Danides Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Hello, I am an italian guitarist playing on cruise ships. On my first day in Helsinki (Finland) I saw this beautiful Eagle from 1987 in a shop and fell in love, after two days I was again in the city and bought it for a good price (a finnish guy asked in this forum about this guitar some weeks before I got it). I put Thomastik bebop (round) 0,12 since I play some jazz but especially pop and blues and my hands aren't very strong, also I feel that the all mahogany construction gives me the chance to put a round string like the TI without sounding too bright . I am considering changing pickup since I believe I might have a richer tone but I don't want to mess much with the original pickguard so my luthier will make a new pick guard that accommodates the new pickup and the new tone control, together with the volume. I am a longtime player and have some really nice guitars (PRS custom 22, 1983 '62 reissue stratocaster, Les Paul Standard, Martin D35, Ibanez AS200) but this is my first ARCHTOP and I'm not sure what could be the best pickup choice for me, I read already some posts and seems that many people likes the Kent Armstrong Magnum 12 pole or other more traditional PAF replicas like Seth Lover or SD59. What about the KA Jazzy Joe ? What would be the difference in tone with a PAF replica? How do I install a standard pickup in a sidemounted and floating position? Any advice? I love Kenny Burrell but don't want to replicate exactly his tone, I'm looking for a rich warm tone (he as huge tone:) but more versatile. Thank you for the great forum, it helped me very much and there are many nice and passionate people here! Daniele De Santis
big bob Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Lollar gold foil, have one in my sweet 16.. Clean and articulate, immediate pick attack, full tonal range not just mids.
Gitfiddler Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Congratulations on your new Heritage Eagle! You might check with archtop.com about the best installation of your pickup. https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html As for which one, there are many choices, some of which you've already mentioned. It becomes a matter of personal taste. Kent Armstrong will wind/build whatever you want, but you need to discuss with him. He built a beautiful 12 pole PAF for my Golden Eagle. I also like Seth Lover pickups in archtops. So many choices! How about a close-up photo of your Eagle? That might help us help you. Ciao!
Guitarbean Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Congratulations on your new Heritage Eagle! You might check with archtop.com about the best installation of your pickup. https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html As for which one, there are many choices, some of which you've already mentioned. It becomes a matter of personal taste. Kent Armstrong will wind/build whatever you want, but you need to discuss with him. He built a beautiful 12 pole PAF for my Golden Eagle. I also like Seth Lover pickups in archtops. So many choices! How about a close-up photo of your Eagle? That might help us help you. Ciao! I second this. The Kent Armstrong 12 pole is fantastic and Kent is a great guy to talk to. The great thing about these is that they can be dialed in for acoustic strings as well. Kent has a secret sauce for that.
littlepaully Posted May 21, 2015 Posted May 21, 2015 I had been looking at using a hand wound KA (as http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/jazz-guitar-pickups/) as a replacement floater for the stock Heritage in my GE. But I am intrigued by the good sounds I hear from a local guy using a Benedetto S-series (http://benedettopickups.com/products.htm) Do any of you have a considered opinion or experience to share about the S-series?
Genericmusic Posted May 22, 2015 Posted May 22, 2015 ...I am intrigued by the good sounds I hear from ... Benedetto S-series (http://benedettopickups.com/products.htm) I've owned and played a B-series and regret ever selling it. Great gear.
morg21279 Posted May 23, 2015 Posted May 23, 2015 make sure you talk to Kent and get the hand-wound one he does, the licensed korean stuff is crap. the benedetto is good, too.
tonedeaf Posted May 24, 2015 Posted May 24, 2015 I had been looking at using a hand wound KA (as http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/jazz-guitar-pickups/) as a replacement floater for the stock Heritage in my GE. But I am intrigued by the good sounds I hear from a local guy using a Benedetto S-series (http://benedettopickups.com/products.htm) Do any of you have a considered opinion or experience to share about the S-series? I have both PUs (Benedetto in an Eastman 805CE and a custom KA in a Custom Eagle). I find I like the tone of the Benedetto better but the KA is way more complex and articulate. I suspect that part of the issue is that I am not much of a musician and I think a more talented musician would like the KA better.
Danides Posted May 24, 2015 Author Posted May 24, 2015 Thank you everybody for the great help you gave me! I decided for the Kent Armstrong but it is almost impossible to understand the models and technical details from the many websites all different from each other :\ For instance on the american website of WDmusic you can see the catalog: http://www.wdmusic.com/kent_armstrong_handwound_humbuckers.html at pag 21 seems that the model KAHW-SVINB12-RES is just what I want and they say it is hand wired by Kent Armstrong in the USA The english website: http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/jazz-guitar-pickups/ doesn't talk about models at all, just a generic "jazz guitar pickups" and it shows the pickup, among others, the 12 pole sidemounted PAF I like, of course they are all hand wired by Kent Armstrong in UK (it seems that Kent Armstrong works at the same time in USA and UK ). I would buy from UK and I will call or write an email but what should I ask for? did you guys chose the alnico V or III ? or should I give the description of the USA website "Hand wound by Kent Armstrong at his U.S. facility. Dual coil PAF® humbucking design with 12 adjustable Allen head polepieces. Black resin cast. Glues to underside of pickguard. 7/16 in. thick. String span: 2 in. ctr/ctr of polepieces. ALNICO V. " ? It took me hours to search in the mess of various KA websites and links and sincerely I did it because of your suggestions, otherwise I would have choosen another pickup like Benedetto to avoid the waste of time and risk of mistakes. It seems that KA does very good pups but lacks in marketing and communication Anyway THANK YOU ALL , you asked for some pictures but I don't know how upload here, I will do it in my media
Gitfiddler Posted May 24, 2015 Posted May 24, 2015 I had Kent custom wind my 12 pole PAF based on his recommended alnico V magnets. Alnico V are what is stated on the archtop.com website also. https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html If you have an opportunity to write or speak directly with Kent Armstrong, I'm sure he'd explain the technical information you seek. https://www.facebook.com/ArmstrongPickupsUK/info?tab=page_info
Danides Posted May 26, 2015 Author Posted May 26, 2015 Just ordered the Kent Armstrong 12 poles from Aaron Armstrong by email, Incredibly fast communication and down to earth person. Can't wait Daniele
SCF Posted May 27, 2015 Posted May 27, 2015 Just ordered the Kent Armstrong 12 poles from Aaron Armstrong by email, Incredibly fast communication and down to earth person. Can't wait Daniele Danides, please give us a review once you've had a chance to dial it in.
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