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Well - caught up in the excitement I have an FHC on the way for my 51' Super 300
I don't want to modify the pick guard or anything else on the guitar for that matter and was wondering what folks think the best way to go about making the cable from the volume control detachable . I was thinking maybe there is a way to attach a female 1/4" jack to a shortened cable and then attach that jack to the tailpiece in a reversible way.
Will
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12-19-2017 09:28 AM
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One more exciting project! Note that you don’t have to modify anything with your Mike. At most move your PGuard so that string alignment is optimal.
Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
Well - caught up in the excitement I have an FHC on the way for my 51' Super 300
I don't want to modify the pick guard or anything else on the guitar for that matter and was wondering what folks think the best way to go about making the cable from the volume control detachable . I was thinking maybe there is a way to attach a female 1/4" jack to a shortened cable and then attach that jack to the tailpiece in a reversible way.
Will
As for making the cable detachable, I’m all ears for possible solutions even though, as said, I think I’ll leave my cable alone.
Pls let us know about how your project progresses… we want (more) pics!
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On vintage examples of this, sometimes the insulation in the cable can be brittle and prone to flake. Attempts to mount a new plug could cause problems. Some examples I'm sure are fine, but mine has very brittle insulation on the center conductor of the cable.
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Dug mine out of the vault.. looks very early
No number on the tab, black knob, 12' cable... maybe late 40"s?
BTW: I LOVE that Super 300!!!
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So in order to decide whether my DeArmond FHC was worth pursuing, I mounted it on my 1954 Gibson L50 and just "hot-wired" the pickup to a jack the old-fashioned way: twisting the leads together and securing them with electrical tape! Plugged it into a Fender SuperChamp x2 Head with a Quilter 12" speaker. I mic'd the cabinet with a Bluebird microphone, plugged DrumGenius for a beat, and tried a Jimmy Raney solo I've been learning. I never played the solo on this guitar before this clip, and the guitar still needs some set-up work. The strings are Martin, bronze but flat/smooth, I don't recall what they are precisely called. the solo has some clams which I hope you can ignore, and the pick hits the pickup a few times.
But... all in all, I think this is a worthwhile project to pursue. I like this very rough, preliminary outcome!
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I think replacing the cable is worthwhile. It's not rocket science, and it's not expensive. Any shielded coaxial cable will work, but smaller is probably better. Some George L .155" cable would be ideal, I think, but whatever you have should work. You can affix a 1/8" jack underneath the pickguard, run the cable to it, and use a cable with 1/8" plug on one end and a standard 1/4" plug on the other to go to the amp. Or you can buy a 1/4" female connector to go on the cable, and use any standard guitar cable. To me, this is much more convenient than having a long cord which can't be disconnected, but that's a matter of personal preference. The pickup sounds very good. I sort of want one, but then I'd have to buy a guitar to put it on.
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I had the cable on my de Armond RC 1000 replaced through Pete Wagener at La Vonne Music in Savage MN. It was great work at a very reasonable price and looks like stock wire. I would not try it myself as these are wound with very fine wire. By the way Pete is a great guy and usually has some very sweet guitars hanging around. My de Armond has the old style, screw on mic connector and works fine once it is hooked up.
Thanks John
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It's got a great tone. Definitely a worthwhile project. I'm always impressed at how good these sound with bronze strings. Originally Posted by lawson-stone
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Not to hijack too much--I have an RC1000 and mounted it to the end of the fingerboard. Good sound, looks awesome. Originally Posted by powerwagonjohn
I was in La Vonne's 1 week ago--great place, always with some great vintage and new guitars on the wall. Plus nice folks. Between that, Twin Town and Willie's got the Twin Cities covered.
BTW, don't know if you've ever heard Dan Neale with the Galactic Cowboy Orchestra out of the TC, but he's a great guitarist and old friend of mine from Chattanooga.
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Yeah this hot-wired hook-up was just for a test, to see if the basic pickup still worked, and I like it. I never played single-coil before, at least, not since I was maybe 14 or 15. I didn't realize how much it picks up-pick noise, finger noise the works. But I think I will just slowly study up on replacing the cable myself, wire up the original volume control, and run it to a female .25" connector. Originally Posted by sgosnell
I think replacing the cable is worthwhile. It's not rocket science, and it's not expensive. Any shielded coaxial cable will work, but smaller is probably better. Some George L .155" cable would be ideal, I think, but whatever you have should work. You can affix a 1/8" jack underneath the pickguard, run the cable to it, and use a cable with 1/8" plug on one end and a standard 1/4" plug on the other to go to the amp. Or you can buy a 1/4" female connector to go on the cable, and use any standard guitar cable. To me, this is much more convenient than having a long cord which can't be disconnected, but that's a matter of personal preference. The pickup sounds very good. I sort of want one, but then I'd have to buy a guitar to put it on.
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It’s what that looks like to me too. Late ‘40s or early ‘50s, based on the musicpickups.com section on knobs, and on pics seen around. No black tabs either… it must be the first version! Originally Posted by Papawooly
Dug mine out of the vault.. looks very early
No number on the tab, black knob, 12' cable... maybe late 40"s?
BTW: I LOVE that Super 300!!!
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It works! And it sounds very good too IMHO. The “picking” sound is probably due to where you’ve placed it and to how much clearance you have below the strings. I guess you can work around it fairly easily. Originally Posted by lawson-stone
Frankly it’s a no brainer, go for it!
PS: Funny you should go for a Jimmy Raney solo. The way mine sounds often makes me think of Raney’s early records, although he had an ES-150 IIRC (… now if only I could play 1/10 as good as him…)
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I was thinking about that too, his early stuff was such pure bebop, and the solos in the Aebersold/Raney book are classic exercises in bebop. I confess I was also thinking of Rene Thomas, maybe even a little more than Jimmy Raney! I'm definitely going to get this pickup fully functional, but I'll need to go slowly with it. A new cable from the pickup core looks like it could be a very difficulty project. Originally Posted by radiofm74
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Early Rene Thomas kinda IS Jimmy Raney.
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No kidding. It's almost like RT channeled Raney. But then, if someone said "Hey, that Lawson Stone sounds like clone of Jimmy Raney..." I'd be so happy! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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If you feel unsure about it (I would be), my suggestion would be to go to a good tech. I won’t go so far as to say that that FHC is precious, unique, etc etc… but it sure is a bit of a special object. Originally Posted by lawson-stone
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Replacing the cable on a pickup isn't rocket science. It requires a modicum of skill and experience, but it's not really out of the reach of anyone with average abilities.
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My 51' Gibson Super 300 now sports a fancy 1949 ( tab has a 49 stamp) Guitar Mike. I removed the volume pot cleaned it and re - soldered the connections and added a new shorter/more convenient cable with a new 1/4" jack. The original cable which I kept is 10' long a bit toooo long for convenience. The stick needed some careful bending/adjustment to get the pickup sitting how I wanted it. I have a double ended female connector to complete the connection to my amp. I am a thumb and sometimes other fingers player and like playing very close to the neck and at the moment found the pickup getting in the way if it is slid up any higher on the stick. Impressions so far are WOW! this thing sound fabulous - beautiful full tone and very loud with Phillipe Bosset Soft Brass strings
Will
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Will,
Great S300 and great pickup. That's a dream rig, for sure.
You can make some great jazz, western swing, and country on that setup. Many have.
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Just curious - the one thing that makes me nervous about the DeArmond stick mounting system is clamping expensive strings between two pieces of metal - re the mounting clamp between bridge and tailpiece . Anyone experienced issues with string breakage - I am tempted to add some felt to the clamp arrangement to save my strings from any issues or was there originally felt and mine is missing?
Will
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Felt will make the connection loose, and the pickup will wobble. If you put anything, I'd suggest some rubber. A vacuum cleaner belt cut to fit should work for this, but there are other possibilities. But it may still be a loose connection, but you can try it and see if it works. I don't think the strings will break from the clamping, though. People have been using this system for a long time.
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I’ve never had a problem. I use all of my TI Swings until they are just dead. Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
It also grounds your strings.
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Quote " It also grounds your strings"
I am very electricity circuit design naive - Is there really a grounding function to the mounting clamp design ? If so I'm thinking my idea of buffering the metal to metal connection of the clamp to string contact design would be a bad idea. Maybe I should just be polishing the edges of the clamp to minimize sharp cutting/knicking edges.
Will
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Instead of polishing the edges, try flipping the top part of the bracket. Mine has a slight curve. One way of mounting would push the edge on the string more than the other way. When I get to work, I'll see if I can get a picture. Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
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Thanks for that! you have a keen eye Originally Posted by lawson-stone
. I checked mine and right enough the top plate on mine is gently curved. I flipped it over and now the edges are raised above rather than touching the strings.
Will
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