mag pup on one stringer Q here

Posted by Mike Whisenhunt on February 7, 2012 at 12:04pm

buddy of mine is asking me to build a one stringer. he has given me a single mag pickup. Here's a picture of it:

So here is my question: He's just going with the one string. The pickup is obviously for a 6 string. For aesthetics I want to mount it in the center of the body, but they means the string (if I center it as well) won't pass over one of the circles. If I mount the pickup off to one side the whole guitar will look funky. Does it matter a whole lot if the string isn't right over it? Or should I expect to run my string off center to compensate?

Mike

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Replies

  • the anonymous pick February 23, 2012 at 7:20am

    that there   is a  tiesco  goild foil   pickup  .. highly sought after   because of it's sweet    full  vintage  tone .  i actually   just   paid $78   for  one  not too long ago .  it  seems  to  be a waste to   put  on a  one stringer  , but ,  then  again  those  one stringers  can be alot  of fun  .  so  why  not .  anyway  ..  that   pickup  will  work  anywhere   , in any position    under the  string   you  do  not  have to worry about lining  up  the holes   to  the string  or  anything . 

    another thing to  consider  is placement  ,, closer to  the   neck   , you   get a fuller   sound  ,,  closer to  the bridge    you will  get   more treble  and  tinny  .   any way ..  hope that helps . ;-)

     

    ps   -  heres  my one stringer

    305783087?profile=original

  • Simon Wicks February 23, 2012 at 7:02am

    I have used mag pups on both my diddley bows , one I mounted lenght ways ( string passing over all pickups ) and the other was mounted normally with the string passing centrally ( between two pickups ) and both worked fine .

  • Rand February 7, 2012 at 9:08pm

    What I do is turn it on its side. It works magnificently.

     

  • Skeesix February 7, 2012 at 1:08pm

    I believe those Teisco pickups all have bar magnets in them, so you could mount it centered and it should be fine. With a hole in the middle of the box, I don't think you would have room to mount it vertically like on steven beck's diddley bow anyway.

    You can test out the pickup by hooking it up to an amp (it looks like it already has a wiring harness/jack). Hold the pickup above the string and test out various positions to see how it sounds before you commit to mounting it.

    • Mike Whisenhunt > Skeesix February 7, 2012 at 1:45pm

      kinda what I was hoping to hear, Skee. I will give that a shot likely tomorrow...for today I have to go to the job that pays for my little hobby that pays for new toods in the woodshop. I'll let you know how it goes.

  • steven beck February 7, 2012 at 12:11pm

    Brother Mike!

    this is a picture of my Diddly Bo set-up.  WORKS GREAT!  but what do i know?  just a suggestion....

    Diddly Bo 3.jpg

    • Mike Whisenhunt > steven beck February 7, 2012 at 12:41pm

      that was my original idea when he told me he had a pickup. That's what I expected it to look like. However, this one is a lot larger than I expected. I'm not building him a diddly bo, more a diddly-tar. He wanted it on a box...and a sound hole in the middle like a typical acoustic. With a crown of thorns around the hole (christian rock band).  So I get to do my second bolt on neck and first attempt at cutting veneer to a specific shape (for the crown). I'm just glad the pots and jack are already wired up on it. I do need to get some pot knobs though...

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