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Topic: Is this good news? |
Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 21 Dec 2022 1:21 pm |
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I'm part-way through restoring my well-worn Fender 400 and had noticed from the start that the pick-up was not the original. Whilst cleaning the area today, I noticed some marking on the face of the pick-up. Closer reading showed 'Hyperflux Supreme by John Birch'
A quick Google seems to say that this is a very expensive replacement.... which is puzzling to say the least.
What to do?
Anyone out there know anything about these pick-ups, their reputation or their history?
Was this one obviously built for a six string, but chosen as it was wide enough to work on a Fender eight-string? And why put such a seemingly expensive pup in an old PSG?
So many questions!
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 21 Dec 2022 4:15 pm
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| Thanks for the info Dennis. I'll use it as the first clue in my search. Much appreciated! |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 22 Dec 2022 6:36 am
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Found this in wikipedia:
John Birch was born in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom in 1922. He became involved in guitar building as a Royal Air Force officer based in the South Pacific Islands in World War II. Returning to England at the end of the war his interest musically was in collecting Hawaiian Records.
In 1963 he met Basil and Pat Henriques of the "Waikiki Islanders" group, a Hawaiian group formed by Pat's father Bill Cox and his brother Archie in 1937. Birch was, during the '60s, living at 33 Innage Road Northfield and working as a field service engineer for Ampex VTRs.
After a series of experiments with a few joint designs Basil Henriques and Birch (using Henriques' Fender 1000 pedal steel guitar as a testbed) came up with a new pickup design using multiple polepieces and a coil potted in baked epoxy resin. On subsequent BBC "Night Ride" broadcasts and later EMI Abbey Road recordings, the pickups on Basil's guitar proved to be a revolutionary design in both sustain and fidelity. EMI were so impressed with the stereo sound of Basil's guitar that they offered Basil and the Waikiki Islanders a 10-year contract on their Stereo Label "Studio Two Stereo".
He apparently used a Fender 1000 as a test bed again later in life to test a MIDI pickup he had designed.
Dave |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 22 Dec 2022 8:08 am
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Thank you, David. The Northfield in question is in south Birmingham, and Innage Rd is just round the corner from the elementary school my kids went to!
His shop was further south in Rubery, and in the late 70s I had him build me a bass which was superb and which I gigged for many years until the work dried up and I had to sell it.
I knew about the custom guitars he built for local stars, but the Hawaiian connection is interesting news.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 22 Dec 2022 10:56 am It's just a pickup
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I honestly don't know why you're worrying about it, unless the pickup isn't working. And in such case, it's a moot point. A pickup only needs to sound good. Beyond that, why it's there, names, prices, model numbers, specifications (and even opinions), are useless...unless you're selling it.  |
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Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 22 Dec 2022 11:52 am
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Many thanks David and Ian, fascinating reading.
Donny, if this pick-up is as special as I'm reading, then surely it would be better in the hands of a serious six-string guitar picker? They'd possibly derive far more enjoyment from it than I would (in my back room, picking away by my little old self!) |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 23 Dec 2022 4:27 am
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Looking at the width of the pickup, I think it would probably be awfully wide for a six stringer unless you really tilted it a lot. I'd bet it was made for that steel guitar, especially after reading about the maker's history with Hawaiian music/musicians. Maybe the original owner had seen/heard Basil's 1000 and wanted one for himself?
I'd keep it as is and enjoy a bit of history at the same time as enjoying a nice old steel.
Dave |
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Tony Boadle
From:
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
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Posted 23 Dec 2022 5:19 am
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Following earlier suggestions on this thread, I'm now in touch with Basil and it turns out he actually designed this pick-up. It's already tilted to fit my Fender but I don't think it was built for it. The pole to pole width is around 75mm whereas the string span on the Fender is 65mm. Also there are two rows of poles with six pairs in each row, not eight.
Hopefully I can replace it with a pick-up more suited to the 400, at the same time enabling the Hyperflux to be put to better use in someone else's regular six string guitar... maybe even a 12-string lol!
Season's Greetings from County Cork to all on the SGF |
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