The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Just wondering? Anybody got any clips or tried playing 'em?

    Where these P90s??

    How do they compare to HBs? P90s? Charlie Christian's?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I have the "guitar mike" model on that Kay I picked up (not a rhythm cheif, but a similar idea) and I think the biggest thing is "vibe." Through pretty much any amp, it's 1957, a classic jazz tone that reminds you of jimmy raney or barry galbraith or one of those cats. They create a plain, warm simple tone that's sort of "anti-technology," so they appeal to the side of me that says "quit overthinking things, plug in and play."

    So basically I'm saying part of what's cool about them might be in our heads--technology has certainly advanced far beyond what these low output pups can offer in terms of versatility and fidelity. But the cool factor is immense...and in the end, it's about what makes you want to play more, too.

  4. #3

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    The old DeArmond is a single coil like a Fender pickup but with a more complex tone (having it on a big jazz box helps). Is the thing worth $1,200.00 now? To someone who has a vintage acoustic box and wants the correct sound of the old days, yes.

    My Guild 1978 Artist Award came with one and the former owner (guitar great John Pisano of TJB fame, etc.) removed it and put a modern thingy on there. When I tried it it SOUNDED too bright and modern and I had the tech carefully put the old DeArmond 1100 back on there. Ahhh, a bit mellower, more bass, more lower midrange goodness, less lower treble "splat". I like it a lot better. Also, the vintage vibe really can't be bottled; it's pretty much unique.

    The red Rhythm Chief is around $500.00 or so these days, right? More reasonable but it has no adjustable pole pieces. Sounds great to me though. Can be Johnny Smith-like or Elmore James-like, depending on the guitar (and of course, the player).

    Last edited by Steve Hoffman; 05-25-2010 at 08:43 PM. Reason: Fer-got how to spell..

  5. #4

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    Thanks for the informed replies.

  6. #5

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    I could have sworn someone reissued these, but I can't find them on the web. Am I delusional, or just inspired?

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    I could have sworn someone reissued these, but I can't find them on the web. Am I delusional, or just inspired?
    The actual monkey-on-a-stick setup? Not that I've seen. Some single coil floating pickups claim to have the tone captured, for example, the Kent Armstrong SC model sold on archtop.com:


  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    The actual monkey-on-a-stick setup? Not that I've seen. Some single coil floating pickups claim to have the tone captured, for example, the Kent Armstrong SC model sold on archtop.com:

    Monkey on a stick? Hehe, never heard that one before. Seems it is high time someone reissued it then. They reissue everything else hardware wise for these things, wonder why this hasn't been done?

  9. #8

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    I'd buy one. But the market for floating pickups can't be too large, and most of them are mini-humbuckers.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by derek
    I could have sworn someone reissued these, but I can't find them on the web. Am I delusional, or just inspired?
    Years later ... Guild. DeArmond 1100 Rhythm Chief, 6.60k resonance, gold plated.

  11. #10

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    Just go on the Guild site , they are available and sound as close as you can get to a vintage one for 1/10th the price. Bob

  12. #11

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    Are they worth it? IMO, absolutely. I'm talking about the vintage units. The new ones? They are an absolute steal. They sound great. I haven't tried them with "acoustic" strings--where the old units excelled--but I have with the acoustic-electric sets (i.e., TI JS flats). To me, the new 1100 sounds like the old 1100. I am tempted to buy a handful of them, before they disappear.

  13. #12

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    Setting aside looks, would folks with experience with both recommend the Dearmond or the Kent Armstrong single coil for the gigging (but not rich or famous) jazz guitarist? In other words, how bad is the Dearmond's hum and does it make the,frankly uglier, KA more practical?
    Last edited by ingeneri; 11-20-2015 at 10:56 AM.

  14. #13

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    The Kent Armstrong single coil is also a very good pickup. Nothing bad there. If it were me, and I were looking for a floating pickup to add to an acoustic archtop guitar for gigging, I would buy a Rhythm Chief 1100 from Guild, without hesitation.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by ingeneri
    Aerating aside looks, would folks with experience with both recmend the Dearmond or the Kent Armstrong single coil for the gigging (but not tich or famous) jazz guitarist? In other words, how bad is the Dearmond's hum and does it make the,frankly uglier, KA more practical?
    You never know how bad the room is -- fluorescent lights, etc... Especially with single coils, it's good to have a noise gate or hum debugger pedal on your pedal board.

  16. #15

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    All that's true...lights, etc. I just keep my palm on the bridge between numbers on my Stratocaster. That significantly lowers the hum.

  17. #16

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    I played out with my AP Artist Award last weekend, complete with the re-issue RC 1100. I had no issues at all with hum through a Fender Super Champ, and after our set a guy approached me with a huge smile to tell me that the tone on OGD (Road Song) sounded just like the WM recorded version. That's good enough for me.

  18. #17

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    I love the thick midrange of the DeArmonds... you can hear that sound on a lot of Johnny Smith recordings.

  19. #18

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    Snoskier63,

    Well, alright! That's the tone you want to get. The AP Artist Award is a very fine guitar. With the 1100 it moves into the sublime category.

  20. #19

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    Thanks for the reminder...I needed to order a Reissue 1100 for a new 18" acoustic build...nice to see orders are being taken again.

  21. #20

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    (This was a 5 year old zombie thread until it came back to life yesterday)

  22. #21

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    I've just got a guitar with a vintage dearmond 1100 fitted
    I'm comparing it with Kent Armstrong handmade jazz pickups, floating and set-in, as well as Gibson pickups
    p90s and hum buckers including an original PAF
    i think it is a wonderful pickup, I m surprised at how great it is actually
    it is the sweetest sounding pickup.
    and very low noise, beautifully balanced, not boomy, articulate, clear, warm
    I was originally considering changing to a modern Armstrong SC, (before I'd actually heard it of course)
    thinking it would be noisy. But no, it's great, and pretty loud. They are pretty unusual, and I think well designed,
    The coils were wrapped around 4 magnets, then the E and B magnets were loaded and the coil winding completed, plus the magnets have different diameter per string, and the coil wire is particularly thin, which makes them a nightmare to work on or repair, but I guess DeArmond went to all the extra trouble for a reason
    ive also played a Hofner with a DA 1000 and that also sounded excellent

  23. #22

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    I am a convert, have a new guitar with an old DA 1100, and I'm knocked out by the sound, very sweet, articulate
    plenty of output and very little hum

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    ...and in the end, it's about what makes you want to play more, too.
    In the end, that's what ALL this "gear stuff" is about.

  25. #24

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    Yeah, but zombie thread or no DeArmond pickups are the greatest. Tell you what, though, the Zoller Shadow 48 pickup on my Unity is also particularly fine.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greentone
    Yeah, but zombie thread or no DeArmond pickups are the greatest. Tell you what, though, the Zoller Shadow 48 pickup on my Unity is also particularly fine.

    I'm glad to hear that you like this pickup. I considered getting it a while ago, but wasn't sure how it would sound. I may have to give it a try.