Family Reunion.

[Archie]

Nice job, Archie. You have some great toys!

Thanks JP. I’ll show you something else later in the week. I've been working on putting this collection together for a while so I’m happy to have finally completed it.

 

[Harp Tail]

Absolutely - you're quite welcome.

Can't wait to see the complete collection!

 

[Archie]

Hi all.

Things have been moving on with the Artist Award (93).

I've made a pickguard to replace the original as I wasn't a huge fan of that design and I want to add a DeArmond RC.
I added the DeArmond this morning. Was a toss up between a 1000 (my preference) and the 1100. I can swap them out but the 1100 just seems to look a little more subtle. Adding red into the mix from the 1000 takes more getting used to although I prefer it as a pickup.

I will make some changes as the iterations of this design progress. Here it is so far.

The next iteration will be slightly smaller, the lettering will be slightly smaller and I'll try and tone down the white to cream/ivory or gold.

 

[GGJaguar]

I like the 1100 because it has adjustable polepieces and looks "right" to me. I hate the thin-form humbucker on my '96 AA, but I can't get myself to drill two holes in the neck to mount a DeArmond.

 

[Archie]

I like the 1100 because it has adjustable polepieces and looks "right" to me. I hate the thin-form humbucker on my '96 AA, but I can't get myself to drill two holes in the neck to mount a DeArmond.

Yes I didn’t want to drill two holes either, in case neither pickup sounded very good.
I made a work around.
The pickup is mounted purely to the pick-guard.
I am thinking about adding a slot in the guard so you can adjust the distance from the neck and the height of the pickup is adjusted by the mounting screw at the too of the guard.

I actually prefer the 1000 and have never adjusted pole pieces on a pickup. You can instead adjust the height and tilt of the 1000 to suit. Plus the 1000’s are on the original Artist Award.
But the later AA’s seem to look better with the 1100 as you say.

 

[Archie]

 

[BradHK]

That looks great and I really like the mounting solution to the pickguard.

 

[GGJaguar]

That looks great and I really like the mounting solution to the pickguard.

Agreed! I think you can commercialize this for AA owners who don't want to drill holes for a DeArmond.

 

[Harp Tail]

I wholeheartedly subscribe to the two above comments and stand in awe of your considerable skills (if not vision), Archie.

 

[Archie]

Agreed! I think you can commercialize this for AA owners who don't want to drill holes for a DeArmond.

Ha! Well one shouldn’t deprive the public of what they need
Ok being serious, I would need to make perhaps a dozen more before I had something worthy of selling to the public, but certainly any way for me to start making money, no matter how small, would be helpful.
Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[Archie]

I wholeheartedly subscribe to the two above comments and stand in awe of your considerable skills (if not vision), Archie.

Thank you for your kind words, support and encouragement. It means a great deal.
I work on my own all the time and it often feels very lonely, so the enthusiasm of others helps keep spirits high in tough times, as I’m currently experiencing.

 

[chazmo]

I think that looks great with the new pickguard Archie, and the DeArmond pickup even matches the harp tail piece.