Pickups I have not used - Your experiences and thoughts

[st.bede]

Here are a couple different PUs that I do not have any real experience with:

TV Jones T-Armonds,
and Lollar Goldfoil

I also wonder about P90s with staples, but have not seen one in a HB size.

In part, my inquiry is with an idea to achieve a closer to an archtop, with a floating PU sound, on my Eastman LA Romeo. I understand that there are some big differences in construction however, I wonder if different PUs might have an decent impact. The guitar by itself has a kinda warm Casino type thing happening.

I appreciate your thoughts.

[whiskey02]

A thin body as in your Romeo will never sound like a full size archtop and I seriously doubt that either of those pickups will work well for you. Anecdotally I have found thin hollow and semi's tend to have a thinner/weaker bass response than a solid body, making them even less like a carved full body. They can of course sound good, just not "like" their ancestors.

[st.bede]

I guess IDK what I am really thinking…

… what should I expect to achieve from the PUs mentioned in a Casino type of guitar…

[whiskey02]

If your guitar is outfitted with Lolar Imperial pups, I would expect a significant decline in the quality of tone. You have a fine guitar with excellent electronics; if you're not happy with it you're better of finding a guitar you do want. Modifying the Romeo is not going to alter it's primary nature.
Have you played through more than just one good quality amplifier? What is the guitar like played unplugged; not that it needs to have a great satisfying acoustic tone, but is it balanced bass, mids, treble, even volume string to string, if you play an F# maj7#11 in first position does each note ring out distinctly or is it just a muddy mass of sound? If any guitar can't pass this basic test before you even plug in, it will never do so no matter what pickups, pots, caps, or amp you use.

[Jimmy Mack]

Hey Whiskey02, really interested in your post here. Can you show how you play that F#Maj7#11 in 1st position? I'd really like to try that test.

[whiskey02]

Play F# maj7 with your index on the root on 2nd fret and you middle finger on the 5th of chord c#. Now move your middle finger onto the f sharp root at 2nd fret on low E string and lay your index down on on c natural, 1 fret below where your middle finger had been before. Strum fast and slowly and pick individual notes too as the chord rings out. On a good quality guitar while the chord rings out you should be able to hear each voice
(note) clearly, not just a mush of sound. Try it in a guitar store with a couple cheapo guitars then play it on a pro level guitar. This is a very important test on a classical that you might be playing Bach on. That's when you really need each voice to be clearly delineated. Same with comping some close voice chords in jazz, really any music.

[st.bede]

FYI it is an Romeo LA w/ SD Fat P90s… however I do dig Lollar PUs. I have the Imperials on a PRS Swamp Ash Special, and some tele type Lollars on my Am Stand Tele. (I forget which ones but I think black not blonde).

I am running the Eastman Romeo LA through a boutique Tweed Deluxe, and Henricksen Jazz 110 (version 2 or 3). However I have been thinking about using my 1965 (non-reverb) Princeton or maybe pulling out my JCA Circuits GR1.6 amp (that amp is scary good)… but I am happy doing the tweed thing for awhile more.