Heritage Golden Eagle floating pickup options?

[Byrdman]

I recently bought a '94 Golden Eagle (GE) in excellent condition, but think the floating pickup could sound better. I'm using D'Addario Chromes that I bought from Rich Severson.

It appears that the GE floating pickup simply plugs into the pickguard, but I could be wrong. If it's a plug-in, it would be nice to try a different Heritage floating pickup and perhaps find an improved tone - it's the high E that I don't like and I'd like the overall tone to be more Gibson jazz-box like. I've raised the action to increase the distance between the pickup and the high E and that helped. I'd like this guitar to sound like Rich's GE with a floating pickup, but it doesn't. I know he's EQing his tone using a Quilter Mach 2, and maybe that's the secret of his jazz tone.

I called the Heritage factory a few minutes ago and got an answering machine. They have a contact form that no longer works and I'm wondering whether their customer service is inactive.

Has anyone been along this road recently?

[deacon Mark]

I would get a bartolini. I have this one on my Heritage Johnny Smith and possibly the best pickup I have heard, certainly as good as they get.
Jazz Guitar Humbucker - 5J - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics

[Gitfiddler]

Congratulations on your new-to-you Heritage Golden Eagle!

I own a '93 Golden Eagle and many years ago, replaced the Heritage #3 floating pickup with a Kent Armstrong 12-Pole floating pickup. The sound is warmer and more balanced string to string than the original. I've never tried a Bartolini but have never read a bad review of them.

Here's where you can order a KA pickup if interested.

ac accessories

[David B]

It appears that the GE floating pickup simply plugs into the pickguard, but I could be wrong. If it's a plug-in, it would be nice to try a different Heritage floating pickup and perhaps find an improved tone - it's the high E that I don't like and I'd like the overall tone to be more Gibson jazz-box like. I've raised the action to increase the distance between the pickup and the high E and that helped. I'd like this guitar to sound like Rich's GE with a floating pickup, but it doesn't. I know he's EQing his tone using a Quilter Mach 2, and maybe that's the secret of his jazz tone.

I've just looked up images of Heritage Golden Eagles with floating pickups. I strongly suspect that the pickup has a tab that is affixed to the underside of the pickguard, either with glue/epoxy or a screw. I'm not aware of any "plug-in" system for floating pickups. One of the downsides to floating pickups is a lack of industry standardisation for sizing and mounting.

The Bartolini pickup that Mark linked is a fine pickup, but it attaches directly to the neck rather than the pickguard. You might not want to drill holes in your guitar's neck before looking at other options.

I don't know what pickup you currently have on yours but photos of similar guitars suggests a typical Kent Armstrong looking pickup. You might try a custom Kent Armstrong humbucker or something by Pete Biltoft (aka Vintage Vibe Guitars), a popular pickup maker here on the forum.

[Byrdman]

The Heritage floating pickup on my '94 GE is held in place by two 3"-long brass pins that fit snugly into a 1/4"-thick block of maple under the pickguard. About 5/8" of the brass pins go into the maple block. The remaining lengths of the pins go through holes in the end of pickup cover and are glued in place inside the cover on each side of the small humbucker. The pickup lead is routed through a hole in the center of the maple block and over to the volume pot. Once the end of the lead is unsoldered from the pot, the floating pickup can be disconnected from the pickguard by simply pulling it off - no glue or screws, just the two snugly fit brass pins.

[Max405]

I love the elegant design of the pickup connection to the pickguard.
Do yourself a favor. Send the entire pickguard/pickup assembly to Kent Armstrong. It most likely will come apart at the rca connector. He will build one of his magical pickups into your existing structure. It will look stock, but that’s where it ends.. When you get it back, you will be blown away by the full, crisp and LOUD sound.
Call Kent. He is a very helpful guy.
Joe D

[Woody Sound]

Kent Armstrong hand made 12 pole. I swapped one in on my Heritage JS and it was wonderful. It clipped onto the neck. I like that idea of sending the whole unit to Kent, including the guard. I know he has a way of installing his into the original Heritage pickup cover. But then of course then you can’t easily adjust the poles on the guitar unless you drill 12 little holes in the cover, so I just went with the standard KA mount. I would try to preserve the original assembly as much as possible in case you ever need to sell the guitar.

[Marty Grass]

Kent does a superb job at a decent price.

I have not had any problem with the stock Floating #3. It is a warm, not hot, pickup and has a thinner tone (no mud).

Rob Doolittle builds custom pickups that mount on the the pickguard and is now the director of repairs at Heritage. He has made pickups for many years and works out of his basement shop. He's brilliant. He made a single coil pickup that replaced a Floating #3 on a Heritage. I'm a fan of that.

Kalamazoo Guitar Company – Passion Drives Us, Music Fuels Us

[deacon Mark]

This is how my Heritage Johnny Smith is set up and frankly I like the way the Bartolini looks it sits very nice and tight, looka right and sound is fantastic.

[Woody Sound]

I’ve posted on this before, swapping pickups is the most frustrating thing about gear adjustments for me, because after listening to the new one, I can’t remember how the previous one sounded a day or so ago (unless extreme).

[Hammertone]

The Heritage floating pickup on my '94 GE is held in place by two 3"-long brass pins that fit snugly into a 1/4"-thick block of maple under the pickguard. About 5/8" of the brass pins go into the maple block. The remaining lengths of the pins go through holes in the end of pickup cover and are glued in place inside the cover on each side of the small humbucker. The pickup lead is routed through a hole in the center of the maple block and over to the volume pot. Once the end of the lead is unsoldered from the pot, the floating pickup can be disconnected from the pickguard by simply pulling it off - no glue or screws, just the two snugly fit brass pins.

Like this:

[Byrdman]

Exactly!

[Max405]

Martygrass, with your permission, I can show what the underside of the pickup will look like after Kent Armstrong does the conversion. I have a nice picture of the pickup on your guitar. You bless, I post.
JD

[vernon]

+1 for sending the whole pickup/pickguard assembly to Kent Armstrong to wind a new PAF in the existing structure. He also swapped the 250 pots out for 500’s. Price was very reasonable and the tone was significantly improved… added a wonderful acoustic dimension.

[Byrdman]

Thanks for the advice, guys. My Heritage GE pickguard is on its way to Kent in Vermont for a floating pickup swap. I also picked up a Quilter MicroPro Mach 2 Combo 8 amp that arrived yesterday.

[lawson-stone]

I recently bought a '94 Golden Eagle (GE) in excellent condition, but think the floating pickup could sound better. I'm using D'Addario Chromes that I bought from Rich Severson.

It appears that the GE floating pickup simply plugs into the pickguard, but I could be wrong. If it's a plug-in, it would be nice to try a different Heritage floating pickup and perhaps find an improved tone - it's the high E that I don't like and I'd like the overall tone to be more Gibson jazz-box like. I've raised the action to increase the distance between the pickup and the high E and that helped. I'd like this guitar to sound like Rich's GE with a floating pickup, but it doesn't. I know he's EQing his tone using a Quilter Mach 2, and maybe that's the secret of his jazz tone.

I called the Heritage factory a few minutes ago and got an answering machine. They have a contact form that no longer works and I'm wondering whether their customer service is inactive.

Has anyone been along this road recently?

You need to post a picture of this guitar! We love to see them!

[1966Viking!]

I own 2001 Golden Eagle. The floating pickup bangs the neck. Any fixes?

Thanks

[Woody Sound]

My HJS’s original pu was attached to the pot with an RCA connector.

[Rickco]

I own 2001 Golden Eagle. The floating pickup bangs the neck. Any fixes?

Thanks

Got a picture? I cant quite visualize what banging means. Has the mounting been changed from the stock method with the brass rods?
Should be an easy fix. As noted most came with the PU connected by RCA making it easy to take the whole assembly off with 2 screws and inspect.

[Marty Grass]

I haven't heard of that before. It can bang the top, the fix being felt disks placed under the pickup. The same thing should work by cutting the disks in half and sticking them between the neck and the pickup side. Also, the pickguard can be rotated slightly at the side brace.

Kent Armstrong does a masterful job rebuilding the Heritage Floating #3. It won't change the appearance but will give a balanced higher output. He's done this many times and will customize the magnets and wrapping to what you want.

It you want the maximine stability of the pickup without rounting the top, the KA 12 pole neck mount is really as good as it gets. You can send him the pickguard. I think he will make the pickup cutout fit his PAF.

I may be in the minority, but I do like the Floating #3. But I also like a hotter pickup.

Rob Doolittle, whom I mentioned above, is now in charge of the Heritage repair service at Heritage. He also designs new models for them and builds their pickups. He has a shop in his basement in which he does custom work on the side. I believe he still builds custom pickups and can do almost anything. He is gifted. He replaced a Floating #3 on a Super Eagle with a single coil with very little hum. When I picked up the guitar, he actually had three made, each with different outputs. He had tried all three and had an opinion of which he thought sounded the best for the instrument. I repeated the comparison and agreed.

Here is his website. Pickups – Kalamazoo Guitar Company

I'll add that Rob has excellent judgement. I brought him a used archtop with several dings in the top and asked about drop filling that would match the finish. He advised against it. He said that dings are common in a 30-some year old guitar. Drop filling will never fully match and will look non-authentic. I'm sure he's right.

[Gitfiddler]

Here's a shot of my 1993 Golden Eagle w/Kent Armstrong 12 pole floating pickup.
I put four tiny felt pads under the pickup as a precaution, but they do not touch the top.

Best of all it plays and sounds amazing!

[bluejaybill]

The 12 pole does sound. great, and best of all, being able to adjust both poles really allows you to balance the strings!

Heartily recommended.

[Marty Grass]

Martygrass, with your permission, I can show what the underside of the pickup will look like after Kent Armstrong does the conversion. I have a nice picture of the pickup on your guitar. You bless, I post.
JD

of course!

[1966Viking!]

Thanks for getting back to me. I had a senior moment, the p/u bangs the top of the guitar. All is original. A luthier in Nashville glued a piece of Velcro to the bottom of the p/u. Is there a way to adjust the p/u so that it is truly floating? When I play and rest my right hand fingers on the pick guard it pushes the p/u down so that it connects with the top.Hence the banging. Forgive me for not replying earlier. Life sometimes interferes with life
Regards.

[1966Viking!]

I really appreciate the feedback. I looked at a few of the pictures and saw the same solution that resolved the issue. No bangs or buzzes. By the way I play through a 1946 Gibson GA-50.
Peace