Hi, just got this as a present. has anyone any info on these white pickups? There doesn't seem to be much on the web. Would I be crazy to swap it for another pickup? I sounds pretty amazing
I also need to get my hands on a proper pickguard
got a 59 clipper with a white pickup
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Sep 22, 2008 6:25 p.m. davepyro:
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Sep 22, 2008 6:30 p.m. bigalthethird:
That's the very earliest pickup they used on the Clipper, after using Dynasonics. They only used it for a few months, I believe. They replaced it quickly with the HiLo'Tron, and to my knowledge it's essentially the same thing underneath.
Can anyone clarify?
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Sep 22, 2008 7:26 p.m. RepentOrPerish:
I've always wondered about those white pickups....but I KNOW I've seen them on really thin Clippers, so I know they were used after the 50's.....(werent all the 50's Clipers still thick bodied guitars?)
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Sep 22, 2008 8:50 p.m. KCeddieB:
If it sounds good, don't change it! It's stock equipment, and makes this guitar that much more unique as being from one of the few batches that used these transitional pick-ups. You might want to inquire with a few guys here on the board (Herve, Jack Daniels, Setzer) who can hook you up with a dead-on repro pickguard. Have fun!
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Sep 22, 2008 8:59 p.m. Setzer:
dave, next time you change strings could you pop out the pickup and take a photo of the bottom for us?
Looks like you got a great present...enjoy! I love my deep body '58 Clipper.
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Sep 23, 2008 12:06 a.m. antik:
It is my understanding the white pickup is a single coil Dearmond. But not with individual pole pieces magnets. It uses a single bar magnet. It was a cost cutting measure compared to the Dynasonics.
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Sep 23, 2008 12:57 a.m. Setzer:
I've always wanted one of these G & Arrow pickups.
Dave if you could come thru with some detailed photos it would be greatly appreciated.
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Sep 23, 2008 1:22 a.m. Bryan K.:
Nice present you got there Davepyro! Be sure to post a photo of the bottom of the pup when you get a chance. Here's another one of those pups posted back in the day on the old board...
Trim ring & mount looks different.
There's a thread on the old board where Dan Duffy answers a few questions about these pups, but I couldnt find it right off.
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Sep 23, 2008 3:42 a.m. cyclopssam:
if it sounds good leave it!,i rmember what brain said,never seen one in real life.lucky dog!
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Sep 23, 2008 5:47 a.m. davepyro:
thanks for the replies. I'll get some photos as soon as I can
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Sep 23, 2008 6:40 a.m. davepyro:
here's the back of the pickup
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Sep 23, 2008 11:13 a.m. Setzer:
Thanks Dave! Interesting. All top mounted and no cavity. Not EVEN like a HiLo as Al suggested but more like a DeArmond as Antik stated. I think like the silvertone and Harmony varity.
Any chance you could take a ohm meter reading for us?
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Sep 23, 2008 1:39 p.m. davepyro:
how do I do that?
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Sep 23, 2008 2:10 p.m. Setzer:
From an online article I found quickly(see below)*: Note; since your pickup is wired to pots and the jack just turn all the controls up full and insert a guitar cable in the jack and take the reading from the other end of the cable/plug you would normally plug into the amp.
*Testing Pickups
You can test and measure your pickups easily using an inexpensive tool such as a Multi-Meter, an instrument with a number of different ranges for measuring current, voltage, and resistance.
To measure DC Resistance set the multimeter to measure Ohms (?). Use the lowest Ohm measure (usually 200) if this is an option on your multimeter. The measure should be displayed as "1". Touch the red probe to the hot wire of the pickup, and the black probe to the ground wire. The measure should give a reading, which is the DC Resistance. If the measure does not change from 1, use the next higher setting on the multimeter until you get a reading.
You should also perform the "Tap Test" on the pickups. Set the multimeter to DCV, again using the lowest setting. The measurement should display all zeros. Touch the red probe to hot, black to ground. And tap the pole piece with a screw driver, pliers, or any metal object (not aluminum). The reading should jump before returning to zero. You aren't looking for the actual number here, just for the fact that the reading changed. Tapping the pole piece with metal affects the pickups magnetic field the same way a vibrating string does.
The simplest test of all, if you don't have a multimeter, is to wire the pickup directly to the output jack, plug it into an amp, and tap the pole pieces with a metal object. You should hear a "popping" sound. Caution: This could potentially damage your amplifier, so proceed with caution!
With this basic understanding of pickup output and resistance measuring and pickup testing you can experiment and find pickups that are right for you!
ANOTHER how to
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Dec 8, 2008 3:22 p.m. 2Cool4Words:
Hello,
Does anyone know where I can find an identical pickup? I need one for my 1959 Gretsch Clipper. Any comments or leads will be greatly appreciated. Please contect me at hattrick48309@yahoo.com. Thank you.
Glen
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Dec 8, 2008 3:53 p.m. TNO:
If it's a flat-bar DeArmond there's no way I'd even think about changing it.
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Dec 8, 2008 4:11 p.m. F107plus5:
It has absolutely nothing to do with this particular guitar, but when I was in High School in '59, I really wanted a Big Orange Gretsch just like Duane and Chet. My Dad didn't know if I was gonna remain serious about Guitars, so when we went to the Guitar Shop to round one up, we ended up with a Harmony Meteor for 175 bucks.
I wonder what I would have ended up with if that shop had carried Gretsches?
Looking at that Clipper makes me wonder just what I may have missed.
