DeArmond Pickup Transplant

[GGJaguar]

When I posted about the GFS Surf 90 pickup transplant in my Surfliner Deluxe, @Walter Broes turned me on to another maker of DeArmond type pickups – Gabojo. So I decided to try a set their Mr.2000 pickups. It was an easy transaction and it only took 13 days from when I ordered for the hand made pickups to arrive from Athens, Greece. They were delivered by USPS and there were no import duties so that was nice.

When the pickups arrived I was eager to begin the unboxing process. I was surprised when I saw how fancy the packaging was.




There’s a warranty card with the pickup model and date of manufacture.




Basic info.




Mounting screws and springs with info on pickup height settings.

 

[GGJaguar]

Nicely wrapped pickups.




Removing the plastic wrapper reveals the pickup is wrapped in a velvet cloth that is kept closed with a hand-tied ribbon.




With the ribbon untied and the cloth unfolded, we find the pickup.




Give it a flip and we see the top side.

 

[GGJaguar]

The Gabojo pickups are based on a set of 1962 DeArmond 2000 pickups. They are in a soapbar P-90 format and have alnico magnets that are shorter than the original DeArmonds so they can fit in solid and semi-hollow body guitars. Here’s the transplant subject – my Blues 90.




The stock Duncan Hot P-90s (SP90-2 and SP90-3) have ceramic magnets and are way overwound compared to vintage style P-90s (12K ohm neck, 15K ohm bridge). They are not very articulate and lack clarity, though they’ll overdrive like crazy if that’s your thing. It’s not my thing so here we are in the operating room.

The control cavity is neat and clean making for easy surgery… I mean soldering.




The routes for the neck and bridge pickups along with the chambered body make it easy to fish the pickup leads through the body to the control cavity. Note that each route has a mahogany pickup mounting plate held in place by a single, small screw. Interesting!

 

[GGJaguar]

And here’s the finished product.




I’m really pleased with the sound of these. They are much closer to the sound of vintage DeArmond 2000s. Since vintage DeArmonds can vary in terms of specs (DC resistance, inductance, etc) it’s hard to say what the “right” vintage sound is for comparison. They compare very well to the DeArmonds that I had in my ’61 and ’62 Starfire IIIs. But I’ve played some guitars from the 1950s where the bridge DeArmond had a little more punch. Still, for my needs they are just about perfect. They are nicely touch sensitive, too. Dig in and you can easily add some hair to the sound.

Interestingly, they are very close in spec to TV Jones T-Armond pickups. Both have the short pole pieces and are about the same with respect to resistance and inductance.



I have the TV Jones pickups in my ’53 reissue Duo Jet and my X-160 Rockabilly. The bridge pickups sound remarkably similar, but the TVJ neck pickup has a bit more bass than Gabojo. I prefer the Gabojo in that regard. Neither neck pickup is boomy like a vintage DeArmond or reissue Gretsch DeArmond which is a good thing. On the Blues 90 they seem to capture some of the vibe of the Guilds from the early ‘60s. BTW, the soapbar format TVJs are available in the classic DeArmond look (chrome, nickel or gold) or with a black or cream P-90 cover. So if you want to keep the P-90 look, there’s always TVJs, but they’ll cost you at least $100 more than the Gabojos.

One side note – the Gabojo pickups are only available in a nickel finish. The Blues 90 hardware is chrome. Normally, this doesn’t bother me on lighter finished guitars, but against the very dark green finish, the difference set off my OCD. The photo doesn’t quite capture the difference, but it’s there.




So, I had to order a new nickel-plated Gotoh bridge and stop tail to match. The stop tail is a lightweight aluminum piece so the guitar should weigh at least 40 grams less with it. They should be here in a couple of days, but I’ll wait until the next string change for installation.

 

[GAD]

Dude! I love that! Hmm… I have two Blues-90s…

 

[Minnesota Flats]

I used a mahogany block like that to raise up the pups when I removed the mini Humbuckers from an LP Deluxe and swapped in some after-market P90s. Factory mini Humbucker frames are actually hogged-out P90 covers, so no routing of the pup cavities was required. By mounting the mahogany blocks to the existing screw holes that had held in the mini Humbucker mounting hardware, I didn't even have to drill any new holes in the cavities. P90s used were Harmonic Design Z90s:


my guitar


stock photos showing P90 Goldtop vs. Deluxe

 

[Walter Broes]

Very nice!!! Now I want a set too!

 

[GGJaguar]

Hmm… I have two Blues-90s…

I know you like humbuckers so be aware that these are bright pickups, i.e. - Telecaster bright with lots of bite, snap and ka-raang. Of course, it's very easy to tame with the tone controls on the guitar, so there's that. The Korean DeArmonds on your X-175 Special are in the ballpark, but the Gabojos (and TVJs for that matter) have more power, clarity and lower mids.

 

[chazmo]

Fabulous, GG!!!

And, you know that a company that packages its pickups like that must have some cash around to stay afloat (and make customers happy)!

 

[chazmo]

Mind if I ask? What was the total bill from Gabojo for these beauties?

 

[GGJaguar]

What was the total bill from Gabojo for these beauties?

I think it was around $240. The TV Jones equivalents would have been $344 plus shipping.

 

[Walter Broes]

Shame, and a little odd the Gabojo folks have those pickups in humbucker, soapbar (and dogear, apparently) and Filtertron mounts, but not in the classic DeArmond shells they originally came in.

 

[GGJaguar]

Shame, and a little odd the Gabojo folks have those pickups in humbucker, soapbar (and dogear, apparently) and Filtertron mounts, but not in the classic DeArmond shells they originally came in.

You know, I wondered the same thing! If they did, I would consider putting a set in my X-175 Special or SF-III Dyna.

 

[GGJaguar]

and dogear, apparently

I'm going to inquire about these for my X-500T.

 

[GAD]

I know you like humbuckers so be aware that these are bright pickups, i.e. - Telecaster bright with lots of bite, snap and ka-raang. Of course, it's very easy to tame with the tone controls on the guitar, so there's that. The Korean DeArmonds on your X-175 Special are in the ballpark, but the Gabojos (and TVJs for that matter) have more power, clarity and lower mids.

I like all pickups when used for the tones for which they’re intended.

I actually have a set of original DeArmonds in my collection though I forget what I had intended them for. Probably bought them for comparison against the Guild/DeArmond versions when I wrote up the Rockabilly.