Chuck Snider R.I.P.
From:
West Virginia, USA - Morgantown, WV
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Posted 7 Apr 2013 8:03 am |
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Len, I have a Carter U-12 in which I installed an Alumitone pickup. I love the sound!!! I got my pickup from Bobbe Seymour. The one in the Carter, and I the one I have in my GFI U-12, are both actually 5 string bass guitar pickups. I got mine not long after they first became used for steel guitars. That is what was being sold to the steel guitar community after John Fabian (owner of Carter guitars)discovered they could be used in a steel guitar. I recently spoke with one of the technical support folks at Lace (maker of the Alumitone) and he said they now make a pickup that is actually made for steel guitars. However, if that was true, I did not find them on their website. I didn't ask him about details for them, but should have. They might be the very same ones as I have, not sure. Before hearing that, I would have said there is only one model (basically the one made for 5 string bass guitars). I'm sure if you got one from Bobbe Seymour's shop, you would get the right one. By the way, the one for 12 string guitars do not have a mounting plate attached, you will need to drill some pilot holes to accept the mounting screws for the pickup. I made a mounting hole template out of cardboard from a ceral box. I also placed springs on the shank of the mounting screws, between the guitar body and the bottom side of the pickup. Basically place the spring below the pickup and aligned with the screw hole, them insert the screw into the pickup mounting hole and down through the spring. The springs I got from a guitar shop, and are ones typically used in a similar way for pickups on a regular guitar. I suspect you could also go to Lowe's , Home Depot, or some other hardware store that has a good assortment of screws/springs. In a Carter U-12, the Alumitone pickups height will fit under the strings, but there is not lots of clearance for much adjustment. In my case I tried to get close to the thickness of two quarters between the pickup and the strings, but had to be settle for a little less than that. I did ask the Lace folks about filing/grinding off a little bit from the bottom of the pickup legs. I was told that it would be ok to do that, BUT do not remove too much. In my case I could probably remove .020" to .030", but that might vary a little from one pickup to another.
I think you won't believe the difference between the George L and the Alumitone. It is a huge difference, and if you like the single coil sound, I think you'll love the change. I will mention that the difference will cause you to readjust your tone settings. I was using a NV400 with the Ken Fox Ultimate Mod when I first installed the pickups. I ended up selling that amp and going with an unmodded, chrome cornered NV400. With that pickup the Ken Fox Ultimate Mod amp was just too harsh. When I tried the guitar through the other NV400 I had, it was just right for me. If you play through a tube amp, it sounds awesome. I hope that helps some.
-Chuck
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GFI U-12 Ultra Keyless, Carter Black U-12, both with Alumitones, and a sweet '70 Sho-Bud Permanent D-10, NV400 in Rick Johnson cabs, NV112, '73 Vibrosonic in Rick Johnson cabs, Hilton pedal, Steeler's Choice seat, Bessdang Gizmos from Dale Hansen, and a few other widgets and doodads.
I may not sound good, I just don't wanna sound bad. |
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