My Artist Award has an original, plain gold, floating pickup with no adjustable pole pieces.....Whatever strings I use, the first string is always weak... considerably weaker than the other strings. It makes the guitar unplayable electrically to my mind... The only solution I can think of is to change the pickup. This is problematic since it is mounted directly on the pick-guard.... also the replacement would have to be exactly the same size. (I had the same problem with a Gibson 165 with a floating BJB pickup...My solution there was to leave the guitar in the case....which is where it still is!) I would love to know, if anyone else has had this problem and perhaps found a different solution, before the guitar is altered dramatically or (more likely) relegated to the 'disused pile' ...And, if you did change the pickup, what did you replace it with? Thanks in anticipation, Keith
Artist Award pickup problem
- Thread starter Keef T100
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SFIV1967
Venerated Member
Hi Keith, welcome to LTG! Let us know what year your AA is from, sounds like a 90ies one with this pickup?
No really sure what would cause one string to be weaker.
Source of last 3 pictures: @Knash : http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/HB1.html
Ralf
No really sure what would cause one string to be weaker.
Source of last 3 pictures: @Knash : http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/HB1.html
Ralf
Last edited:
Hi...That is indeed the same pickup. The guitar is a 1996 I believe...it has never been played....It is 'as new'...as is the monstrously heavy original case. I have had the guitar for a couple of years, having wanted one for many years. (I have a well loved T100 1964, which I have had since 1976...single coils...superb guitar and I have a lovely X170, which I play a lot. ) Beautiful as the Artist Award is, the string imbalance and, in fact, the general weakness of the pick up, make it unusable. (Perhaps that is why it has never been played!) Would you suggest that the pickup is actually faulty and I should replace it with the same type or is there a quality replacement with adjustable pole pieces?...Could the problem be the result of the extra string width of the Artist Award? If there is something wrong with the pickup, perhaps it could be repaired....I am tempted to believe that it just isn't a good pickup.... anyway...thank you so much for your time and consideration...Keith
SFIV1967
Venerated Member
We have AA owners, lets wait what they will say. I have no experience with this pickup but also have never really heard anything bad about it. So I tend to believe not the pickup is the problem, but it could be something on the wiring or the potentiometer(s) or the capacitor or the output socket. All kind of possibilities.
EDIT: I'm wrong, see posts #6 and #7!
Ralf
EDIT: I'm wrong, see posts #6 and #7!
Ralf
Last edited:
Hello, I don't have experience with your guitar or specific pickup but I am a guitar tech and a hobbyist builder.
I can tell you that I've ran into dead strings on a few occasions and rarely is it a pickup problem.
I can suggest one thing that might help - is the string dead when you play acoustically? If so, that eliminates the pickup.
Second, have you tried changing string Guage? If you have and you noticed a difference, you may have a nut or saddle issue.
The final, and most discouraging possibility is a neck issue but I wouldn't even suggest this to be the problem unless I physically inspected the instrument.
If the instrument sounds perfect when you play acoustically, then I would start to do some measurements on your pickup.
I know how frustrating this can be! I hope something I said helps in some way.
Best of luck! and I'll be watching to see if I can learn something from this myself.
I can tell you that I've ran into dead strings on a few occasions and rarely is it a pickup problem.
I can suggest one thing that might help - is the string dead when you play acoustically? If so, that eliminates the pickup.
Second, have you tried changing string Guage? If you have and you noticed a difference, you may have a nut or saddle issue.
The final, and most discouraging possibility is a neck issue but I wouldn't even suggest this to be the problem unless I physically inspected the instrument.
If the instrument sounds perfect when you play acoustically, then I would start to do some measurements on your pickup.
I know how frustrating this can be! I hope something I said helps in some way.
Best of luck! and I'll be watching to see if I can learn something from this myself.
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
I have that pickup on my AA and it's terrible due to the string imbalance. I mainly play the guitar acoustically so it isn't an issue currently. Nevertheless, I'm still looking for suitable replacement.
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Like GG I have the same guitar with the same pickup, and the pickup is terrible. I've done some research into replacements and looking at probably 10 different options have never found one that fits the cutout in the guard.
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It's quite probably the pickup. The guitar I received had someone try to solve this by putting extra felt under one side. I have a review close to done on this guitar and here's a pic of one person's solution:
SFIV1967
Venerated Member
Would it be possible to rewind the pickup? Is it epoxied into the housing?
Ralf
Ralf
Welcome, Keef! Looks like answers are coming in!
walrus
walrus
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More will be revealed when I post the review, but I doubt any rewinding would help.
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I couldn’t say. Yours had extra felt on the bass side to make it sit higher like that?
Sort of a general question, since I've never heard of this issue before. Is it me, or should this "bad pickup" problem absolutely never happen? I mean, this isn't a Fender Squire, it's a high end guitar, that in all other respects is very high quality and beautiful! And yet, more than one LTGer is claiming they have the same problem...
walrus
walrus
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Honestly, I think it’s a disgrace. The guitar is absolutely beautiful and sounds amazing unplugged.
Rambozo96
Senior Member
What stops you from rigging a Dearmond Monkey on a stick to a newly made pickguard? I mean original ones are quite expensive and some people don’t like the new ones but surely they have a better balance of string volume.
matsickma
Senior Member
Can you replace the bobbins with those from a HB1 or SD1's?
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
No, the size format is thinline. A standard humbucker is too deep as well as too long and too wide.
Nuuska
Enlightened Member
Hello
I used to have AA which came with DeArmond. I made a new pickguard using my DE pg as template - and bought a Gibson BJ ??? - small humbucker that I mounted on pg. It worked wonderfully - except that E & B strings were too loud. I opened the pup - pulled one magnet out - put it in the wice - and whacked with a hammer the protruding 1/2 inch off - it snapped on the side of toolbox - so I still have it.
Then I put the pup back together and voila' - the balance was corrected.
For me and my playing - that is.
So - Keef T100 - have you tried to tilt the pup so that the thicker strings are less close than than the thinner strings?
I used to have AA which came with DeArmond. I made a new pickguard using my DE pg as template - and bought a Gibson BJ ??? - small humbucker that I mounted on pg. It worked wonderfully - except that E & B strings were too loud. I opened the pup - pulled one magnet out - put it in the wice - and whacked with a hammer the protruding 1/2 inch off - it snapped on the side of toolbox - so I still have it.
Then I put the pup back together and voila' - the balance was corrected.
For me and my playing - that is.
So - Keef T100 - have you tried to tilt the pup so that the thicker strings are less close than than the thinner strings?