DeArmond FHC Guitar Mike just arrived

[radiofm74]

I've got the same Dearmond Guitar Mike you bought. I've never tried it on my D'A, but after trying the Guild Repro of the RC-1100, and being disappointed that it wasn't the same as the original, maybe I'll try using the Guitar Mike.I've always wondered which Dearmond pickup Johnny Smith used on his D'A...

I believe it was a Rhythm Chief but I might be wrong.

Meanwhile, the Mike has gone on its first jam (… the first one with me in its long life, that is!) and has been amazing

[Archtop Guy]

I believe it was a Rhythm Chief but I might be wrong.

Meanwhile, the Mike has gone on its first jam (… the first one with me in its long life, that is!) and has been amazing

The photo I have of Mr Smiths D'A shows it with Gibson JS pick-up. Says it was what replaced the original DeArmond. I'm not certain if I've ever seen Mr. Smith in a photo with a DeArmond. Maybe with an Artist Award?

[omphalopsychos]

You mentioned it being hot. That’s definitely right, it’s the hottest pickup I have on any of my guitars. If you happen to be into it, that attribute can get a tube amp to scream. Check out this clip of that pickup through an Eh 150 clone

[radiofm74]

You mentioned it being hot. That’s definitely right, it’s the hottest pickup I have on any of my guitars. If you happen to be into it, that attribute can get a tube amp to scream. Check out this clip of that pickup through an Eh 150 clone

Hi, thans a lot for the vid. Great playing, cool sound, and nice talk!

Well yes, the first sound I got out of the thing with volume fully up was in that ballpark and I was like “whoa”! Now I know that that tone is on tap, even with the pickup set a bit lower, and I’m happy it’s there cause it would be my “Charlie Christian” end of the spectrum, whereas with the volume a much lower I can get all the way to a very natural, woody sound. In between there are round, fat, but zingy clean tones. I think that I am in love, really…

[Mike Anderson]

You mentioned it being hot. That’s definitely right, it’s the hottest pickup I have on any of my guitars. If you happen to be into it, that attribute can get a tube amp to scream. Check out this clip of that pickup through an Eh 150 clone

That is a really nice little video. Big Deke fan here, and the name "Junior Barnard" to me is the very essence of magic. Thanks for this one!

[radiofm74]

I have the Rhythm Chief 1000 on my 1961 L-7C..... love the thing!

Every time I go across this thread, this pic stops me in my tracks. Wonderful!

[JPG]

At the start of December I bought a Loar LH700 (NGD Loar LH 700 VS). The plan was always to put a DeArmond on in order to have my swing guitar – I just love that sound (and more broadly ‘50s single coil) above all other jazz guitar sounds.

I found a DeArmond FHC in Italy that looked good and was at a decent price (… not low, but decent). After getting in touch with the seller, who seemed to be a nice chap, I took the plunge. It arrived yesterday in my mail. I mounted it, tested it, then made a bit more of set-up today. It sounds (and looks) great on my Loar… There are wonderful sounds to be had in there!

Hi Radiofm74!

Wonderful guitar/solution. I'm still reading the thread, but do you have any sound clips of it? These are wonderful guitars IMHO and I think they deserve all the cool updates, just like you did.

I'm coming in late for the LH-700 party, but here's what I did with mine.
It received a custom pickguard (I copied the shape from an old L5 on the net). You can't see it in this photo but it is black and "creme", same color of the guitar's binding.

It also has a Benedetto S6 floating pickup. On the 'minus' side it is a big pickup and it's resting on the body of the guitar which may help for some extra feedback. But on the 'plus' side, it does not has any vibrations, has a wonderful sound - and I like the fact that, being black, it hides within the sunburst.

The 2nd photo shows the location on the volume and tone knobs - coin-shaped and hiding under the pickguard - but they're easy to access.

The jack input was adapted to the tailpiece.

[lawson-stone]

What is the significance of the number on the little tab?

[Stringswinger]

What is the significance of the number on the little tab?

The year it was made.

[radiofm74]

Hi Radiofm74!

Wonderful guitar/solution. I'm still reading the thread, but do you have any sound clips of it? These are wonderful guitars IMHO and I think they deserve all the cool updates, just like you did.

I'm coming in late for the LH-700 party, but here's what I did with mine.
It received a custom pickguard (I copied the shape from an old L5 on the net). You can't see it in this photo but it is black and "creme", same color of the guitar's binding.

It also has a Benedetto S6 floating pickup. On the 'minus' side it is a big pickup and it's resting on the body of the guitar which may help for some extra feedback. But on the 'plus' side, it does not has any vibrations, has a wonderful sound - and I like the fact that, being black, it hides within the sunburst.

The 2nd photo shows the location on the volume and tone knobs - coin-shaped and hiding under the pickguard - but they're easy to access.

The jack input was adapted to the tailpiece.

Thank you so much! I am becoming quite sure that I want to add a pickguard (and I am debating whether long or short). I think that I’ll keep the “monkey on a stick” arrangement for my Guitar Mike, but I have all X-mas holidays to think it over

I really like my Loar, a lot. I have one clip recorded at a jam two nights ago but it’s too crappy to post (… my playing, especially!). I’ll record something over the weekend I hope.

[radiofm74]

What is the significance of the number on the little tab?

That’s a clean one! I am wondering how to clean up mine. Supposing that the black stuff is plastic, I might gently use a file to take it out. But it looks like rust, and perhaps a little solvent would do better? Hmmm… I wouldn’t want to risk my Mikey…

[radiofm74]

Update for the curious. Muscipickups.com says my model is FHC-C. From my description they thought it might be a 1963 pickup. I cleaned up the gunk and it turns out it’s a 1953 specimen. Now I’ll stop wasting time and go play the thing ;D

[sgosnell]

Don't try to clean out the black strips. They're supposed to be black. For the shell and other metal, some fine Scotchbrite should work.

[radiofm74]

Don't try to clean out the black strips. They're supposed to be black. For the shell and other metal, some fine Scotchbrite should work.

Hi, thanks! No intention to “clean” the black slots, don’t worry I just cleaned away plastic that had been badly glued to the tiny metal tab!

[lawson-stone]

I think mine might need some serious cable therapy.

[radiofm74]

I think mine might need some serious cable therapy.

Nothing a qualified tech can’t fix I guess. And since you’re at it, and the originality of the cable would no longer be an issue, you could make a detachable cable like the Rhythm Chief has … a mod I’d very much like to have on the FHC, but won’t do for originality’s sake.

[sgosnell]

Yeah, you need a new cable, Lawson. I have no idea how the connections are made inside, though, as I've never had the opportunity to take one of those apart. I would certainly give it a shot if it were mine, but not on someone else's. Information on doing the job may be available somewhere out along the interwebtubez, I'd bet that someone else has already done this, or at least tried to.

[radiofm74]

Yesterday and today I’ve taken some time to listen more critically and make adjustments. The PU needed to be set lower. It was harsh and with zero sustain. I’ve set it as low as it could go (i.e. with just thin paper on bass side and 1 mm felt on treble side) and the sound was much better, but there was more hum. So I’ve raised it a bit and now it’s spot on. My setting is 7.5-8.5 mm (bass side) and 6-6.5 mm (treble). For ye barbarians still measuring distance with body parts that’s about 19/64’’-22/64’’ on bass side and 15/64’’-16/64’’ on treble side. With volume on full, I still get a rather hot sound. With volume rolled off a bit, it cleans up nicely.

Next thing to tackle is string balance. Nothing tragic, but the high “E” is a bit less powerful than I’d like. I’ll try slanting the pickup a little more, and if it does not help maybe bump the high “E” one size higher.

I was concerned that the pickup would in the end prove too hot to sound right. I’m very happy that with a bit of tweaking this thought has been dispelled.

I’ve also tried some recordings, but the problem is that while the sound through my amp is great, my mic (a USB Samson C01U) is too crappy to capture it nearly decently. I have had better results plugging into the computer via a Yamaha THR10C, but it’s still nothing like what I hear through the speakers, so I’ll try to get a better sonic picture before I post here.

[lawson-stone]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but I think my DeArmond guitar Mike pickup is workable, but I think the volume control wiring is pretty much hopeless. So I'm wondering... is there anything special about the volume control? If I send the pickup through the normal volume/tone combination, will it detract from the DeArmond "Magic" or mojo?

[Stringswinger]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but I think my DeArmond guitar Mike pickup is workable, but I think the volume control wiring is pretty much hopeless. So I'm wondering... is there anything special about the volume control? If I send the pickup through the normal volume/tone combination, will it detract from the DeArmond "Magic" or mojo?

Do some research on the value of the volume pots that Harry DeArmond used. Changing the value of the pot will affect the tone. If I were you, I would just reuse the DeArmond pot when doing your new wiring.

[radiofm74]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but I think my DeArmond guitar Mike pickup is workable, but I think the volume control wiring is pretty much hopeless. So I'm wondering... is there anything special about the volume control? If I send the pickup through the normal volume/tone combination, will it detract from the DeArmond "Magic" or mojo?

It all comes down to whether you need a tone control. I don't, and would just rewire the mike and volume control you have. By contrast, a volume control is essential IMHO, especially on these ones seeing how hot’n'raw they are.

As noted above, the only thing that disturbs me is that even when I play acoustic, I have to have a cable floating around (unless I want to take off the Guitar Mike every time, which I don’t!). So having a detachable cable would definitely be a plus, to me at least.

PS: you aren’t hijacking anything. If the focus of this thread expands from my FHC to FHCs in general, I can only be happy.

[Papawooly]

Next thing to tackle is string balance. Nothing tragic, but the high “E” is a bit less powerful than I’d like. I’ll try slanting the pickup a little more, and if it does not help maybe bump the high “E” one size higher.

Weak high "E" may be due to string type...

[radiofm74]

Weak high "E" may be due to string type...

Thanks a lot. I have monel strings on, which should be just the thing for this pickup, but I’ll read carefully. Thx!!

[lawson-stone]

So here is my hope for a great vintage marriage: My 1954 Gibson L50 and my 1957 DeArmond Guitar Mike... unfortunately I can't really get the pickup any farther from the bridge than this due to the clearance of the strings over the body--vintage neck angle! But this will at least be some rainy winter afternoon fun seeing if it all works.

[radiofm74]

So here is my hope for a great vintage marriage: My 1954 Gibson L50 and my 1957 DeArmond Guitar Mike... unfortunately I can't really get the pickup any farther from the bridge than this due to the clearance of the strings over the body--vintage neck angle! But this will at least be some rainy winter afternoon fun seeing if it all works.

Well, it looks like a great project! Do tell us how it goes! And: you risk nothing. Should you be unhappy with the sound, you’ll just have to turn two screws and move the mike to another guitar… Besides, that L50 is beautiful!