Building /assembling a guitar around the pickups! DeArmond content

TheMarlin

Damn cool. Congratulations 
I’d love to have a go on that

Dave_Mc

Yay that's awesome! 

OilCityPickups said:

I may go with a clear one ... my plan was to cut several and see what looked best.

Does it need a pickguard? It looks pretty good already, though it'd probably also look pretty good with a Cabronita-style guard. Obviously if you can be bothered to cut a bunch, that'll be the thing. Seeing the real thing next to it will usually tell you instantly whether it works or not...

OilCityPickups said:

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 so the newer ones don't have the same magnets? I was sort of looking at your build a bit horrified at how much bother you had fitting the pickups... I kind of suspect (having never tried them!) that I'd like Dynasonics, but they seem a bit of a pain to fit to a guitar that's not already built for them. 

FelineGuitars

very nice project 

DartmoorHedgehog

That was a really interesting read - thanks for posting that.  I had no idea dynasonics were so unusually constructed. Looks like a cylinder head with valves.

I'm quite envious of that guitar as well. I've always had the idea that I don't like Fenders (I've always played more Gibsonesque designs, and can't stand strats) but I don't think I've ever played a Telecaster and that one with those pickups and the Bigsby is definitely calling me over to "the other side".

OilCityPickups

Dave_Mc said:

Yay that's awesome! 

OilCityPickups said:

I may go with a clear one ... my plan was to cut several and see what looked best.

Does it need a pickguard? It looks pretty good already, though it'd probably also look pretty good with a Cabronita-style guard. Obviously if you can be bothered to cut a bunch, that'll be the thing. Seeing the real thing next to it will usually tell you instantly whether it works or not...

OilCityPickups said:

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 so the newer ones don't have the same magnets? I was sort of looking at your build a bit horrified at how much bother you had fitting the pickups... I kind of suspect (having never tried them!) that I'd like Dynasonics, but they seem a bit of a pain to fit to a guitar that's not already built for them. 

All the ;'easier to fit' modern ones have shorter magnets or short magnets and no 'height mechanism' ... I think this is one of the major causes of differences in tone, that combined with stepping up a wire gauge as the modern ones are. Most modern ones are around the 8k 43awg mark ... mine were some of the very first Dynasonics: and were about  12.7k and 44awg wire ... which is how I rewound them.   DartmoorHedgehog said:

That was a really interesting read - thanks for posting that.  I had no idea dynasonics were so unusually constructed. Looks like a cylinder head with valves.

I'm quite envious of that guitar as well. I've always had the idea that I don't like Fenders (I've always played more Gibsonesque designs, and can't stand strats) but I don't think I've ever played a Telecaster and that one with those pickups and the Bigsby is definitely calling me over to "the other side".

Really only the scale and body shape are Fender-esque ... 

Dave_Mc

OilCityPickups said:

All the ;'easier to fit' modern ones have shorter magnets or short magnets and no 'height mechanism' ... I think this is one of the major causes of differences in tone, that combined with stepping up a wire gauge as the modern ones are. Most modern ones are around the 8k 43awg mark ... mine were some of the very first Dynasonics: and were about  12.7k and 44awg wire ... which is how I rewound them.   

Yeah that's quite a bit of difference in specs, and I'm guessing that would change the tone substantially...  

OilCityPickups

The bass and mids on the old ones are insane
I think I may need to do some demos

impmann

How different are these, to a genuine Gibson staple? I'd heard that the staple pickup was created because Les found the P90 too 'flubby' and so retrofitted DeArmonds under the original P90 pickup covers on his own guitars. I read that Gibson obviously didn't like that so put the staple on the LPC so that Les didn't need to mod his guitars... he did, but that was because he loved tinkering...

OilCityPickups

They have quite a bit of the staple about them ... not a hint of flubb in there. But they feel a little 'ruder' if you get my meaning ... the bridge pickup especially has a big dose of 'angry Tele' if you turn the wick up a bit. 'Both pickups on' is Travis picking heaven, everything popping and sparkling ... loads of clarity and attack. 
As you may have gathered ... I love these, and for playing 'Americana' I think you have to go some to beat them. They actually sound great with a fuzz for White Stripes kinda stuff too! 

Dave_Mc

OilCityPickups said:

The bass and mids on the old ones are insane
I think I may need to do some demos

Yeah that would be great 

normula1

What a fantastic result.

Sonic

Awesome build, I have the same idea in mind.  You mentioned using a blender or pan pot rather than a 3 way, any reason you plumped for the latter in the end?  I was considering the relative merits of volume/tone for each pickup, or a master volume and pan/blender. Or what you have.  Cheers

OilCityPickups

Sonic said:

Awesome build, I have the same idea in mind.  You mentioned using a blender or pan pot rather than a 3 way, any reason you plumped for the latter in the end?  I was considering the relative merits of volume/tone for each pickup, or a master volume and pan/blender. Or what you have.  Cheers

In the end I had such a fantastic tone from both pickups I went 'soddit' I don't need a tone, so I have a volume and pickup selector only ... 

Sonic

OilCityPickups said:

Sonic said:

Awesome build, I have the same idea in mind.  You mentioned using a blender or pan pot rather than a 3 way, any reason you plumped for the latter in the end?  I was considering the relative merits of volume/tone for each pickup, or a master volume and pan/blender. Or what you have.  Cheers

In the end I had such a fantastic tone from both pickups I went 'soddit' I don't need a tone, so I have a volume and pickup selector only ... 

yes, that’s a good call.  I suppose if you’d wound them to 13k like the originals there’s no need. 

Neilybob

OilCityPickups said:

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 ...  

Looks amazing!  Bet it sounds even better. 

Personally I’d ditch the scratch guard as it looks great without. I still don’t fully understand why we attach a nasty piece of plastic to a beautiful piece of lumber. 

OilCityPickups

I agree ... I don't think I can be bothered to fit a scratchplate ... it looks, sounds and feels great  ...  so 'job done'. 

A job left to do is to fit a longer trem spring ... the Bigsby came with a 3/4" and the arm is WAY too low with 9.5 D'addarios. Spring ordered ... 
In the meantime it looks like after a longish period of 'resting' as they say in the theatre business ... I may have started a band again  ... indirectly through this guitar :-)
Watch this space.