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Topic: What to do with this Oahu... |
Matt Sobolewski
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2015 3:50 pm |
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Hi,
I'm new here.
I recently purchased this vintage student lap steel...an Oahu stamped 224 on the neck. But what I found under the pickup cover was that materials have broken down over time, and now it's muting the strings:
What to do about that? It works but the output is what I consider low (having only a modern student lap steel for comparison). I thought I would see an old pickup when I removed the cover. Repair or can a mod be done to replace/upgrade this pickup? Can I just carefully remove the obstructing material? I think I see pickup coil in it though...truth be told I'd rather not do a mod if I could get away with it.
Thoughts? Thanks! |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 10 Jan 2015 4:23 pm
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This is a steel by Magnatone (or probably Mag's predecessor company, Dickerson), specifically what's sometimes referred to as a steel with a "hidden" pickup. They have low output because the pickup is far from the strings underneath the pearloid and some sort of solid form. I suspect that any replacement pickup would have the same problem unless you cut away the covering and raised it up.
The easiest thing to do would be to hold down the broken covering with a piece of clear tape. |
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Matt Sobolewski
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2015 5:28 pm
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Hi...and thanks for that info as I know little about lap steel (way more about acoustics, my main thing).
I assume the material breaking up is pearloid and hopefully not the pickup itself. It's pretty dried out and tape won't hold it down. I could chip the interfering pearloid away and hope for the best. Is there a particular "sound" from hidden pickups I should get hip to? I know some vintage pickups rest on golden pillows, but you wouldn't know it...and I'm a newbie here.
Worst comes to worst, would experienced lap steel folks frown upon installing an upgrade pickup on this particular piece? I have a spare single-space Hotrails around here somewhere and it wouldn't sound bad that's for sure. Plus the pickup cover would hide it.
There are some instruments best left as-is...I'm not sure this is that collectible. But this one seems smaller than most lap steels I've seen. I thought that was really cool, and have plans to use it for fun and maybe recording. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 10 Jan 2015 6:24 pm
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| i think the hotrails would be cool. but wait til someone who's taken one of these apart before says it's ok. |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 10 Jan 2015 11:12 pm
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| If it were mine to do with what I wanted- and knowing that its value is not terribly high- especially as is- I'd probably remove the stings and carefully cut away the MOTS covering (mother-of toilet seat) from around the pickup as it looks like the pickup is outlined by a depressed area where it is cracking, and then see what I was left with. If by removing the covering all is now well- you're done. If for some reason you've "screwed the pooch"- continue hollowing it out removing what you can and install the Hotrails- even if it meant going all the way through the guitar to get it done- then make a little plate to cover up the damage on the back if necessary. |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 11 Jan 2015 7:59 am Magnatone pickups
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I think Jim is on the Right Track with his advise.
First off , this item has zero collectible to speak of beyond what ever price you may have paid.
You may as well go for what ever fun you care to do. Be Happy to have an experimental guitar.
A Typical Magnatone pickup for those times were magnet poles wound and then set into a routed hole and filled with a browish Wax type substance. No Bobbin top and bottom.
To remove it , you will destroy it and need to literally Dig it out of there. Not to worry , as you plan to replace it any way.
After the Removal, you may want to use a piece of guitar pickguard material which could be an advantage to make your replacement pickup have the ability to be adjustable up and down with screws and springs or rubber tubes.
After Reviewing the photo ---
You may want to fabricate another bridge too, it is easy to do with a file and some glue to hold it in place. I personally like 360 Brass , but you can get 6061 aluminum bar which is much better than home center aluminum on eBay and other on line places in short lengths. |
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Matt Sobolewski
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2015 8:11 am
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That's precisely the advice I was looking for.
Thank you very much.
See, I knew that spare hotrails pickup would come in handy for something someday!  |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Matt Sobolewski
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2015 8:45 pm
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| Tom Pettingill wrote: |
Here is a pic from DennysGuitars that should further help show you whats going on. Like George described, the pickup is a horseshoe / U magnet with what is described as an air coil set into the body and locked in with a tar type substance.
http://dennysguitars.homestead.com/MagnatoneMOTSpupGuts1.html
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I am planning to dig the old pickup out and upgrade as discussed...thank you for showing me what I'll unearth! |
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