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I'd like everyone's input on this one. Here are a bunch of questions. Feel free to answer one, some, or all of them if you have the spare time.
What do you think is the best archtop with a floating pickup?
Could you just grab the best acoustic archtop and slap a floater on it, or is there something specific you look for when you pick something with a floater?
How important is the acoustic tone to you? Some people say that the amplified tone of a guitar with a floater is more acoustic sounding than one with a set pickup. However, when you play something with a floater (at least at low volumes), you're bound to hear the acoustic sound of the guitar too. Is that desirable?
I've heard that too much acoustic volume correlates to feedback proclivity. What are the tradeoffs?
Also, once you turn up the volume, you will no longer hear the acoustic sound, so why would it matter?
When it comes to archtops, people make distinctions between what would make a good rhythm guitar vs what would make a good "lap piano" guitar. Which of those would work better with a floating pickup? Or is there a third category that works particularly well with a floating pickup?
So, in short, what is your pick on the best archtop with a floater? Please also describe why.
Anything I missed?
Oh, and some ear candy featuring a DeArmond floater.
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09-28-2017 11:57 AM
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Peter Biltoft CC Rider in my case a humbucking CC Rider floater AAA+++ Also Kent Armstrong (not the import) 12 pole peice Humbucker floater!
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If I'm going for a floater I'm usually interested in a guitar that does double duty as an acoustic and an electric ... but that's more me than anything else
So I prefer a good acoustic tone first and hope the electric tone is worth having
A guitar with a nice loud and lively acoustic tone is more likely to feed back in my experience,
But you can find floater archtops with rather dead or at least muted acoustic tones that may feed back less .... and the acoustic tone and volume is probably fine for practicing at home ... even while watching TV if you like to noodle while you watch your favorite TV programs
floaters do have a nice voice in general and tend to deliver tones along the line of Johnny Smith ... so if you want Johnny Smith tone at volume then maybe a floater with weak acoustic properties would be a good thing
I wouldn't call a floater a good acoustic tone although it is probably more acoustic than a mounted pickup .... IMHO you need a piezo or a microphone for good acoustic tone ... and you can get some nice compact microphones that will mount on your guitar
For the best of both worlds a lively archtop acoustic with a floater and a mic would make for a good swing band or small group .... use the mic for rhythm and the floater for your single note solos ... and maybe a nice mix for chord solos
I have a Gibson Le Grand and a Heritage Sweet 16 with floaters .... the Le Grand is my favorite, but the Sweet 16 also quite good ... both are great electrics and great acoustics
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The guitar should sound _acoustic_ AND _electric_, which the guitar in the clip does. (I love the old DeArmond Guitar Mic pickup, by the way. I used one for 30+ years. They are great.)
The instrument shouldn't sound purely acoustic, and it shouldn't sound as electric as, say, a L-5CES--which has a more wholly electric tone (yet you can still hear that it is coming from an archtop guitar).
The Gibson Johnny Smith guitar immediately comes to mind as an example of this kind of instrument.
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I lean towards preferring the electric voice from a hollowbody jazzbox. For that I think the 12-pole Kent Armstrong is the best. I have the smaller version of the Kent Armstrong floater (not as wide; no pole pieces) on my Hopkins and it sounds awesome at low or moderate volumes but at louder volumes I wish it was a bit fatter and more electric...although it is still really good if it matches up well to the particular amp. The only reason I haven't had the 12-pole installed is because I'm worried it will sound so good that I will then always have a dilemma as to whether to take the carved top Hopkins or my laminate jazzbox (with mounted Lollar HB) to jams/gigs.
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Guild Artist Award
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Best archtop with floating pickup? For a pretty electric tone, this one:
1955 D'Angelico 17" New Yorker with Gibson Johnny Smith mini-humbucker, played by Mr. Johnny Smith.
It's the archetype for the entire genre of pf archtops with floaters.
My archtop with a floater (17" carved top, in the Benedetto tradition) is primarily played at home so I value the acoustic sound a bit more then the amplified sound. It is very difficult to amplify these guitars above the conversational level without having feedback. Guitars with more resistance to feedback tend to be more dead acoustically; guitars with better acoustic response tend to have more problems with feedback when amplified. I use this guitar for quieter gigs or jam sessions, even better for acoustic jam sessions; it is my favorite guitar to play. However, if playing with drums, horns, etc., feedback tends to be a significant problem because of the higher volume required. For those gigs I tend to play an electric guitar.
On the other hand, I also have a small bodied 1981 Ibanez GB10. While a hollow body archtop with floating pickups, this guitar is aimed at amplified, electric playing. The acoustic response is limited and the pickups are very hot. It plays and sounds great, but it is not an acoustic sounding instrument when amplified.
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Who are you playing with?
Solo gig? Carved archtop/floater
Trio w/ piano and bass? Same
Quartet w/ drums and horn? Laminate CES archtop
Big, loud gig? Semi-acoustic
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For this particular guitar, I would expect it to come out for solo, duet, and small ensemble without drums.
Originally Posted by Greentone
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Sounds like carved archtop with floater time.
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An acoustically loud archtop with a floating single coil pickup is my favorite type of jazz guitar. I've used floating mini-humbuckers (ie. the Johnny Smith humbucker) but never really liked the sound any of them.
I'm use floating Charlie Christian style pickups from Pete Biltoft and that gives me the combination of clarity and 'honk' that most humbuckers don't have.
You can turn the volume up for taking solos, but when you back off for rhythm you have a nice acoustic sound that isn't muddy. The more acoustic tone doesn't get in the way of the piano player as much either.
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What kind of strings do people use in this context? Rounds or flats? If you're doing acoustic comping, I'd think rounds are more desirable. But if you want some thunk in the amplified tone, you'd want flats. Thoughts?
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I’ve gotten to where I can’t stand heavier gauge round wound strings. I use round wound 11s on solid bodies and thinline electrics, but I have flats on all my fat bodied archtops, TI Swings.
Honestly, I think they sound better and don’t sound significantly quieter to me in comparison to round wound strings.
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I go between Thomastik Infield flats and John Pearse pure nickel 'archtop' roundwounds. The John Pearse strings are mellow sounding round wound strings once worn in. The TIs have more of that 'thunk' sound though. Both sound good for rhythm.
On a purely acoustic archtop I'd use heavy bronze strings.
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I'm using an early Dearmond Rhythm Chief 1000 on my 61 Gibson L-7C. It sounds great! Highly recommended.
A friend has an earlier Dearmond Guitar Mic. I will give that a try at some point and report back with a comparison between the 2.
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Hi,
i recently purchased a fender build Benedetto fratello...well....its suposed to be one....it has no brand on it.
The story is that it was unfinshed at the time Benedetto stopped the coorperation with fender, so they were finished without a logo.
anyway its a great guitar, so If its real or not....idnc
it came without a pu, so I have to decide on which one. I really have no experience with floating pu, so seeking advice here.
I think I wanna go for a single coil floating one.
options I see:
benedetto S6
bartolinni 5 jnb
kent armstrong jazzy Joe
any others I should consider?
id like to preserve the acoustic qualities, for a modern jazz sound I have another guitar.
is there any comparison availble...did anyone do that?
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Popular ones I've seen are the Kent Armstrong Floating Single Coil and the Dearmond Reissues. If you have the cash to spare, maybe go for an original dearmond Rhythm Chief. Their price has gone down significantly since Guild reissued them. The original 1000 Rhythm Chief is very microphonic (not potted), which makes them "bad" rock pickups, but great if you want to preserve the acoustic sound.
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To the best of my knowledge none of the pickups you list are single coil...
If you can cope with humbuckers the Jason Loller Johnny Smith model is also worth a look...
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o really....tbh...what I heard of them Made me asume they were singles....guess I was wrong..thnx Originally Posted by guido5
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I put a hand wound Kent Armstrong 12 pole on my Eastman AR910, extremely pleased with it.
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I really like my Vintage Vibe Guitars (Pete Biltoft) floating Charlie Christian style pickup. Huge fat single coil sound. Sounds a lot like this one here:
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In general, my vote would be for a DeArmond. Vintage would be great, but the Reissues are really pretty good. Otherwise, I really like Pete Biltoft’s work.
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I have the Benedetto S6. It is a humbucker that is warm and woody. I wish it had individual pole pieces to dial in the string to string balance.
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If the OP decides on mounting a DeArmond Reissue I have one I'll give you.
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Just got one for mine... Originally Posted by ESCC
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