .14s all the time since the 1970s but as they became harder to find tried these and liked them. Actually, I haven't used .14s in quite awhile and want to use them again as I like the higher gauge for the high strings. I have a set of La Bella .15s awaiting use as it's been so long since I've used anything but Thomastiks that I want to go back to something more similar to the old Gibson 040s. Thomastik strings have some other thing going on with the gauges, tension and feel.

[neatomic]

thinking gibby 040's might have been monel

you might want to look into rotosound monel flatwound set..and sub the light e &b..only monel flats out there!



pyramid pure nickels another option if you like a bit more tension than thoms but on similar style string

cheers

[pubylakeg]

Nice mod. Looks far more appropriate for the guitar than the generic JS floater.

I've posted a link to these guys before, but I just thought I'd mention this British company are selling their own brand of reasonably priced 14-58 strings. The company describe them as chrome wound but they don't sound or feel like D'Addarios. Nicely balanced, not too bright, substantial tension and long lasting. I like them a lot.

Forget the rest, use the best. Clifford Essex jazz guitar strings. - Strings - Guitar Strings - Jazz Guitar - THE JAZZ RANGE. HEAVY GAUGE. 14-58. CHROME TAPE FLATS. BALL-ENDS. - Clifford Essex Music Company Limited

[Jabberwocky]

Great mojo. I must applaud and compliment the Cordoba Music Company for putting these DeArmond 1100 Reissues back on sale on their own. Let's hope they do great things with the Guild name that FMIC never could pull off.

It is a pity that the Made in Korea "Kent Armstrong" pups have tarnished the reputation of old Kent. These are no way close to the quality and tone of Kent Armstrong's own Handmade in Vermont pickups. Anybody who wants a Kent Armstrong pickup, go to the man himself.

[Para]

I prefer mine here under the harmonic.

[Jabberwocky]

I prefer mine here under the harmonic.

His rod's a wee bit too short, guv'nor.

[zephyrregent]

@ingeneri - D'Angelico sent me a free replacement pickguard for the EXL-1 as I just bought it about a year ago. It came with a beveled pickguard. All their current models have the 7-ply binding pickguard. The EXL-1 was one of the new D'Angelico company's first guitars and used the plainer beveled pickguard. The luthier used the tone control knobs from the original pickguard and just had to cut a notch in it for the Dearmond. The stick of the monkey on a stick would have required a replacement due to where it attaches to the side of the neck having two different level surfaces. He shortened it so there was no unnecessary stick protruding and it looks more "built-in".

[KirkP]

I prefer mine here under the harmonic.

There's nothing wrong with positioning the pickup at the midpoint of the strings, but I don't think there's anything uniquely superior about that position, since it's only the midpoint when the strings are unfretted.

[sgcim]

Great mojo. I must applaud and compliment the Cordoba Music Company for putting these DeArmond 1100 Reissues back on sale on their own. Let's hope they do great things with the Guild name that FMIC never could pull off.

It is a pity that the Made in Korea "Kent Armstrong" pups have tarnished the reputation of old Kent. These are no way close to the quality and tone of Kent Armstrong's own Handmade in Vermont pickups. Anybody who wants a Kent Armstrong pickup, go to the man himself.

Yea, I replaced the original SD/SL p/u on my B-120 with a KA p/u made especially for the B-120 by KA himself, and was very happy with the change.

I wonder if anyone has done an A/B with the 1100 re-issues and the original 1100s?
Johnny Smith definitely used DeArmonds on his D'A, but did he ever use an 1100 on it?

[Para]

We can't all have a long rod Jabba.

"There's nothing wrong with positioning the pickup at the midpoint of the strings, but I don't think there's anything uniquely superior about that position, since it's only the midpoint when the strings are unfretted."

Wes Montgomery seemed to think there was a difference because he turned the humbucker on his L5. I like to play close the end of the fretboard sometimes and it keeps the pickup out of the way a bit.

[JazzNote]

It is a pity that the Made in Korea "Kent Armstrong" pups have tarnished the reputation of old Kent. These are no way close to the quality and tone of Kent Armstrong's own Handmade in Vermont pickups. Anybody who wants a Kent Armstrong pickup, go to the man himself.

What about the WD Kent Armstrongs? Are they like the Koreans?
http://www.wdmusic.com/HJGS6_GD.html

[zephyrregent]

Ingeneri - Yes, the original pickguard was slotted for the KA and I needed a different one for the DeArmond 1100. I was pleasantly surprised when I asked D'Angelico about getting a pickguard for use with the DeArmond and they sent me a replacement one for free that was better looking material plus 7-ply bound instead of plain beveled edges. I've saved the original pickguard in case I ever want to use it with a Johnny Smith or other floating pickup.

You could try calling D'Angelico Guitars in New York and let them know you need a pickguard but I don't know if they would sell one. Mine was considered a warranty replacement.

[zephyrregent]

Jazznote - Yes, that is the same pickup as the original KA that came with the EXL-1. I did some research and found a review of the guitar in an English or European site that listed the model number of the pickup and it's the Jazzy Joe. I've read that the handwound KA pickups are much higher quality and you can call him and ask him to make it to your custom specifications. I found the Jazzy Joe to be thin on the top end and boomy on the bottom. The Korean KAs are used in many import guitars like Eastman, maybe the same model.

[jazzbow]

I've posted a link to these guys before, but I just thought I'd mention this British company are selling their own brand of reasonably priced 14-58 strings. The company describe them as chrome wound but they don't sound or feel like D'Addarios. Nicely balanced, not too bright, substantial tension and long lasting. I like them a lot.

Forget the rest, use the best. Clifford Essex jazz guitar strings. - Strings - Guitar Strings - Jazz Guitar - THE JAZZ RANGE. HEAVY GAUGE. 14-58. CHROME TAPE FLATS. BALL-ENDS. - Clifford Essex Music Company Limited

Ah, mate! Excellent link! 12-52 electric guitar strings with a .20 plain G string! Where have they been all me life!

5 horn gypsy jazz picks for £10! Aria Selmer Macca guitars plus case for £350!

Wow!

Thanks PBYLK.

[Spook410]

You want the ones that specifically say 'handwound'. Don't have any experience with the mini-bucker line but the black resin potted ones with the adjustable pole pieces are great pickups. Of course with their short tab they take a little patience to install.

WDMusic in the US has 20-25%discounts on occasion that apply to these models. Don't know what's available in Europe.

Kent Armstrong® Handwound Jazz Pickups

[JazzNote]

You want the ones that specifically say 'handwound'.

Kent Armstrong® Handwound Jazz Pickups

I just ordered one with 12 adjustable pole pieces. Looking forward to hearing it on my LeGrand!

[woland]

I did a similar mode on my EXL-1 - put in Armstrong Handmade Floating Single Coil

You can find them at https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html
With Thomastic 14 I have to say guitar is rather bright. Id o not play it very
often although the main reason is feedback.

[woland]

thinking gibby 040's might have been monel

you might want to look into rotosound monel flatwound set..and sub the light e &b..only monel flats out there!



pyramid pure nickels another option if you like a bit more tension than thoms but on similar style string

cheers

I put Monels 12s recently on my Ibanez AS120 (335-type of guitar).
They are very good string and very economical.
Rather dark sounding - maybe I should start using these on my EXL-1
which has Thomastics now and is rather bright.

[zephyrregent]

I did a similar mode on my EXL-1 - put in Armstrong Handmade Floating Single Coil

You can find them at https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html
With Thomastic 14 I have to say guitar is rather bright. Id o not play it very
often although the main reason is feedback.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the handmade KA pickup. I was considering a handmade KA pickup or other higher quality floating single coil or humbucker to get a fatter tone but then the Guild reissue Dearmonds came out and I wanted to try it due to the 1100s high reputation. I agree, the guitar is bright and the pickup brings that out. A good humbucker could give the guitar a darker tone, though a more electric than amplified acoustic sound.

[woland]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the handmade KA pickup. I was considering a handmade KA pickup or other higher quality floating single coil or humbucker to get a fatter tone but then the Guild reissue Dearmonds came out and I wanted to try it due to the 1100s high reputation. I agree, the guitar is bright and the pickup brings that out. A good humbucker could give the guitar a darker tone, though a more electric than amplified acoustic sound.

I just played my d'A for a stretch. Yes it is bright but that KA pup comes with a switch - one position brigs out trebles and bass - too much for playing with pick but possibly better for solo fingerstyle. The other position has more even EQ - it sounds OK with pick - a bit better with thick ones like those Dunlop Primeton Wegen-lookalikes. It is counter-intuitive but tone is warmer with "pointy" ones. I think that overall brightness at a room level may translate to usable tone in a jam situation - I will bring this guitar to a jam next week - see how it does (with BJr).

[zephyrregent]

@sgcim I found a video of luthier Franz Elferink demonstrating an original vs. reissue 1100.