59b in an old Kay archtop?

[ashm86]

I have an old kay archtop that has had its guts pulled out. I was thinking of putting a 59b in it. Do you think that it would be ok? It is the only pup that I have available (no cash to go buy one). I play all blues, mostly slide in open tunings.

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[twoheadedboy]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

That would probably sound great as long as the Kay isn't super thin sounding.

 

[ashm86]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

DOH, can you tell I am a newbie yet?!

I did not realize I need a capacitor between the volume and tone pots to put it together DAMN! I had hoped to get it up and running tonight. I just started playing this time last year and this is my first project.

Heck, I just finished learning my first full song that I can play in my sleep and play with Dust My Broom...

This is addictive....

Andrew

 

[ashm86]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

That would probably sound great as long as the Kay isn't super thin sounding.

I don't think it is thin at all, it sounds pretty good acoustically. Sustain is kind of crappy, but I don't really know what to comapare it to...

Andrew

 

[gripweed]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

I think for slide I would prefer the Seth, especially if it is in the neck position.

 

[Aceman]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

I'm a huge fan of taking a functional axe and dropping some serious replacement buckers in it. I'd say it's the number one improvement and about 90% of the sound for most guitars (Less on the well made ones!). I've got a junk LP copt that sounds fierce now that it's got a Tone Zone. Go for it!

 

[ashm86]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

I think for slide I would prefer the Seth, especially if it is in the neck position.

Why is that? I am a newbie and bought hte 59 a while back because it was hte only name I reconized/remembered.

Andrew

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

The Seth has more mids than the 59, which some people preffer for slide. I think that you should try it, seeing as how you already have it. It might end up sounding really good.

 

[ashm86]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

I am installing it today, I will let you know how it goes...

Andrew

 

[ashm86]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop? Help please :-(

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop? Help please :-(

Well, I went to install it...

Where do I ground to? The bridge is made of wood, so I cannot ground to it, what do I do?

Andrew

 

[Dirt123]

Re: 59b in an old Kay archtop?

Ground to the ring lug of the output jack. There is probably no good place to connect a ground to the strings (as would happen when you connect a ground wire to a metal bridge). Usually, you connect a ground to the bridge to help reduce hum, but since you are using a humbucker, it should not be a problem. If you have a metal tail-piece, you can try to feed a wire down to that, maybe you can sneak it through a screw hole. Try it first without the string ground, if it hums, then try to ground the strings.

Good luck.