-
If Iremember correctly, the Biltoft HCC is a single coil in a humbucker-size body and has 2 leads in a braided shield. I think the red is the signal lead (hot) and the black is ground, along with the shield. There's only one coil and it has no tap lead, so you can't split the output. Call Pete Biltoft to make sure this is correct. As I found out the hard way, pickup wiring schemes change from time to time and the same model may have different wiring depending on when it was made.
Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
If I'm correct, you need to identify the hot and ground leads from your current pickup and identify the wires from each to the controls. Any coil tap lead currently wired to a switch on the tone pot is useless with the new one, so you'll need to cut and insulate the end. Leaving a long, loose wire inside a guitar is not good practice, especially a hollow body. You need to secure it to something so it doesn't rattle around. The easiest and neatest way to do this is to run it inside a piece of heat shrink tubing along with one of the other wires before you solder your connections. If my memory is right about the color coding, you'd connect the red lead on the new one to the wire running from the pots to the hot lead of the current PU. Connect both the braided shield and the black lead from the new one to the wire from the pots that was connected to the ground lead(s) of the current one. The switch on the tone pot will no longer do anything. Again: check with Pete Biltoft before assuming anything - I could be wrong.
Also ask PB about your pots, since you may want to change them too when going from HB to SC (I don't know the operating parameters of the HCC). Most guitars with humbuckers are supplied with 500k volume pots, but most single coil guitars come with 250k pots. A 500k pot will give a brighter sound - 250k pots are usually used with single coils because their output is brighter than HBs. It's probably safe to assume that your pots are 500k if your guitar was made with the HB in it. If so, and the CC has a typical SC output, you'll probably want to change your pots unless Biltoft has made these specifically to drop into a HB-equipped guitar. But if you decide to do this the cheap and dirty way and just cut the leads, you'll have a bigger job later if it turns out that your pots also need changing.
If it were me, I'd ask Biltoft and do it the right way the first time.
-
07-22-2022 02:41 PM
-
Look at all the words! Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Well, it’s a tech’s problem, because this is too much of a head spin!
-
My thoughts exactly. It’s a 2007 archtop with a single pup whose unique feature was the pull pot that allowed for single coil playing. I’m wondering whether it’s smarter simply to leave it alone. Originally Posted by blille
It’s really still splicing and soldering particularly because you’re not going to be able to split a CC since it’s a single coil even if it’s in a humbucker housing. But I get you may not want to have a dumb non working pull pot functionality
-
2B- Do you use the split? Wondering how useful you find having the option to add the single coil tonal possibility. That being said, are the tones decent? Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
My thoughts exactly. It’s a 2007 archtop with a single pup whose unique feature was the pull pot that allowed for single coil playing. I’m wondering whether it’s smarter simply to leave it alone.
-
You asked Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
If you like the way it sounds now, leave it alone. Swapping pickups just to see how a different one sounds is fun and reasonable to do - but it's a fair amount of work to do right, especially if the new one is not just a drop-in for the old. If there's a reasonable chance you'll want to put the original back in, I would strongly recommend against just cutting and splicing the wires. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
-
Coil splitting is very over-rated, IMO. Benedetto stopped offering the option on all their models long ago. I have one with it, and I don't use it much. The volume drops drastically when it's engaged, and the tone isn't so very different from the full humbucking mode. It's not that difficult to wire in the VVHCC pickup, you just won't be able to split the single coil. On the VV pickups I've had the red lead is hot, and the other is ground. The color does vary with different manufacturers, but Biltoft seems to be consistent with his. Any reasonably competent tech should be able to install the new one successfully, for a reasonable price. An hour of labor should be enough, however much that is where you are. Of course, just leaving it as it is would be the easiest and cheapest option, but easy and cheap are not always the most desirable options. It's yours, so it's your decision.
-
Hi, sbeishline! Yes, I have, and although I just got the guitar a week ago, it’s actually surprisingly good! I was very surprised. I’m not quite ready to go without the functionality of having it. It’s too soon, as I’m in the honeymoon phase! Originally Posted by sbeishline
-
I appreciate knowing the challenges so I can make an informed decision. Much obliged! Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
You asked
If you like the way it sounds now, leave it alone. Swapping pickups just to see how a different one sounds is fun and reasonable to do - but it's a fair amount of work to do right, especially if the new one is not just a drop-in for the old. If there's a reasonable chance you'll want to put the original back in, I would strongly recommend against just cutting and splicing the wires.
-
And if I'm not mistaken, that Biltoft CC is a single coil pickup. So you'll be going without the functionality of a humbucker if you swap it in. Check to be sure I'm correct, but I'm 99% certain that I am. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Hi, sbeishline! Yes, I have, and although I just got the guitar a week ago, it’s actually surprisingly good! I was very surprised. I’m not quite ready to go without the functionality of having it. It’s too soon, as I’m in the honeymoon phase!
-
That’s also the downside of doing a swap. Seems if I’m swapping it’s smarter to go with another humbucker. I’m thinking a Jason Lollar, or something. I’m not a fan of the Asian KA’s. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
-
And now we're back to square one. Why are you considering a swap? Are you unhappy with the way it sounds now? Are you seeking the experience? Is it GAS? Other reasons? Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
If it ain't broken, don't fix it. If it is broken, you have to know the diagnosis before you can treat the problem. Blindly swapping parts for something others like in different guitars for different reasons is not highly likely to work out well. Knowing what you want is critical to getting it. Hope and luck are lousy planning tools.
-
Because I wanted the tone of this pickup. I have a guitar with identical dimensions as this AR503. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Custom Handwound Replacement Vintage and Modern Humbucker Pickups: Charlie Christian - Humbucker Size
-
Sadly, you can't assume that the pickup you like in one guitar will sound the same in another, even if its dimensions are identical. Everything from woods to construction methods to choice of glue to exact placement of parts etc will affect the sound of a guitar. You can't measure the contour thicknesses and gradations of tops well, and that's an important determinant of sound. Even though many claim that pickups should sound the same regardless of the guitar in which they're living, I haven't found that to be true. So you have to try it to know for certain. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
I hope you find what you want!
-
I hear what you’re saying. Each are Eastman’s with a spruce top. So there’s a chance. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
-
All the Charlie Christian type pickups are single coil. There is no humbucking CC pickup. If you want the CC pickup sound, you can't get it from a humbucker. The coil split humbuckers I've tried do not sound like CC pickups. The coils of humbuckers are narrow, because two of them have to fit into one pickup. The VVHCC is a single coil in humbucker size, so the single coil is much wider, giving a fatter sound because it picks up a longer section of the string. I think, based solely on recordings of the latter, that it's reasonably close to the original CC pickup. I've never had the chance to actually play a guitar with an original CC pickup, though.
-
Originally Posted by sgosnell
I've read a lot of reviews that feel the same way, sgosnell. I've also done a bunch of YouTube video research and feel that a lot of the split coil tone sound weak and not worth the effort. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Hi, sbeishline! Yes, I have, and although I just got the guitar a week ago, it’s actually surprisingly good! I was very surprised. I’m not quite ready to go without the functionality of having it. It’s too soon, as I’m in the honeymoon phase!
FWIW 2b, I'm planning to coil split on my current archtop build (slightly smaller than Les Paul sized). I got a Bare Knuckle Mule (7.3K neck) and plan to use the Fralin 7K partial split resistor when I install it. This is Lindy's solution to prevent a wimpy single coil sound, as it splits the signal through the resistor instead of going right to ground and leaves a much stronger/more usable tone (website states ~5.6K if splitting a 7.5K pickup). Clearly this is less risk in my case since I'm designing from scratch and attempting to give this guitar some element of versatility. If you do like having the split option, I guess one cheap ($4 resistor plus $10 shipping) test would be adding the Fralin 7K partial split resistor to your current circuitry and seeing if it improves your single coil tone? Again, it may be a PITA to figure out the electronics, etc and added cost if you require your tech/luthier to do the work..
I may ultimately find it's not worth the fuss, too, but may help you save a few beans if you don't have to buy a new pup!
-
That's a beautiful sound, 2b, and I certainly understand wanting to go for it. Rob had a lot of treble rolled off there, it sounded like. I have two of PB's humbucker-sized CC pickups, one of which was in a Telecaster and the other of which was a floater. Very nice pickups, well-balanced and I enjoyed the tone although the hum drove me a little nuts. I live in a really old house that just is very hummy; I have a Hum Debugger. Pete makes really good pickups and he seems to really have a thing for the Charlie Christian pickup.
You will want to replace the pots with 250Ks and use a .047 capacitor with that pickup. That is far simpler than dealing with the pots that are already in the guitar and the replacements will probably be better quality than the OEM ones. It makes it a little bit fiddly to reinstall but a little planning in advance will minimize that. There have to be instructions and videos somewhere around for that process. Or, there's always the option of paying someone to do it.
for what it's worth, I think it's worth giving a try and checking it out.
-
Just like Cunamara, I too have a humbucker sized Biltoff CC in a Tele and a floater CC on an archtop. Absolutely love the sound, but also struggle with wonky wiring in my house and annoying hum. I was going to call Pete and ask what he could do in a humbucking pickup that comes as close as possible to the sound. I’m reading this thread with interest to see what people recommend for that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
My Comins GCS-1 has a coil split option which I do use. It sounds pretty good in the right musical situation.
I do have a thought about an unused push/pull pot. It would be pretty easy to make it into an On-Off switch for the guitar.
Not a necessity, but can be useful at times.
-
My house is noisy, but I've found that most of the hum comes from electronic devices. Wifi routers and repeaters, bluetooth devices, and all the devices that communicate via wifi and bluetooth, plus TVs, fluorescent and LED lights, all contribute to the electromagnetic noise that the pickups receive and amplify. I don't have what I would consider a huge number of devices, no smart lights or plugs, etc, but I have more than 20 devices on my home network. I don't blame old wiring, I blame new wireless devices. The electromagnetic spectrum in modern homes, and everywhere else, is very active and noisy.
-
Does anyone have a range of what a tech will charge for changing a humbucker?
$300, or $500!?
-
sgosnell: “. I don't blame old wiring, I blame new wireless devices. The electromagnetic spectrum in modern homes, and everywhere else, is very active and noisy.”
This! Ironic in amateur radio years ago we had to worry about interfering with others TVs and stereos.
NOW we have to contend with noise coming into our receivers from, as you said, cheap Chinese wall power blocks, washing machines (esp Samsung), and the worst of all LED lamps.
The thin lines you see are real digital comms. That nasty big line to the right is sweeping across this spectrum and back. It will blank everything in its path. No filter will kill it. Neighbors washer… tough to explain it’s their fault)
jk
KC4XU
-
DIrect replacement with no modifications and no shortcuts will probably run you $75 to $100 by a good luthier or guitar tech. But if you need the wiring and/or pots changed too, it could easily be twice that plus the parts. I've not heard of anyone in our area who charges $300+ just to change one pickup and a pot or two in a full bodied archtop - it's not that difficult or time consuming. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
-
This is the sort of job a guitar tech, not just a luthier, should be able to handle easily. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Kalamazoo prices are probably lower, especially if you prepare the guitar but would be $50-60.
I'd take the strings and bridge off, make an appt, and see if the tech will allow you to watch him/her do the work. If the tech is efficient and skilled, I'd guess it would take half an hour. I'm clumsy and slow but could have it done in an hour. Next time you can do it yourself. The time after that you can teach how to do it. (I exaggerate a little.)
-
An experienced luthier once told me that it's easier to change out a pickup in an archtop. This was a decades ago, before pickups sprouted a lot of new wires.
He didn't explain why. I think that it might be that his hands allowed him to reach into the cavity and position the pots without difficulty. I don't know how he dealt with the ground wire. Probably much harder to do on a semi than a full body.
But, quite easy on a solid body because all the connections are exposed, at least, in the guitars I've seen.
Reply With Quote
Ibanez AG75
Today, 03:52 PM in For Sale