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Hey everyone. I got a chance to buy a Gibson L4C from the 60s. unfortunately of course it doesn't have a pickup. So i wanna install a floater on it. I've done some research and i understand that the old DeArmond FHC is a nice match. and found a video of this guy:
Apparently he is using an L4C with the FHC pickup, but all the models I have found online has that long long stick that attaches on a bar near the bridge and I have to say it's just so ugly.. however this Guitarist (Perry Beekman) found a way to tweak that thing somehow, it looks great!! does anybody know how he did this? also, it seems that he has 2 knobs (I guess volume and tone..) but all the FHC i've found have only one knob.
so what the hell is going on here??
These might be kind of nooby questions so sorry about that...
thanks!!
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03-13-2019 01:30 AM
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He has the pickup attached to the neck with a De’Armond “short rod”. These were nearly impossible to get in the past, but when the Reissue pickups came out, they made the short rod available again. Someone on this group may be able to point you to a dealer who sells them, but I did a quick search on Reverb and found one (see link below). The two knobs on Perry’s pickguard will be Volume and Tone.
Originally Posted by bozzi
Hey everyone. I got a chance to buy a Gibson L4C from the 60s. unfortunately of course it doesn't have a pickup. So i wanna install a floater on it. I've done some research and i understand that the old DeArmond FHC is a nice match. and found a video of this guy.
Apparently he is using an L4C with the FHC pickup, but all the models I have found online has that long long stick that attaches on a bar near the bridge and I have to say it's just so ugly.. however this Guitarist (Perry Beekman) found a way to tweak that thing somehow, it looks great!! does anybody know how he did this? also, it seems that he has 2 knobs (I guess volume and tone..) but all the FHC i've found have only one knob.
so what the hell is going on here??
These might be kind of nooby questions so sorry about that...
thanks!!
DeArmond reissue NICKEL neck mounting rod for Rhythm Chief 1000 pickup
DeArmond reissue NICKEL neck mounting rod for Rhythm Chief | Reverb
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AFAIK the FHC pickups haven't been manufactured in years. You can find them on Reveb and/or ebay, in various states of condition, for a range of prices, mostly very high. The Rhythm Chief pickups, both the 1000 and the 1100, are being manufactured as reissues, and are available from DeArmond as well as many retailers, Reverb, ebay, Amazon, etc. These come with the short rod, and you'll have to provide your own controls. For mine, I bought a set of thumwheel controls which I mounted in the treble side f hole with quality doublel-sided tape. I don't like using a pickguard, so that works for me. If you have a pickguard installed, you can either use thumbwheels mounted underneath it, or drill it to accept standard potentiometers. I recommend the reissue Rhythm Chief, either model, because they're new, and presumably more reliable, and easier to install, as well as cheaper in most cases. I did see one FHC-B, without the stick and control box, for $200 on Reverb, but most are approaching $600 or more. Old, used hard and put away wet now is referred to as 'vintage', and thus exhorbitant in cost. I prefer buying new, or barely used. YMMV.
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FYI: The short rods being manufactured in Asia are not quite right for a vintage DeArmond. They will work somewhat, but the diameter is slightly thinner which will necessitate the use of some kind of putty or glue to hold the vintage PUP in place.
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You can also have a skilled tech mount it to your pick guard so that you don’t drill unnecessary holes in the guitar. Getting rid of the original control box is a mistake: it acts as a faraday cage and mostly eliminates 60hz hum. My fhc is as quiet as a humbucker. Also the reissues sound nice but not nearly as good as the originals. $600 is an unreasonable price for a vintage FHC, only greedy lunatics are selling at that price.
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You can get the reissue 1000/1100 rods from Guild:
DeArmond Rhythm Chief Mounting Hardware - Nickel | Guild Guitars
DeArmond Rhythm Chief Mounting Hardware - Gold | Guild Guitars
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The FHC pickup is a helluva pickup for fully acoustic archtops. I owned one for about 40 years until I gave it to the bandmate/vintage guitar dealer buddy of mine to put on his first Gibson L4. It made a great combination, of course.
I don't know about other DeArmond fans, but I have had the FHC, the 1000 and the 1100 at different points in time, and I am not so sure that I don't prefer the FHC to the more expensive designs. It is just a very happy pickup with a L4 or a L7. They go very well together.
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Originally Posted by Greentone
My 1000s and my 1100 are in the drawer as of 6 months ago - the FHC has its home on my 16” 1934 Gibson L7.
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I think Rowe stopped making the DeArmond FHC around 1970...at least, I haven't seen any that show dates after that. The Rowe/DeArmond FHC pickups from the late 60s/early 70s frequently had a stamped date on the under-side of the pickup between the two felt pads. Mine said Aug 8 1969, IIRC. The small shop I dealt with back at university (that got me into Polytone amps/guitars) was a dealer for DeArmond and also for Bigsby products. He had boxes of DeArmond pickups--mostly the soundhole pickups for flattops that were popular in the 70s, but also Rhythm Chiefs and FHC "Guitar Mike" pickups. I got mine there.
When you think about it, nobody was making acoustic archtops after Gibson dropped them in 1972. DeArmond was still making the Rhythm Chief into the late 70s/early 80s because Guild used them on the Artist Award back then. But, I don't recall seeing any "new" FHC pickups other than new old stock like the one I bought, after '69-'70, FWIW.
Great pickup, however. Made from the '40s until about '70.
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Bozzi, please note that the FHC in the video has no black inserts as the later ones have to compensate for the higher output of the B string. I cannot say if tha makes a difference in performance. I had a early "black inserts" FHC with a one black chicken head knob. Great pickup and I put a washer between pickguard and neck screw so the pu was aligned with the strings while not having to make a cutout in the pickguard. Great pickup for my 1948 L-7
When I could buy a original 50's RC 1000 I sold it. The 1000 came with the 2-knob + switch box which I am using now and it has a very good and balanced tone (Thomastik JS .013's). IIRC the FHC had a lot of balsy character and nice complex sound, but not as focused and balanced as my old RC 1000. For the RC 1000 I had to cut out a small part of the pickguard to make it fit well. I don't find the long rod and tailpiece adjustment ugly but that is a personal opinion of course.
Some time ago I bought a RI Model 1100 and while sounding good, I preferred my RC 1000. That said, I played the RC 1100 with Schatten thumble weels and the 1000 with its original box so it may not be a fair comparison.
I haven't tried much floaters (except for a Atilla Zoller which I foolishly sold), but I feel no reason to hunt for other pu's, as my old DA sounds very good.
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The only problem with the Schatten thumbwheels is that they are 500k, and most people seem to think single-coil pickups sound better with 250k pots. I started with the Schatten thumbwheels with my 1100, and found it very bright. I bought some 250k thumbwheels with audio taper from Guitar Parts Factory, and they sound much better to me. The Schattens are easier to install, being attached to a printed circuit board, but the improved sound was worth it to me.
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I haven’t tried this, but a 500K resistor in parallel with a 500K pot would be equivalent to a 250K pot when the pot is set for maximum volume. As it’s turned down, it may not have the same volume taper as a 250K pot, but I think the pickup would still have the same response as with a 250K pot (i.e.: reducing the treble peak you don’t like). It’s an easy and reversible mod, so could be worth trying if someone has a 500K ohm pot and suspects that’s too high for their single coil pickup. Originally Posted by sgosnell
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Why didn’t I ever think of that? Originally Posted by KirkP
I haven’t tried this, but a 500K resistor in parallel with a 500K pot would be equivalent to a 250K pot when the pot is set for maximum volume. As it’s turned down, it may not have the same volume taper as a 250K pot, but I think the pickup would still have the same response as with a 250K pot (i.e.: reducing the treble peak you don’t like). It’s an easy and reversible mod, so could be worth trying if someone has a 500K ohm pot and suspects that’s too high for their single coil pickup.
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By the way, I have a recent reissue DeArmond 1100 on my ‘37 L-7 with dual Schatten controls and it sounds great to me. It’s not overly bright for me even with the pots full up, but I do tend to roll of the treble slightly. Like most magnetic pickups the frequency response is a little smoother with the volume pot dialed back a little, and the amp volume brought up a bit to compensate. I also like being able to adjust pole pieces for string to string balance. That FHC on the L-4 does sound real pretty though.
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I take two small pieces of tubing (each about 1/4 inch long), split each down the middle, and then snap them on the rod around both sides of the pickup. This keeps the pickup from moving around. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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won't work .... Originally Posted by KirkP
I haven’t tried this, but a 500K resistor in parallel with a 500K pot would be equivalent to a 250K pot when the pot is set for maximum volume. As it’s turned down, it may not have the same volume taper as a 250K pot, but I think the pickup would still have the same response as with a 250K pot (i.e.: reducing the treble peak you don’t like). It’s an easy and reversible mod, so could be worth trying if someone has a 500K ohm pot and suspects that’s too high for their single coil pickup.
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I don’t see why not. The pot is simply a voltage divider. Putting a resistor across it doesn’t change that. And when the pot is turned to “10” it’s the exact same circuit as a 250 ohm pot turned to 10. Originally Posted by pingu
As one turns the pot down the amp’s input impedance could affect the taper, but if the amp’s input impedance is in the typical 1M ohm range I’d think it would work fine.
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Fair enough Originally Posted by KirkP
i defer to you kirk
let us know how it goes if you try it .....
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