Pickup for my new Harmony H1310

[TPMCD]

Ok all, I've recently purchased a Harmony H1310 I'm thinking of getting a pickup for it. What I'd like to do is cut a hole in it and put a P90 in it (for a poor man's ES350), but I can't do that - this particular instrument looks absolutely untouched and I'd hate to jack it up.

So...I like the sound of the P90, any thoughts on a floating (or other type with a light "footprint") pickup that might be close to a P90? Or a humbucker I suppose. The type of music I'll be focusing on are chord solos.

Thanks all.

[Gitfiddler]

Nice H1310. Not sure about any floating P90 style pickup, but here are a couple of ideas...

Here's a modified 1310's with a JS style floater.

Here's a similar Harmony with a Rhythm Chief. I dig the old school look of this, but have no idea how it would sound on your guitar.

[TPMCD]

Nice H1310. Not sure about any floating P90 style pickup, but here are a couple of ideas...

Here's a modified 1310's with a JS style floater.

Here's a similar Harmony with a Rhythm Chief. I dig the old school look of this, but have no idea how it would sound on your guitar.

Thanks for these suggestions, the Rhythm Chief on the Harmony looks good!

[Doctor Jeff]

I have one of those. Lovely guitar. Very resonant—great acoustic sound.

I’m like you—didn’t want to molest a guitar in close-to-perfect condition.

I put a DeArmond RC 1000 on mine—did require drilling 2 tiny holes for the rod. I installed Schatten controls under the pickguard and ran the wire to a 1/8” end pin jack—the Vintage Jack by Tapastring. This did not require drilling out the endpin hole, just replacing the pin with this jack—fits in by friction. Very sturdy.

Vintage Jack | K&K Sound

I pleased with the results both sonically and visually.



I did not have to cut out the pickguard. As I recall I used some kind of spacer to move it over 1-2mm.

[mr. beaumont]

Email Jason at Krivo. I bet he's got something perfect.

[TPMCD]

Thanks for commenting! I saw your Harmony/Rhythm Chief on another post and commented; so glad you saw this! I think I want to do what you did, except have the controls on the pickguard. A few questions if you don't mind:

1. I love the idea of having the jack in the end pin, but I guess you have to use some kind of 1/4" - 1/8" adapter right?

2. I can find the Rhythm Chief online easy enough but having a heck of a time finding the volume/tone controls/pots that would work for this. Any suggestions? I'd probably have someone else do this FYI.

Thanks again for commenting, I might have more questions if you don't mind, since you've basically got what I hope to have!

Tom

[TPMCD]

Email Jason at Krivo. I bet he's got something perfect.

Thanks Jeff! Still one of your subscribers on Youtube, enjoy your playing!

Tom

[Ray175]

Maybe this Kent Armstrong?

https://stores.soundislandmusic.com/...6-pole-narrow/

[TPMCD]

Maybe this Kent Armstrong?

Kent Armstrong Handmade Jazz guitar pickups | sidemount single coil floating style for 6-string archtops | SOUNDISLANDMUSIC.COM

Thanks for commenting, this looks interesting. What I'm not getting is "And with a tap, you can switch between a vintage DeArmond style sound and a P90." I'm thinking would that be a switch, or some different way of wiring it? Anyway, definitely looking at this, thanks for the suggestion.

Tom

[TPMCD]

A member suggested these Kent Armstrong P-90's, might be what I'm looking for, anyone have experience with these pickups?

Kent Armstrong Handwound Series Resin Cast P-90 Pickup Black

Thanks all.

Tom

[Doctor Jeff]

Thanks for commenting! I saw your Harmony/Rhythm Chief on another post and commented; so glad you saw this! I think I want to do what you did, except have the controls on the pickguard. A few questions if you don't mind:

1. I love the idea of having the jack in the end pin, but I guess you have to use some kind of 1/4" - 1/8" adapter right?

2. I can find the Rhythm Chief online easy enough but having a heck of a time finding the volume/tone controls/pots that would work for this. Any suggestions? I'd probably have someone else do this FYI.

Thanks again for commenting, I might have more questions if you don't mind, since you've basically got what I hope to have!

Tom

The Schatten controls can be got here:

https://www.stewmac.com/electronics/...-controls.html

Installation was so easy even I could do it.

The endpin jack was easy too. Minor soldering skills required. Yes you can get a cheap 1/4 to 1/8” adapter (mono) that will work with any guitar cables. It’s much sturdier than it sounds—not going to pull out or break easily.

[TPMCD]

Great, much appreciate the info, thanks Doctor Jeff!

Tom

[Herbie]

A member suggested these Kent Armstrong P-90's, might be what I'm looking for, anyone have experience with these pickups?

Kent Armstrong Handwound Series Resin Cast P-90 Pickup Black

Thanks all.

Tom

Congrats for the great guitar!

I have zero experience on these guitars and on these Kent Armstrongs but I can say that my eyes would not easily adjust to that black resin object attached on that beautiful guitar. Yes, this is totally visual opinion, and everybody likes different visuals, but that side might be worth considering too!

[TPMCD]

Congrats for the great guitar!

I have zero experience on these guitars and on these Kent Armstrongs but I can say that my eyes would not easily adjust to that black resin object attached on that beautiful guitar. Yes, this is totally visual opinion, and everybody likes different visuals, but that side might be worth considering too!

Hey, I appreciate the "esthetic" opinion, thanks! Yeah, that's definitely something I'm thinking about, looks do matter in this case because the guitar is in such good shape...

[Herbie]

Hey, I appreciate the "esthetic" opinion, thanks! Yeah, that's definitely something I'm thinking about, looks do matter in this case because the guitar is in such good shape...

A fine guitar is always a piece of beauty too. I had once an ES165 with a floater. I didn’t like the mini hb so in one occasion I put an Attila Zoller pickup in it. Perfect sound! Pure jazzness!

But eventually my eyes didn’t get used to a black plastic rectangular in a beautiful flamed maple guitar top.

If the pu had a gold cover I would have not removed it ever.

Maybe there was (and is) different ideals of a beautiful guitar, but eyes are different.

[RomanS]

Thanks for commenting, this looks interesting. What I'm not getting is "And with a tap, you can switch between a vintage DeArmond style sound and a P90." I'm thinking would that be a switch, or some different way of wiring it? Anyway, definitely looking at this, thanks for the suggestion.

Tom

A tap means that you can choose between getting your signal from only part of the coil (where it is "tapped"), for a brighter tone, or from the full coil, for a darker, louder tone.
With a tapped pickup, you can wire it without a switch, either from the tap (bright tone), or the full coil (darker tone); or you can use a switch (SPDT - "on/on" type), to choose between full and tapped tones. You could even wire up a blend pot that gradually fades from the tapped to the full tone!