Building /assembling a guitar around the pickups! DeArmond content

WezV

Sporky said:

I am a big fan of MoTS. 

But the red with these pickups and bigsby is already pushing towards a mid 50's Chet... I would struggle not to lean into that aesthetic

OilCityPickups

WezV said:

That's looking good, glad recessing them worked well.... but I still think a more Gretschy style guard should be used   

One of the issues with that concept is that only three mounting screws can be used with the bridge pickup ... unless I totally re route the wiring ... the screw would go straight through a wiring tunnel. I'm exploring all pissybolities  

WezV

In that case I would either extend the control cavity on the back, or add a small route on the front to be hidden under the guard... both should allow a new wiring channel channel to be drilled between the mounting screws

OilCityPickups

WezV said:

In that case I would either extend the control cavity on the back, or add a small route on the front to be hidden under the guard... both should allow a new wiring channel channel to be drilled between the mounting screws

Firstly I'm going to rout the pickup holes to full depth ... that'll allow me to see if I have wiggle room for drilling a parallel tunnel. 
Then the pickups need completed with their springs, and some decision needs to be made re the controls. I'm leaning to a dual concentric tone and volume and a selector switch ... dead simple. 

OilCityPickups

Just for you @WezV I designed and laser cut a mock-up scratch plate in MDF (sprayed silver for shits and giggles) If I do this it will be clear with the reverse sprayed gold, 

Bigsby mounted and alignment checked ... all tickety boo. 

Roland

victorludorum said:

Oil paints work with Osmo.

You can get a thin coat which shows the grain. Pigments tend to be opaque, so it’s difficult to get transparency.

WezV

OilCityPickups said:

Just for you @WezV I designed and laser cut a mock-up scratch plate in MDF (sprayed silver for shits and giggles) If I do this it will be clear with the reverse sprayed gold, 

I think the gold will work really well, maybe with a decal on the back first too - laser cutting some adhesive vinyl,  then peeling it off after painting the guard works well

Personally I would go for a cabronita style guard, but i'm only really weighing in here because it will be another month or so before I can start doing the same for my Gretsch style baritone build, and it does look good as it is

OilCityPickups

My thought was to laser engrave the back of the guard (in reverse obviously) ... fill the engraving with black paint then once dry, spray gold ... a modern update on Gretsch's own method. 

WezV

that will work well.   My diode laser doesn't cut clear materials so it will either be engraving through paint or cutting the decal from something it will work with

OilCityPickups

WezV said:

that will work well.   My diode laser doesn't cut clear materials so it will either be engraving through paint or cutting the decal from something it will work with

Fascinating ... I never knew that was a thing with diode lasers. 

I decided to replace my 300mm wiring harness drill (broke the bugger last year) so I'm going to plug the current problematic wiring hole and re drill ... allowing me to use all four pickup mounting holes ... which has reminded me to CAD and laser up some rubber pickup gaskets. God knows what I did B.L. (Before Laser). 

Dave_Mc

OilCityPickups said:

Just for you @WezV I designed and laser cut a mock-up scratch plate in MDF (sprayed silver for shits and giggles) If I do this it will be clear with the reverse sprayed gold, 

Bigsby mounted and alignment checked ... all tickety boo. 

Wow that's starting to look really good indeed

OilCityPickups

Dave_Mc said:

OilCityPickups said:

Just for you @WezV I designed and laser cut a mock-up scratch plate in MDF (sprayed silver for shits and giggles) If I do this it will be clear with the reverse sprayed gold, 

Bigsby mounted and alignment checked ... all tickety boo. 

Wow that's starting to look really good indeed

Thank you sir :-)

OilCityPickups

Well work has been progressing ... the body was always going to be a mild relic anyway as it's kicked around the workshop in  a partially completed finish for five years ... still popped a couple of extra coats of Tru-Oil on just to even things up.

The neck came from Guitar Necks UK on eBay, cost £80 ... and needed a serious fret levelling and crowning ... as well as fret end shaping ... par for the course with Chinese necks I've found. 

Springs arrived yesterday ... and this morning I pootled down to the workshop. Installing the springs was easy ...and I used a fillet of Locktite CA to make sure they don't come loose. 




Well I fully shielded the pickup compartments with copper tape ... then connected earth jumpers to the pickup surrounds, so hopefully the somewhat noisy reputation of Dynasonics won't be an issue. 

Something that was an issue however was the fact I had to dowel the body under the bridge and shift the bridge back nearly 3/4 of an inch due to me fouling up on the initial bridge positioning!  Hey ho ... nothing shows as the half bridge is large enough to cover my mistake!  I will have to pop the bridge off again mind, as I need to trim down the little hoops of steel supporting the intonation screws by a bugs dick ... the top and bottom E strings may just touch them. 

I fixed up the single Bourns 500k volume pot and selector switch ... plugged into the workshop amp ... and hey presto, life when tapping pickups ... and everything metering out as it should. 

Monday I shall string up and do the nut ... but I may need grooved brass bridge saddles, as I really need to narrow the string spacing a tiny bit as the Dynasonics are 50mm spaced. 

OilCityPickups

And ... aside from a scratch plate ... it's done 

Insanely, I just cut the nut and no other adjustment was needed ... the action was perfect and the intonation near to spot on. 

Sound wise it's astonishing., the long magnets and early style 44awg/12.7k DCR give exactly the tone you'd expect from a 50s Gretsch! Clear and clean on an amp with loads of headroom ... with the hint of a Tele like snarl in the bridge position. Into a an amp wound up a bit the snarl becomes more and more angry. 
There's twang a plenty ... I caught myself playing 'Ghost Riders In The Sky' with a typical, deep Dynasonic rumble and twang, and you can even venture into ACDC rhythm tones. I'm glad I copper lined the pickup routs, as the 3/4 Faraday cage has made the pickups very quiet for single coils. 

This may well end up as my number one Tele ...  

paulnb57

Thats a stunner!

OilCityPickups

paulnb57 said:

Thats a stunner!

Thanks ... I actually can't stop playing it ... my good god those Dynasonics are powerful! 
I didn't have to change the bridge saddles ... but I may get some compensated brass ones at some point. That will probably coincide with fitting an Earvana nut, and I probably need a Chet Atkins style wire trem arm to give a bit more body clearance at some stage. 

Choivert

This looks brilliant. You decided on a pick guard yet? 

OilCityPickups

I may go with a clear one ... my plan was to cut several and see what looked best.
I still am gobsmacked by the tone ... I haven't heard a modern (short magnet) Dynasonic with that power and authority ... I honestly think it must come down to pure mass of magnet material!   

Oh yes ... the tuners will get changed to a locking set in nickel ... I used the spares from my 7 string to get the guitar up and running :-)

PhilKing

I'm starting to feel there may be a new OCP Custom Shop Masterwound pickup in the offing.  Glad that it is giving you the sound you wanted after all the work youwent through to repair them.

OilCityPickups

PhilKing said:

I'm starting to feel there may be a new OCP Custom Shop Masterwound pickup in the offing.  Glad that it is giving you the sound you wanted after all the work youwent through to repair them.

Lol making long magnet Dynasonics would be hugely financially impractical :-)  Possibly using these to find a way to get the same sound from shorter magnet pickups might be a thing ... but at the moment it's the guitarist not the pickup winder that's in heaven. I came home from the Workshop ... guitar strapped to my back (I walk for the exercise) ... and ever since I've been going from Brian Setzer to Link Wray ... via Grady Martin and Hank Garland!  To me those pickups are more precious than a pair of 1959 PAFs ... I mean I can wind a pair of those anytime ... these are 1956 in a box - but put some drive on them and you've got 'Rock This Town' and Rumble in Brighton.