pickups for 12 string

[dennyb2009]

I am building a 12 string electric and would like to use guitarfetish memphis alnoco II s pups as they are reasonably priced and advertise a vintage Rickenbacker tone which is what I'm after . Has anybody used these pups to good result ? I have purchased from G F befor with great results . Also I would like to insert a piezo under the bridge plate of the gohta 12 string bridge I will be using . Will this work ?

Thanx
Denny

[newey]

db-

Also I would like to insert a piezo under the bridge plate of the gohta 12 string bridge I will be using . Will this work ?

Yes, but you'll need a preamp or buffering circuit. As far as intermixing it with mag pickups, JohnH's post on that topic is required reading.

Adding a Piezo Pickup

would like to use guitarfetish memphis alnoco II s pups as they are reasonably priced and advertise a vintage Rickenbacker tone which is what I'm after .

I haven't used the Liverpools, but it's funny you should mention those, I'm contemplating one of those for the bridge in my next project, which is still in the "mental visualization" stage. (well, OK , I have bought a few parts for it . . . . ) At any rate, I'm a big GFS fan, for the money they can't be beat.

As far as using it for a 12-string, I would think any non-polepiece type of pup should be fine, provided it's sufficiently wide for the string spacing.

[gitpiddler]

See my comments on bridge issues on the Luthiery section.
A clean magnetic pickup screwed in the wood close to bridge will give you plenty of signal to work with, less wiring, and more warmth.
OOps, I think I just wet myself
Gotta go put a new set on the Taylor 12. EXP's, yummy ;D
QUEST ON!

[ashcatlt]

Anybody got any idea how many wires these pickups expose to the outside world? I can't imagine why anyone would wire an HB with just a single conductor plus shield, but you know, some people's kids.

I'm kind of thinking of replacing my Rick's pickups with something from GFS. Definitely let us know how they sound!

[newey]

Ash-

They are 4 conductor HBs:
store.guitarfetish.com/livialhugo.html

However, as much as I like the GFS pups, I don't know if I'd be installing them in a Ric. They're good, but are they "upgrade-my-Ric" good?

The Liverpools, et al., are also in a HB form factor. I don't know the size you'd be replacing in your Ric, but that might also be an issue.

[ashcatlt]

Thanks, newey. It does say they are 4 wire. That information is kind of in amongst the "blah blah blah" marketing crap. I guess I am glad to know that they use the "correct Formvar enamel wire". I'd hate to get a pickup wound with the incorrect wire!

Anyway, I guess I was looking at these, which should fit just fine.

The thing with the Ric is that it's been flakey for most of the 15 years I've owned it. I suspect the switch. While I'm replacing that, I would like to get a little more versatility out of it by adding the series combination. Now the stock pickups are single conductor plus shield. I could try to perform some corrective surgery on these. It'd be much easier - and possibly better for potential resale value - to replace them with reasonable equivalents that already come wired correctly. Since I'm replacing the pickups anyway, I guess I might as well go to HBs and get myself some real versatility.

I do love the way it sounds now, at least when it does, but I don't think it's likely these GFS pickups will make it any worse. And if they do, I can revert and either "re-bay" or find something else to jam them into. I've still got these 2 acoustics...

[dennyb2009]

Thanks for the responses ! For both the piezo and mag pups I am looking into the artec MB1 master blend unit . It seems to provide everything I need .
Has anyone used their stuff ? I did use 1 of their tone circuits and a distortion circuit in my brothers Fender jazz bass to good effect . buit not their piezo stuff .

[newey]

Artec and GFS seem to be the same product, just repackaged. I have one of the GFS distortion boards and one of the onboard ODs, which seem to be the same as the Artecs, but I haven't used either one yet, they're still sitting in the parts bin.

No idea as to the quality of the piezo stuff.

[dennyb2009]

I have used , and been very happy with the products and the prices from Guitar fetish . I installed the tone circuit from artec on my brothers Fender jazz bass and he liked it I put the artec distortion circuit ( they sent it to me by mistake and told me to keep it when they sent the correct one ) on my Charvel bass and now my brother doesn't want to give it back to me . So I guess I could say it works well !