The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Hi everyone,

    I’m having trouble finding a replacement pickup for my Ibanez AF71F. I want a pickup with adjustable pole pieces. I bought one that’s a Gretsch brand on Amazon, but as you can see in the photo the mounting brackets are too big. Does anyone hand any ideas of suggestions that won’t break the bank?

    I was looking potentially at getting the dearmond RC1100, but it comes only in a gold finish, and that would entail me replacing all the hardware on the guitar. Is there a way to make the RC1100 have a nickel finish?

    There are some pickguard mounted pickups, but the pick guard on this guitar isn’t 100% stationary. How would this work out if I were to find a good side mounted pickup?

    I’m ruling out any transducers or any pickup that would require a preamp, that’s one more thing to worry about and purchase.

    I’m looking to put bronze strings on this guitar, that’s why I really want adjustable pole pieces. I use it mostly acoustically, but I want the option to plug it in if I want/have to.

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  3. #2

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    I suggest contacting Rob Doolittle here: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazooguitarcompany/

    He is a wizard and builds pickups as well as guitars. He had decades of experience. His prices are very reasonable.

    He has worked on one guitar of mine with a Johnny Smith type pickup mount and another with a pickguard mount.

  4. #3

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    Kent Armstrong 12-pole. You can mount to pickguard or neck: Kent Armstrong®

  5. #4
    Would the pickup be attached via superglue?

    I rest my fingers on the pick guard a lot of the time. My pick guard isn’t the sturdiest, but it feels firm where the pickup would go. Would it be best to get a thicker pickguard? Are there problems with the bass side of the pickup dropping as it’s not the side of the pickup that is attached to the pick guard?

  6. #5

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    I recently had Pete Biltoft make a custom CC floater for my DA and it’s a fantastic pickup. He’s very responsive and I’m sure he can accommodate your specs. Worth giving him an email shout.

  7. #6

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    Floating pickups can be attached using cyanoacrylate (superglue), epoxy, screws, double-sided mounting tape, or whatever the person assembling it decides to use. One method of mounting floaters is using Blu-Tack to attach it to the top of the guitar. That works well for me. It's easy, provides a solid attachment, but is completely reversible with no changes or damage to the guitar. It also doesn't depend on the pickguard, which isn't necessary if you want to remove it, because there is no attachment between them.

  8. #7

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    You must own stock in Blu Tack

  9. #8

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    The Kent Armstrong PAF-0 floater or the DeArmond 1000 or 1100 are your easiest choices. The 1000 is specifically for bronze strings, the 1100 for either. The KA is available from Djangobooks.com in either a neck-mount a la Gibson Johnny Smith or a pickguard mount a la Benedetto.

  10. #9

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    People are starting to use micropore tape for that application