Any way to mount a humbucker in a D-hole?

goregantuan

I've got a Cigano dhole and I'm wanting to put a humbucker in it. Any suggestions?

richdaigle

Why? You know your strings wont drive the coils right?

goregantuan

Well, I figure I want to try to do the "electro" setup, like was done with the Wrembel model, except I don't want to buy a new guitar. I know I'd have to change out the strings, probably to flatwounds.

Cuimean

richdaigle wrote:

Why? You know your strings wont drive the coils right?

Why do you say that? Argies and similar strings work for Stimer pickups; there's no reason they wouldn't work on a humbucker. Some folks on the forum prefer to switch out their silver-wrapped strings with nickel electrics when using magnetic pickups; apparently, it helps balance the volume of the wound and unwound strings a bit better.

Of course, if you're using a D-hole with nylon strings, a magnetic pickup won't work.

(That just reminded me... Mario Maccaferri did actually invent a nylon string impregnated with bits of metal for Arthur Godfrey to use on a uke with a magnetic pickup.)

I feel like I've seen pictures of D-hole guitars with wood brackets added for pickup mounting. If you were able to do something non-permanent that didn't destroy the tone of the guitar, that might be kind of cool. The large aperture would allow you to try out a bunch of different types of electric guitar pickups without having to chop up your instrument.

Josh Hegg

I can install a humbucker into a D hole for you. And I use Argis all the time with mine. they work just fine. The B and E tend to get a bit hot but I just compensate by driving the poles down so they match the other strings. The Argis do have a fast decay but that's part of the tone. Sounds vintage.

Cheers,
Josh

goregantuan

So with the holiday season coming up, I'm actively looking for a pickup now, and I really like the look of the benedetto floating humbucker. Would that easily mount on a dhole? Also, I'm thinking of sawing off the fretboard extension, since I never use it, which would definitely make more room for a pickup.

guit_box

I looked around for a floating/fingerboard mount pickup for my oval hole. Unfortunately, my fingerboard is not high enough to instal the ones with pole pieces and the thinbuckers don't come with pole pieces. Unless you're planning to use electric guitar strings, the string-to-string balance will be uneven without adjustable pole pieces and the unbalance is pretty extreme imo. It didn't work for me, but I'll be curious to see what you come up with. Please post a picture and let us know how it sounds

constantine

I have been using pickups in D-holes for years. Most recently the LR Baggs M1. An awesome pickup that has very little magnetic sound to it. it has some kind of "sound sensing" cavity that makes your guitar sound like your guitar. I tried a benedetto, but it was completely magnetic sounding. I have attached this baggs pickup in 2 ways, 1) as pictured - I extend the width of the pickup with thin wood tabs to reach to the sides of the D hole and use velcro to attach 2) I have installed wood tabs perpendicular to the pickup where the soundhole clamps are (at the edges of the pickup) for a more permanent installation. I have enjoyed the sound of this pickup dramatically more than any piezo, soundboard (schatten) or humbucking solution. I also got this working in an oval hole. I will try to post a sound if anyone is interested.

Bob Holo

Very interested. I'm gathering information and will begin studying ways to amplify these guitars in a few months. At this stage my mind is completely open to new ideas.

constantine

ok Bob, I will get a sample up in the next few days.

BluesBop Harry

Bob,
Looking forward to what yo come up with.
I personally haven't found a system that pleases me in all aspects:
I like the volume, convenience and gain to feedback radio of the Bigtone but I don't love the tone.
I really like the tone of the Shertler Basik but tends to feedback much more easily and though not difficult it's a bit of a hassle to mount and dismount everytime.
Mics sound great but have serious feedback issues.
Magnetic pickups turn an acoustic into an electric.

I've been thinking for a while to mount the electrostatic element in a Shertler Basik inside a bridge (a la Bigtone) the cable could go inside or out.
Might be worthwhile to try it... I bet you can get good volume, feedback rejection and great tone with that...
I might do it as a winter project... hope I don't ruin my basik...