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So I spoke w/ my luthier today and no, there'll be no cutting of the top.
So now it just looks like there'll be a p/g attached p/u installed hopefully leaving a space about 1/4-1/2 in. from the end of the f/b.
So far, I have found a 3/8 high KA Slimbucker and then some others all around 1/2 in. high- - Lollars and Bennedetto and Bartolini......Someone here mentioned a Krivo, which are the thinnest so far, but also 1+1/2 wide.....
So if I'm missing any brands that would also be this thin design, or if there are any other suggestions, pls. let me know.
Thx.
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09-18-2020 02:01 PM
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Ask owner Steve who owns an L7. I believe he has a Lollar on his. That guitars sound is the finest amplification sound I’ve ever heard from an archtop, and I’ve heard more than a few. That Lollar would be my first choice.
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A while back, I had Pete Biltoft make me an 8 mm thick Charlie Christian style blade floater. It looks great, but I ended up deciding to sell the guitar I was going to put it on and haven’t decided to add it to another one as of yet, so I haven’t tried it. I’ve been really happy with all his other pickups I’ve tried though.
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Excellent news!
As for pickup, it really does depend on the tone you're looking for.
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
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I know you said you didn't like the look but a floating Dearmond is also 3/8"
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My luthier is going to show me how he's attached and routed the p/u's & wiring on several of the acoustics that he's done. One of my original worries was about the endpin jack placement - but for now we've established that he can do that at the strap pin, no matter which p/u I choose, so that's good. I believe that'd be sturdier and better for a klutz like me than a p/g attachment.
Originally Posted by Kirk1701
But the biggest issue seems to be dealing with basically 5/8 in. string clearance - unfretted - from the top of the guitar, at the end of the fretboard. With even a KA Slimbucker ( and others ) at 3/8 in., that's tight.....I'd just hate to lose any playbility - -we've had a time getting it this good and I'd hate to screw that up !
But for, now on we go.....
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" There you go making sense again. " : ) Originally Posted by wintermoon
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This is the one done by Pete Biltoft. Remember this is 1.5 mm thinner than all of the 3/8” pickups.
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Pete is a clever fella and he seems to really like making those CC style pick ups. Dennis D, I would suggest contacting him and talking about your situation. He made me a custom CC floater for my guitar and nailed what I was looking for- not only dimensionally but sonically. And his prices are reasonable.
Another option would be to contact Kent Armstrong; he can make far more than the standard designs he is well known for and no doubt could come up with something for you as well. A local musician here (Papa John Kolstad) has one of Kent's pickups on a 1930s L-5 which has even less clearance than yours, sounds great.
The solo is by the other guitarist, PJK is playing rhythm.
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Two more photo's, + some more info, hopefully helpful:
No affiliation w/ KA - his dimensions just seemed fairly common, and were the easiest to verify and cross reference.
1. One photo is marked '3/8' and is a 3/8 stack of sticky notes paper placed up against the end of the fb.......disregard that other line on the paper- - -the actual p/u width will be correctly shown in the other photo which says ' 5/16. ' 3/8 = 9.525 MM. This is the height of the KA Slimbucker . This height isn't bad but there are some better.
2. The second photo is a 5/16 stack, with the correct line marking about 1+1/8 p/u width. 5/16 = 8 MM , which is pretty good. This 5/16 is the height of the KA
" UltraSlim " humbucker. You can see comparing the two stacks that any height reductions are a tough fight.
Then I fretted some strings and held a pick and played some notes, and it seems the fretted strings will clear the p/u. I also noticed that my fingers would hit the strings before the pick would strike the p/u - or it's close. So unless you're really reaching downward for some reason, and basically holding the pick reasonably correctly, your fingers shouldn't hit the strings. And, neither the played strings nor the pick should hit the p/u. Does this sound logical ???
Pls make any corrections etc -- and again hope this helps.
MHO etc.and thanks.
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My former guitar teacher- 40 years ago- used a Bill Lawrence USA A400 neck-mounted pickup on his 1940s L7, but I don't know what the clearances look like on that guitar compared to yours. The pickup was the highly acoustic sounding; I don't know if it was wound for bronze or nickel strings. The A400 is noted to be 7/16" thick, so it would come up flush with the end of the fingerboard at least at the outside edges. With an archtop that might matter a bit less as it's rare to be fingering at the highest frets, where the string buzzing against the pickup would be most likely.
I would say from your very practical demonstration with the sticky notes that either a 3/8" or 5/16" pickup would work fine. I would put a little thin felt on the back of the pickup and set it right down on the deck, myself, as was done with the old DeArmond pickups.
You mentioned earlier that the Krivo was larger in the horizontal dimension; that may be unavoidable. As the pickup gets thinner, the coil is going to have to get wider in order to have room for the windings. Otherwise you end up with a low output, probably rather thin and shrill sounding pickup.
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d- really depends what kind of tone you want to get out of it...if you want quiet wooly, than a humbucker would be best...if you want open sounding but with some hum ok, than single coil...if you want something more off the path...then cc's and gold foils style may be best
luck
cheers
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Tempting you with this tone, Dennis D: DeArmond 1100. The modern Guild repro is very good.
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Guild DeArmond Rhythm Chief 1100 Pickup - Gold | Guild Guitars
Out of Stock. Yeah, right...
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My ‘38 L-7 has 9/16” space between the string and top at the end of the fretboard—unusually tight compared to later parallel braced models. The RC1100 fit fine. The pole pieces are just about level with the tops of the frets. The pickup comes with fairly thick felt pads on the back. I planned to remove them if the pickup was too high, but I didn’t need to.
When the pickup was originally installed the top E string sounded odd, but I realized the pickup was too high on that side. I inserted a felt shim between the pickguard and the pickup’s tab, which pushed it down to the correct level, solving the problem. The mounting rod is on the bass side. The pickup just floats on the treble side, held down by the pickguard.
I know you said you don’t like the looks of the RC1100, but maybe my experience will be useful.
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