64 Guild single coil teardown

[GAD]

The coil for this pickup was produced by Todd Electronics, but the pickup was assembled by Guild. The very first versions were mounted on the same base plates that had been used for the Franz units and utilized the same white pickup cover until they got their own base plates that could be mounted in a bezel or in a pickguard; that last feature also made them height adjustable.

Here's a photo that shows the first version of the height adjustable style that had a white top and looked a bit like a DeArmond unit on the left. The slightly later version did get an all-chrome cover, which is pictured on the right.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Your level of detailed knowledge never ceases to amaze me.

 

[mavuser]

i have played and owned many Guilds with the chrome covered Todd/Guild pickups. I have a 1964 Jetstar however, with that pickup, and it sounds more like a 50's guitar than a 60s, if that makes any sense. super warm, punchy, wooly, and twangy. maybe it is the pickup, or possibly a cap or something else. the others all sound fantastic also, this one is just a little more creamy sounding.

I almost bought a 1964 X-50 yesterday, with that pickup, and was very curious how that one sounded. Seller was jerking me around though, after i gave her too many chances, and was willing to pay too much money. So I let that one go. she may have been a drunk.

 

[SFIV1967]

Now we have to add Todd to the lexicon.

The EIA source code in 1961 for Todd Electric, Yonkers was 926:



Now I wonder, does that mean that coil is from the 40th week in 1968 ??? EDIT: Chris explains below it is 1964 (the 4) and 068th' day.



Ralf

 

[GGJaguar]

From Fretted America

"Fransch pickups (also known as Franz pickups) were used on 50's and early 60's Guild guitars. The Fransch pickup was patented by Charles Schultz (pat # 2911871, filed Sep. 14, 1954, patented Nov.10,1959). Fransch may be a pseudonym for perhaps FRANk SCHultz. Frank Schultz, was an electronics engineer, and owned a transformer, coil, etc., making company in the 50's and early 60's.

Fransch pickups really work on hollowbody Guilds, Guild freaks are really after these. The later Guild models have DeArmond pickups

Fransch pickups were manufactured in Astoria, Queens and first appeared on the 1953 Guild X-series archtops and the Aristocrat. They were very much hand-made pickups. Guild did not have exclusive rights and Franz sold pickups to other guitar manufacturers as well. They were very much handmade items, and somewhat crudely handmade at that. The bobbins were glued together, not molded, using a type of vulcanized rubber. The top and bottom bobbin pieces were cut at the corners to avoid snagging while winding. Unlike most of the day’s manufacturers, Franz had the foresight (at least for a time in the early 1950s) to create separate models for the neck and bridge, spacing the pole pieces accordingly.

Curtis Novak, who dissected many Franz pickups in preparation for his current reproduction, encountered widely varying readings from vintage models. Typical values are 4.6k for a neck pickup and 4.9k for a bridge. By 1959 DeArmond pickups started replacing the Fransch pickups on some Guilds. Original Fransch pickups are long out of production and highly sought-after which is why Curtis Novak offers accurate reproductions."

And from the past...

Silly question... Why 'Franz' pickups

could a few guys here maybe measure the dc resistance. I did find a winder that rewound a dead franz pickup a while back. I think he would be willing to recreate that pickup if we can get some measurements. his website stated that it was very strong and bright though I think the strong part...

letstalkguild.com

 

[SFIV1967]

And from the past...

See post #15...

 

[AcornHouse]

The EIA source code in 1961 for Todd Electric, Yonkers was 926:



Now I wonder, does that mean that coil is from the 40th week in 1968 ???



Ralf

Usually, it’s manufacturer, year, then day. So, I would read that as the 68th day of 1964.

 

[Default]

Which makes sense, because the seller said it was from a 64 Polara.

 

[SFIV1967]

Usually, it’s manufacturer, year, then day. So, I would read that as the 68th day of 1964.

Ah, o.k., I got confused as I thought it is always Year/Week but that made no sense here...But if 068 is the day that makes perfect sense that it is 1964.

Ralf

 

[Default]

The coil for this pickup was produced by Todd Electronics, but the pickup was assembled by Guild. The very first versions were mounted on the same base plates that had been used for the Franz units and utilized the same white pickup cover until they got their own base plates that could be mounted in a bezel or in a pickguard; that last feature also made them height adjustable.

Here's a photo that shows the first version of the height adjustable style that had a white top and looked a bit like a DeArmond unit on the left. The slightly later version did get an all-chrome cover, which is pictured on the right.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

So, "using the same baseplates" suggests the Guild assembled the Franz' pickups as well? Or was that just a case of Guild buying surplus?

 

[AcornHouse]

Ah, o.k., I got confused as I thought it is always Year/Week but that made no sense here...But if 068 is the day that makes perfect sense that it is 1964.

Ralf

It is usually, (year/week), but that’s the only thing that makes sense here. We know it’s not 1940 (way too early) or 1968 (way too late), and there’s no 68th week.

 

[mavuser]

It is usually, (year/week), but that’s the only thing that makes sense here. We know it’s not 1940 (way too early) or 1968 (way too late), and there’s no 68th week.

68th day of 1964 is a Sunday...March 8, 1964.

I guess Todd Electric Company, Inc. used to go pretty hard!

 

[Default]

Feb. 9, 1964

 

[SFIV1967]

Feb. 9, 1964

???
Since 926 matches the Todd Electric EIA code it can't be a datecode and a datecode would not show just 9 and 2... And 9264 wouldn't even be a US date format.

Ralf

 

[Default]

That's when the Beatles played Ed Sullivan and the guitar market exploded. It was a reply to Eric and may be the reason they were working on a Sunday.

 

[mavuser]

those jetstars are pure gold. i'm back up to 3 now. and always a couple others on the radar.
although i have certainly been distracted by other things recently, i always go back to them

 

[Default]

Why that little wire between the pole pieces? It literally holds the pickup together. There's no screws or anything like that attaching the coils to the base plate.

 

[mavuser]

are u going to fix that thing and rescue some poor old bird with it? make sure u re-wind it on a sunday (tomorrow?)
Todd would be proud!

 

[Default]

I want to figure out how this was made, then go from there. I'm having foot surgery in September, so I will have a normal schedule for a bit.

 

[mavuser]

those are great pictures. more proof to me that the bigger and heavier the magnet, the hotter the pickup. it would be cool to see a Gibson P-90 magnet out of a LP JR, next to this one.

 

[Default]

Baseplate is 1 inch by 2&3/4 inches, not including the mount ears. Haven't measured the magnets with the Tesla meter yet.