Strings, floater, archtop, amp - advice sought

[Rob MacKillop]

Just realised I already have the pdf on file.

42, eh? There's a challenge!

[campusfive]

You want to make your acoustic archtop magnetically responsive, but maintain the acoustic character?

Gee, sounds like Monel (the most widely available being Martin Retro strings) is the easy answer.
D'Addario Nickel Bronze would also be a reasonable choice, though they tend to be double the price at the places I buy strings.

[christianm77]

You know what? I really like my Krivo pickup on an archtop. Compromise between magnetic and acoustic tone, sure, but it has two big pluses:

1) it's balanced for acoustic strings
2) you can blue tack it to any guitar. There's a variation that works with an archtop with a pick guard, but as my Loar LH600 has no pickguard, you can use the one designed for Selmer guitars, and it sounds really good IMO.

[Rob MacKillop]

I don't want it to be magnetic - that's just what the guitar came with, a floating humbucker.

Krivo? never heard of it. I'll look into it.

I really want the natural sound of the guitar, only louder. I now have a Henriksen 112ER, so I need to get the strings and pickup sorted.

[Hammertone]

Dan, are Top Tapes tape-wound? I wouldn't want them for this guitar.
old tube - they look just the ticket. Thanks. I'll give them a go.

The Rotosounds are indeed flatwound. I find that they have a slightly grittier feel than other flats - not as smooth. And they only come in one set. I like thim a lot. They are not what you seek.

I also think that any decent pure nickel wrap strings will work well - I recently installed a set of Pearce nickel-wrap strings on an acoustic archtop w/floater and they work quite well. Pure nickel-wrap strings are widely available from various makers.

I like the Martin Retros, but have not tried the Pyramids. The "Tony Rice" is now the "Bluegrass" set, and now they're using Laurence Juber as well to endorse Monel:

Weight	E	B	G	D	A	E	Tension	Model
Extra Light	.010	.013	.023	.029	.038	.047	131.9	MM10X
Custom Light	.011	.014	.023	.031	.041	.052	149.80	MM11
Light	.012	.015	.025	.031	.041	.054	163.33	MM12
Medium/Light - LJ's Choice	.013	.017	.024	.032	.042	.056	173.4	MM13
Extra Light 12 String 1 - 6	.010	.013	.023	.029	.038	.047		MM1012
Extra Light 12 String 7-12	.010	.013	.010	.012	.018	.027	260.7	MM1012
Bluegrass - Tony Rice's Choice	.013	.016	.026	.034	.044	.056	184.9	MTR13

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Hammer. The Retros are on their way.

The Bartolini is a good pickup, I believe, but it's unfortunate I can't adjust the poles.

[christianm77]

I don't want it to be magnetic - that's just what the guitar came with, a floating humbucker.

Krivo? never heard of it. I'll look into it.

I really want the natural sound of the guitar, only louder. I now have a Henriksen 112ER, so I need to get the strings and pickup sorted.

I went though that phase for around three years now I have given up.

Mic is the best solution always sonically. As a gigging musician I have found this is practical maybe 10% of the time.

Jonathan (campusfive) is coming at it from the POV of having his own band playing certain types of venues.

Despite Jonathans advice, I have not found a lavelier mic solution that has worked for me, but I am considering trying a dpa. But, I absolutely have to trial it on some gigs before I know. It's a lot of money to fork out!

[dconeill]

After Joe DeNisco's post, I went back and checked my records. The pickup on my Sweet 16 is a Benedetto-label S6, made by Kent Armstrong. That would explain why it didn't sound very different with bronze vs nickel-would strings.

The current S6 is, I believe, made by S. Duncan. Kent Armstrong makes a similar-looking pickup that appears to be available at djangobooks.com under the "amplification" tab.

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, with the S6 I could keep my bronze strings, so that's attractive to me. But is the Seymore Duncan version as good as the original Benedetto?

[christianm77]

Well, with the S6 I could keep my bronze strings, so that's attractive to me. But is the Seymore Duncan version as good as the original Benedetto?

This would be a similar solution to the Benedetto, but a bit thinner AFAIK if that's an issue.... Also installation is non-permanent, which I like a lot as a feature for acoustic archtops:

NEW: Uber-Slim Humbucker for L-50 style Archtop Guitars – Krivo Pickups

Has anyone worked with this pickup? There's a demo by Tim Lerch, who sometimes pops up on the forum.

The Djangobucker and Nuevo are balanced for bronzes - I presume it's the same for this.

[dconeill]

Well, with the S6 I could keep my bronze strings, so that's attractive to me. But is the Seymore Duncan version as good as the original Benedetto?

I don't know - I have no experience with the Duncan version.

Someone else mentioned the thickness of the pickup - again according to my notes that is why the repair tech recommended the Armstrong/Benedetto - the Sweet 16 string clearance is rather low.

As far as sound, you could try contacting the people at Duncan and at DjangoBooks and asking them. I don't know how to contact Kent Armstrong directly.

[Rob MacKillop]

The thin Krivo would be easy to attach, but I'm still interested in S6 once I get the measurements. Thanks for all the comments.

[Jabberwocky]

Rob, Armstrong Pickups . Aaron, son of Kent.

dconeill, Guitar pickups - Handmade pickups by Kent Armstrong . Kent, son of Dan.

The original Benedetto S6 was a Kent Armstrong creation. The current ones are made by Seymour Duncan. Quite sure Aaron Amstrong could whip something up for you, Rob. Luckily for you, son's in the UK whilst father is in the US.

[Rob MacKillop]

Well reminded, Jabber. I'll drop Aaron a line.