Acoustic guitar pickups?

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:57 pm

I bought an old Dearmond to use with archtops. It looks like this one. I don't know what I was expecting, but I saw how simply they are put together. I mean--of course, right?

It occurred to me that I could strap about any old goddamn pickup to a pot/cap/pot/switch setup like a Musicmaster and be able to play any acoustic instrument through it. There would be ground and shield to consider like with any permanent pickup in an archtop. Has anyone ever monkeyed with this before? String spacing is the only unknown. But fuck, it's close enough to register something.

I think this means I could tape a pickup to my banjo or mandolin and record it into GarageBand. Hell, I may as well try it. Sorry to be so daft about electronics, but when I came up, people didn't just set about to take shit apart like they do now. 25 years ago I had a mando with this tiny Barcus Berry piece of shit pickup that stuck to the body with some little goober of black adhesive. I don't remember the sound quality, but it seemed lousy back then.

THIS stacked P90 looks like a sweet archtop pup, BTW. $40 BIN. The guy claims he doesn't know if it is vintage or not. Looks like a monster.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:23 pm

I love old DeArmond soundhole pickups like the ones Elmore James and Bowie used. My friend got one in a Stella acoustic and wouldn't fuckin' sell it to me. I can't remember the model name but they're the one-piece type with a roller knob next to the pickup and no polepiece for the B string. I was scouring eBay for them for ages but gave up because they always ended up going for a lot of money. I like the look of those 2-piece ones too. Classic.

On the farewell Ziggy motion picture soundtracky thing, you can hear it at the beginning of "My Death" before someone sticks a mic in front of Bowie's guitar. He strums a bit then tells the audience to be quiet, and when he starts playing again it's mic'd (I think in the film you hear more mic'd guitar whereas on the soundtrack you hear more of the dearmond?). Also BBC session versions (bowie @ the beeb) of "rock and roll suicide" and "queen bitch" and stuff with acoustic guitar intros.

Though really I wouldn't say they have any single sound on their own, depends what you stick 'em on and what you then run them through. Bowie's guitar sounds like a 12-string electric on those recordings, and others who used them have gotten just regular archtop electric type sounds out of 'em. The only thing you can count on is that it shouldn't sound much like an acoustic instrument... I wouldn't say "lousy" but there's a reason people have been working on better alternatives to amplifying acoustics ever since (and still failing). I did try to replicate the dearmond style by using a strat pickup but it did not sound good at all, even with nickel strings.

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:07 pm

I did this to my Alvarez

The bridge and strings aren't grounded so I suffer with the annoying buzz.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:10 pm

i've always wanted to do that to an acoustic.
how would you ground it, since there are no routes?

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:12 pm

Josh wrote: how would you ground it, since there are no routes?

You don't. That's why I live with the buzz.

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:15 pm

you could always try to make a small copper tub underneath the pickup that clamps to the same piece of plastic that the pickup is mounted to.

bassintom · Post by **bassintom** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:16 pm

But you still wouldn't be grounding the strings and bridge. You would have to swap the bridge to a metal bridge so you can run a wire to it.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:23 pm

this is how i did mine.
some sort of single coil hot rail.. purchased for about $25.00 in 1997.. so i really don't know what it is.
then after buying this guitar in 2004 i decided to finally do something with my spare hot rail.
no volume, no tone, direct to a jack, that doubles as my strap holder.

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:53 pm

props on the tarsands sticker, i'm betting it gets some looks in edmonton

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:01 pm

yes, but how does it sound?

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:09 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:yes, but how does it sound?

it sounds mean., and also like an acoustic.
it gets great controllable feedback.
smaller amps it sounds more like an acoustic, on a marshall, it sounds like a guitar plugged into a marshall
its an old video.. but the same setup
[youtube][/youtube]

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:35 am

This is obviously overpriced for being a piece of hobby brass with some holes, but it would do the trick:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... _Mate.html

Just solder a ground wire to that and you're good to go. All you need to do with any electric is have the strings grounded.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:40 pm

shouldn't you put electric strings on it? The pickup doesn't "pickup" the bronze vibrations, so technically all you'll hear is the tiny tiny steel thread on the inside of the string

or maybe i'm wrong, beats me

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:35 pm

Great feedback, dudes. I knew this was something worth trying. Rails are a good idea too. I can drill holes in brass and make something or other. I also like using the existing endpin hole for the jack.

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:57 pm

Haze wrote:shouldn't you put electric strings on it? The pickup doesn't "pickup" the bronze vibrations, so technically all you'll hear is the tiny tiny steel thread on the inside of the string

or maybe i'm wrong, beats me

I don't see why the core would be thinner in acoustic strings? If anything it would be thicker since acoustic strings tend to be higher gauge than electric.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:01 pm

But bronze isn't ferromagnetic, and nickel is.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:04 pm

I thought that pickups won't "hear" the vibrations on bronze wound strings like they do on nickel wound strings.

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:07 pm

Will · Post by **Will** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:16 pm

That's true - electric PUPs are designed for nickel-plated steel strings, not bronze-wound strings.

If you get a pup with adjustable pole pieces, no problem.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:48 pm

i should mention taht i play nickle wound strings on my acoustic, i think it currently has 13's on it.