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Topic: Going to try an alumitone in my everyday lappy |
Greg Moynihan
From:
Bremerton, Washington, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2014 3:38 pm |
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I'm pretty excited to try an alumitone pickup in my everyday axe, this gretsch electromatic. The tone of the stock pickup is good, however, I have electronic noise issues pretty often. I went for a single coil shape, since I don't want a hum bucker type sound, just in case they're made to sound as they look. Anyway, when I get it done, I hope to make a report.
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Greg Moynihan
From:
Bremerton, Washington, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2014 8:32 pm
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Ok, I have it temporarily installed. It was a little more work than expected. The hole for the pickup has a narrower, deeper hole routed within that needs to be blocked up to anchor the alumitone. Once that was all done, I wired the hot and ground backwards on the jack, and that was no bueno.
Now it's all wired straight, and lo, the sound is great and the ambient hum is super low. I have some new pots, copper foil, and some some aluminum stock on the way to craft a better control plate, that aught to finish off this guitar for me.
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Posted 8 Dec 2014 2:18 pm
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It is a good sound and very usable, I think more experimenting on my part would find some great tones but I was building many different Guitars in 2009.
Here is another track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiu6Jpe3ILo
James. |
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Joe Elk
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Dec 2014 2:50 pm
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You will be pliantly surprised. I feel the range is great and it QUIET!
Joe Elk |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 9 Dec 2014 6:06 am
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Again, very nice playing, James, and I like the tone. Thanks for the input, too, Joe -- quiet is especially important in some of the rooms we play (including my basement...)
I have a Melobar lap steel that I want to use to experiment with tunings, so I may drop an Alumitone single or P90 style into it. The lightweight of the pickup could be a plus too, for when I stand up using a strap.
_________________
Peter
---------
www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Greg Moynihan
From:
Bremerton, Washington, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2014 10:11 am
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I still have the PU a bit too close to the strings, but even so, I'm really happy with the tone and the output. One nice surprise is that the alumitone with my EB volume pedal has no apparent scratching noise, which was not the case with the stock Gretsch PU.
The stock jack, pots and control plate were all terribly cheap flimsy, so I'm in the middle of replacing them all, and I'll probably use aluminum to cover the voids around the PU. I cut and shaped some sheet aluminum with my bandsaw and oscillating belt sander, then I sanded it wet with 300, 600, and 1200, and buffed it with a dremel.
Does anyone have some good tips on polishing sheet aluminum to a mirror shine? I'm pretty new to metalwork.
Who knows, maybe an all-aluminum fretboard could be a sweet project. I was thinking of making the fret lines by nibbling kerf lines on the table saw. No such thing as too much aluminum on a lap steel, right?
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2014 11:53 am
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Hi Greg
You need soft polishing wheels and different grade polishs, if you have access to a motor. All can be bought at a hardware store. It still takes some time to work to a gloss but not nearly as much as by hand.
_________________
www.deluxe34.com lap steel stands, Clinesmith, Gibson Console Grande, Northwesterns, The Best Westerns
https://www.facebook.com/TheBestWesterns |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 29 Dec 2014 1:06 pm polishing aluminum
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If you decide to go hand rubbed polishing it is easy -- save the elbow grease --
Auto Parts store carries all you will need
- 800 - 1500-- grit wet sand paper water sand out as many scratches as possible.
Auto Compound Light with Steel Wool 0000 to take it down further,
Auto Compound Light with a soft cloth to go to super shine
They typically sell a Glaze to fill the micro scratches, MagGuires Swirl Remover does it too.
Auto Wax to seal the deal.
Any Left Overs will help you detail your auto later.
On the FretBoard if you want Aluminum Jim Palenscar - Steel Guitar North County Oceanside California can make any thing you may want.
We make Lexan Non Glare fretboards in any scale .030 thickness press down industrial sticky laser cut to any shape.
We can do custom markers logos -- what ever, just add money and stir.
Hope this helps you. 
_________________
GeorgeBoards S8 Non Pedal Steel Guitar Instruments
Maker of One of a Kind Works of Art that play music too.
Instructional DVDs
YouTube Channel |
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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