I bought a '71 S100 with no pickups. Will standard humbuckers fit?

[adlankj]

Hey all,

Like the title says, I bought a '71 S100 with no pickups as a project guitar (the front is also covered in oil paint from a previous owner, which I plan to strip and refinish). I know that the HB-1s it's fitted for (the pickup rings are included) are wider than standard humbuckers, so what are my options? Will only HB-1 and HB-1 style pickups work, or is there a way to mount standard humbuckers to this guitar?

Thanks!

 

[GAD]

Standard pickups will fit. They will even fit in the original rings with an adapter.

 

[Zelja]

As per what GAD said but maybe get an adaptor for the the base side (where there are two holes) so you don't have to drill an extra hole in the middle (unless someone has already done it of course).

Still, my advice is get some vintage HB-1s one day. To me S-100s need the HB-1s to sound authentic & what a sound! I might have some spare in a couple of months after I have done some experimenting that I'm too busy with work to do now.

 

[DThomasC]

By adapter, GAD and Zelja mean a little strip of metal with three holes, two of them with 3-48 thread. Most people don't have a 3-48 tap, but you can buy 3-48 screws from Mojotone as well as other sources. See the photo below. It came from one of GAD's awesome Blogs which you should go and read right now.

I have repaired pickups with stripped holes by soldering a brass 3-48 nut to the bottom. If I were to try to make an adapter I would probably solder nuts instead of trying to locate a 3-48 tap. Mostly that's because I don't have a tap but I do have a bunch of nuts that I probably bought from either McMaster or Fastenal.

 

[GAD]

I've not tried them but TV Jones currently sells adapters:

Dual Screw Mount Adaptor

Attach a TV Jones pickup to your Gretsch with our Dual Screw Mount Adapter. Keep your rings and replace those Blacktop Filter'Trons with ease!

tvjones.com

 

[SFIV1967]

I've not tried them but TV Jones currently sells adapters:

Dual Screw Mount Adaptor

Attach a TV Jones pickup to your Gretsch with our Dual Screw Mount Adapter. Keep your rings and replace those Blacktop Filter'Trons with ease!

tvjones.com

The question is if that spacing of the two holes would fit to the Guild ring hole spacing.
Ralf

 

[DThomasC]

Somebody needs to buy one to find out. Or email TVJones. Or measure the pickup on their Gretch.

It's a good resource if they'll work.

 

[Zelja]

I remembered that I happen to have ordered one previously (for my Early 80s Ibanez). Also happen to have a few HB-1s & some rings from a 96/97 S-100.

The distance between the two hole on the TV Jones adaptor does NOT match up exactly. Whilst not perfect, it may still work ok. See belows pics.

 

[mushroom]

Is the 71 version of the S100 the one with the Hagstrom style bridge and trem ?

 

[adlankj]

Thank you all for your helpful feedback! I actually just finally got the guitar today. Yes, it has the Hagstrom tremolo. I couldn't help myself so I started with trying to strip the oil paint. My first strategy is mineral spirits, and while it didn't melt away the oil paint like I was fantasizing that it would, it definitely did something, which is better than I feared. Here are the results of about 20 minutes of wiping the mineral spirits with a cotton rag:

So, it'll take several combined hours, but it should eventually come off and, it seems, leave the underlying finish intact. So I think I'm gonna stick with it instead of sanding, which I've never actually done.

Re: pickups, I'll keep my eye out for HB-1s but have been thinking a lot about the Jim Wagner crossroads humbuckers... Lots to think about!

 

[GAD]

Nice!

I am a *HUGE* fan of Jim Wagner's stuff! I wrote a review of a set of his years ago: https://www.gad.net/Blog/2010/07/13/wcr-pickups-review/

I have his pickups in my favorite Jackson, in my favorite Les Paul with a braz board, and that original set of Goodwoods is still on my bookshelf waiting for a worthy guitar (they were in the Les Paul before I discovered that the pots needed to be replaced). I actually have an HSS set in the box waiting for me to put into one of my Liberators which is a project that just keeps getting pushed back.

One of my Nightbird X2000s has an American Steele set in it!