Pickup

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:42 pm

This pickup was in the Hondo II LP that NickD gave me as a project a while back.

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It didn't match the rest of the fittings. It seem to have rather large heads to the pole-piece screws which I thought a bit ugly. The output seemed low, too, so I replaced it with a humbucker from a PRS SE.
Recently I saw another Hondo II with both pickups like it which made me think again. I took a look at it today

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Hmm. Seems a little low for a humbucker. What's inside?

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sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:16 am

This single coil is kinda of p90, two bar magnets at the bottom, a coil at the top and poll pices inside the coil. Such construction gives a very strong magnetic field because of the two magnets. As I know a majority of Harmonies, Airlines, Supros, Silvertones and Japan electrics from 60's and 70's had single coils under the covers of humbucker

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:25 am

I had a cheap Hondo LP from the 70's and was surprised to find it had a real dimarzio pup, metal braiding and all. Turns out they were called a K-10 or something and were a version of Dimarzio Super 2 pup but without adjustable pole pieces.

Sold it to Fran. Never really got to hear what it sounded like.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:03 pm

Well into the late '90s Epiphone humbuckers were actually constructed like that under the covers, albeit proper double coil. The ones in my G400 straight up melted and I have 4 gold ones after buying an extra set to convert my white LP custom into a triple pickup (but ended up just putting 2 dimarzios in). Chinese epiphones have nicer humbuckers under the covers with proper plastic bobbins.

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:14 pm

That is a pickup from a 70s SG copy by a company called Grenn, a plywood thing with a completely flat fingerboard. The pickup screws were missing so I added some from (iirc) a Guyatone mosrite copy's P90s. I can't remember what happened to the Hondo pickup, but the cover is on the Epiphone Sheraton that Concretebadger now owns.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:29 pm

Dave wrote:I had a cheap Hondo LP from the 70's and was surprised to find it had a real dimarzio pup, metal braiding and all. Turns out they were called a K-10 or something and were a version of Dimarzio Super 2 pup but without adjustable pole pieces.

Sold it to Fran. Never really got to hear what it sounded like.

It wasn't the usual DiMarzio sound for some reason, it was quite microphonic so I moved it on.

The DiMarzio in the Vantage LP I got off Nick D sounds ace, the other pup in it must be the original as it has no branding on the back. Sounds good to.

Sounds daft but it is probably more economical to buy an old MIJ guitar for the decent pickups than look for them seperately.