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mag pup on one stringer Q here

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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Permalink Reply by steven beck on February 7, 2012 at 6:11am

Brother Mike!

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

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Diddly Bo 3.jpg, 201 KB

Permalink Reply by Mike Whisenhunt on February 7, 2012 at 6:41am

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...

Permalink Reply by Skeesix on February 7, 2012 at 7:08am

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.

Permalink Reply by Mike Whisenhunt on February 7, 2012 at 7:45am

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.

Permalink Reply by Rand on February 7, 2012 at 3:08pm

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

Permalink Reply by Simon Wicks on February 23, 2012 at 1:02am

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 .

Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on February 23, 2012 at 1:20am

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