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I don't know if this is a legit problem. I got a Kent Armstrong Floating PAF. It's beautiful. I'm changing the pickups, the pots, everything myself.
Anyways, the bracket for the pickup is really wide. It's a neck-mounted pickup and it's definitely a lot wider than my fretboard. Literally as wide as the pickup. Is it safe to bend into place? Has anyone ever installed a pickup themself that can pitch in?
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04-29-2020 03:44 AM
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Click for instructions. Bottom line, you bend the bracket to fit your neck/fingerboard width. Use care and you can get the pickup centered, level and the correct distance from the strings. Good luck!
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Fretboards come in varying widths, all different. It's highly impractical to try to manufacture pickups with mounting brackets that fit every individual guitar. So they just ship a generic straight bracket, and expect it to be bent to size and shape by the installer. It's relatively safe to bend it, but any metal bracket can be broken through over-eager bending and rebending, so reasonable care is required, just as with any other parts installation. It ain't rocket science, but it does take some patience and manual dexterity. There should be two bends in each bar, one at the pickup to bend inwards toward the neck, and another at the neck in the opposite direction to take it straight along the neck. Getting the second bends in exactly the right place takes a little judgement and planning.
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Wow all of this seriously sounds intense. Is it possible to get a new pickup bracket if I accidentally bend this one too much ? I mean from anywhere honestly.
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I had the same problem with that exact same item. Just bend it into shape, go slow and meticulous each step of the way. Having some very narrow needle nose pliers helps. Is your bracket silver? I sprayed mine with black primer and it looked great. Be careful! It's delicate metal that will crack if you bend it back and forth.
What kind of guitar is it going on?Last edited by Woody Sound; 04-30-2020 at 08:08 AM.
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"intense"....really. See the link below for instructions
Mounting a Kent Armstrong Suspended Jazz Pickup | stewmac.com
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yeah I got everything worked out! Also, it’s on a Loar Lh-650.
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Glad you got it sorted. Now, pics or a video/audio clip or it never happened! Originally Posted by broturtel
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I don't think that's the same pickup and bracket he's asking about. The KA Floating PAF comes with a separate bracket that wraps all the way around the pickup, and you MUST bend it into shape. Originally Posted by rob taft
Kent Armstrong Handmade 12 pole floating PAF 2018 Black | | Reverb
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This was the information I was trying to confer. I didn't realize until after I posted that Rolijen had posted the same exact link in the second post.
The tabs can be bent with pliers to match your fingerboard's width and profile. Wrap the jaws of the pliers with electrical tape to protect the pickup. You may also find it necessary to "tweak" the angle of the mounting tabs relative to the face of the pickup. This will insure that the pickup is parallel to the stings. When bending the tabs, grasp them near the pickup housing and gently bend them the desired amount. Try to avoid re-bending.
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Bartolini sells a variation of their 5J with the bracket mounted on the back of the pickup, each side of the bracket can be moved by loosening the screws and moving the bracket, then tightening. It’s $195.00 on their website. Steve Holst used one on my new guitar, it made fitting the pickup to his neck notches a breeze.
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Mike, How does that Bartolini compare to the KA 12 Pole Handwound? I ask because I'm having an archtop built and I'm torn between the KA, Benedetto/Duncan floater and this pickup.
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heresy some may say but I never took a shine to the 12 pole KA
I came into the Bartolini because it was on a !979 GB10, the pickguard had degassed and the owner had a lovely bound ebony guard made and the Bartolinini installed. Owned by Dr Johns guitarist. It sounds like the original GB10 pickup which is very pleasing to the ear to me.
NGD: '79 GB10nt - Oops I Did It Again
Jazz Guitar Humbucker - 5J - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 05-02-2020 at 11:33 PM.
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Thanks Big Mike
Last edited by rob taft; 05-03-2020 at 07:42 PM.
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so I was readjusting the bracket to try and fit it better on my baby, and it broke.
LOL.
AND I somehow broke off one of the terminals trying to bend it free of the pickup so that one side wasn't higher than the other. So there's that. It wasn't hard to bend though like you all said. Oh well, seeing if I can get the terminal fixed and a new pickup bracket. If not I'm just gonna make my own. Until then, hang tight guys and I'll keep you updated and I'll post pics after round 2.
I will say, this was my first pickup installation and I definitely learned so much from this experience.
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Thanks for sharing BigMike! Looks great. I was actually looking at the 5J. But I think the next pickup I'm gonna try is the Zoller Shadow. Eventually though, I'm gonna get around to trying the 5J for sure! it's on my list. Gotta try em all. hahahaha. Beautiful guitar, once again. Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ
heresy some may say but I never took a shine to the 12 pole KA
I came into the Bartolini because it was on a !979 GB10, the pickguard had degassed and the owner had a lovely bound ebony guard made and the Bartolinini installed. Owned by Dr Johns guitarist. It sounds like the original GB10 pickup which is very pleasing to the ear to me.
NGD: '79 GB10nt - Oops I Did It Again
Jazz Guitar Humbucker - 5J - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics
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For repairing broken metal cheap and easy, it's hard to be JB Weld epoxy. I once used it to repair a broken exhaust manifold on a Chevy POS. It was still holding when I sold it a couple of years later. It's really good stuff as long as it's properly mixed.
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Originally Posted by broturtel
so I was readjusting the bracket to try and fit it better on my baby, and it broke. LOL.
AND I somehow broke off one of the terminals trying to bend it free of the pickup so that one side wasn't higher than the other. So there's that. It wasn't hard to bend though like you all said. Oh well, seeing if I can get the terminal fixed and a new pickup bracket. If not I'm just gonna make my own. Until then, hang tight guys and I'll keep you updated and I'll post pics after round 2.
I will say, this was my first pickup installation and I definitely learned so much from this experience.
I told you you can't bend it too many times!
I believe KA will send you another bracket np.
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I too have been interested in trying one of these. But I am looking for more of a full-range-acousticy sound for rhythm. I've read that they are mellow and dark. Don't know if that's true or not. Originally Posted by broturtel
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Not true. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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I had one of those Zollar neck mounts on my stock Fenix FAE8. I wasn't keen on the tone of it on that guitar and I also found the high E string was very quiet. I have a pickup from an Ibanez on the gtr now. It is much better but it's still work in progress. I'm toying with the idea of a built in humbucker but a lot of people think it's the wrong thing to do. Originally Posted by broturtel
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For that guitar, I think a Rhythm Chief 1100, with adjustable polepieces, would work very well. You could use the short mounting rod or just Blu-Tack it to the top. There are also other floaters with adjustable polepieces.
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Thanks. Originally Posted by sgosnell
I think I must have been checking out the 1100 on Youtube just as you were typing!! It seems a good choice.Someone said they had a reissue re-wound by KA to the original vintage spec. But I've also heard that the new ones are pretty much like the originals anyway. Cheers.
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Mine is a reissue. It sounds great to me. I've been a humbucker fan my whole life, mostly, and thought single-coils, especially floaters, sounded too bright and tinny. The 1100 changed my mind completely.
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