inexpensive pickup for archtop

[rollypolly]

Can anyone recommend a cheap pickup , non invasive, for an old archtop? I've seen K&K has one called the Definity but I haven't seen a whole lot of talk about that pickup. Looks like it's a piezo that slides under the bridge. Given K&K's reputation it seems promising.

But I've also seen these generic clip-on Humbucker pickups that you can install in the neck position. Seems like that might give the better tone.

Any tips?

[Steve DeRosa]

The classic since the 1940's:



https://shop.guildguitars.com/produc...v=7516fd43adaa

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Can anyone recommend a cheap pickup , non invasive, for an old archtop? I've seen K&K has one called the Definity but I haven't seen a whole lot of talk about that pickup. Looks like it's a piezo that slides under the bridge. Given K&K's reputation it seems promising.

But I've also seen these generic clip-on Humbucker pickups that you can install in the neck position. Seems like that might give the better tone.

Any tips?

The K&K will work, but a large part of the contact area of the bridge itself is negated by their thickness.

I believe this one by Pickup The World will do a better job:

https://www.pickup.world/product/archtop-guitar/

Best,
Howard Emerson

[mr. beaumont]

Well, are you looking for an acoustic sound, or a plugged in electric type sound?

[wierdOne]

I have no experience with any of the under saddle bridge pickups, but Kent Armstrong floating humbuckers have been my go to solution for nearly two decades. That’s just personal preference, but I tried a bunch of brands over the years… I can’t speak highly enough about them.

I’m talking about the handmade ones for sale off of Archtop.com’s accessory page (no relation)

https://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by wierdOne

I have no experience with any of the under saddle bridge pickups, but Kent Armstrong floating humbuckers have been my go to solution for nearly two decades. That’s just personal preference, but I tried a bunch of brands over the years… I can’t speak highly enough about them.

I put one from Stew-Mac on my archtop. I don't know if this meets the original "inexpensive" definition, but it's cheaper than K&K, Dazzo, Trance, etc.

[rollypolly]

I'd like to get a jazz tone. not interested in acoustic tone.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

I'd like to get a jazz tone. not interested in acoustic tone.

Magnetic.

There are plenty of pseudo Johnny Smith mini hum buckers that mount on the end of the fingerboard. They're quieter than the DeArmond, but with either one you'll have to modify the pick guard a little bit.

Of course it depends on the way your guitar is built. Some builds don't have a floating fingerboard with enough clearance for a mini hum bucker.

In any case it's a doable thing, especially if you're handy.

HE

[rollypolly]

There's one that's called a Kent Armstrong Jazzy Joe: https://www.ebay.com/itm/14484183984...mis&media=COPY

Looks pretty minimally invasive apart from attaching it to the pick guard, and then getting the wires in a nice place for plugging in. Not sure I want to drill anything into this guitar, a 57 Gretsch New Yorker. Not a luxury instrument but it's pretty much untouched right now and I'd hate to take a drill to it. I'll probably figure out a way to use a temporary jack since for now this is a play at home only guitar.
I also hesitate to put any holes in the pick guard so I may look for a generic archtop pick guard if they exist.

Thanks for the tips so far!

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

I'd like to get a jazz tone. not interested in acoustic tone.

Then 100% go magnetic.

Look up Krivo pickups, send Jason an email. He'll have something for you. His pickups are great, reasonably priced, and many of his designs mount with putty and are easily removed, as non-invasive as it gets.

[wierdOne]

I can’t speak of that particular model. This is the one that I’ve got installed on my pickguards:

https://reverb.com/item/9827260-arms...ontent=9827260

[nbs2005]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Then 100% go magnetic.

Look up Krivo pickups, send Jason an email. He'll have something for you. His pickups are great, reasonably priced, and many of his designs mount with putty and are easily removed, as non-invasive as it gets.

+1 on the Krivo. I have one for my resonator and have even used it to good effect with a flat top.

[Rudy4]

How about one of the "Juke Shack" thin humbuckers sold by C.B. Gitty that were designed for archtop guitar?

These are ridiculously cheap, too.

Juke Shack archtop humbucker

[rollypolly]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went with a Kent Armstrong that installs on the pickguard at the neck position. I’ll probably use a stick on jack for now.

[rollypolly]

Just to follow up on this ...maybe I'm just talking into the wind , but in case someone else reads in the future....I got the Kent Armstrong Jazzy Joe Humbucker and installed it today. It was a pretty easy process . Attaching the pickup to the existing pick guard was the trickiest part. I decided to use super glue and hope that it holds. So far so good.

It sounds better than I expected. Lots of really natural jazz tone. The only downside is that with the pick guard installed it doesn't give me much room to play my fingerstyle picking , so I'll be forced to play traditional jazz style with a pick. The fact that's a temp install using a plastic jack that I attached to the tailpiece, it feels a little fragile. I might consider drilling an end pin jack in the future after seeing how good this humbucker sounds.