Schaller Pick-Ups?

[AfterGlo]

Hi. I have a '97 Bluesbird that I bought a few months back. I finally got around to bringing it in to a reputable local shop (the Fretted Instruments Workshop, Amherst MA) for a set up and the luthier commented on the Schaller pick-ups. I said, "wha? I thought these came stock with SD HB-1s." He said they were in fact Schallers and that they were definitely the original pick-ups.

Does this make sense to anyone? And does anyone have information re: Schaller pick-ups generally and in comparison to the usual SDs? I'm pretty sure this guy is the shop owner and if anyone ever exuded complete knowledge of his craft, it would be him. I'm really curious about this. The guitar also has what seems to be an unusual top, given the other birds I've seen. It has me wondering about my guit's origin. I bought it from the original owner and understand it was purchased in Lawrence Kansas (still has tags from the shop).

Any thoughts?

Here's a picture - albeit with very dark lighting.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3075573/DSC02697.JPG

 

[Thunderface]

Sounds like a job for Hans.

 

[hansmoust]

Hi. I have a '97 Bluesbird that I bought a few months back. I finally got around to bringing it in to a reputable local shop (the Fretted Instruments Workshop, Amherst MA) for a set up and the luthier commented on the Schaller pick-ups. I said, "wha? I thought these came stock with SD HB-1s." He said they were in fact Schallers and that they were definitely the original pick-ups.

Hello AfterGlo,

Your '97 Bluesbird should have 2 Seymour Duncan SH-1 pickups. I believe the person in the shop is mixing up information!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[krysh]

didn't "The Heritage" use Schaller pickups as stock for a while?

 

[GAD]

Wow - stunning guitar!

Listen to Hans - he knows of what he speaks.

 

[AfterGlo]

I know, Hans is the authority, so I am now questioning what I've been told. I did give Tony a "you sure about that?" when he told me, but he seemed entirely certain. Perhaps I'll go in for a look myself next time I change the strings. If I do open it up myself, I'm wondering how I'd know they were the originals. I think they are, as I bought it from the original owner who said they'd never been swapped.

Thanks

 

[danerectal]

When you check, take some pictures. They say a lot more than anything else in these situations. That's one hell of a top too. :shock:

 

[Default]

That's pretty danged spectacular!

 

[krysh]

Wow - stunning guitar! ...

oh, yeah, I forgot: +1

 

[GAD]

When you check, take some pictures. They say a lot more than anything else in these situations. That's one hell of a top too. :shock:

Yeah take pics. A lot of us have been obsessing over Guild pickups for so long that we've learned all the signs and could tell you pretty quickly what's in there if they're stock.

And then when we're wrong, Hans can set us straight.

 

[yettoblaster]

didn't "The Heritage" use Schaller pickups as stock for a while?

Yes, and still do. In fact, I believe the HRW pickups designed by Ren Wahl are made by Schaller for Heritage.

I had a H-575 with the HRW's Heritage now uses on many models and they were great.

I also had a much abused H-140 thin LP clone with the regular Schallers Heritage used for years, with a Schaller roller bridge and a heavy T6 type tail stop, and despite all that stuff I don't particularly like it was a fantastic sounding guitar!

I think even StewMac dealt Schallers before they switched to GFS?

 

[krysh]

their website says, they are using seymour duncans a lot now.....

 

[AfterGlo]

Re: Schaller Pick-Ups? of course not!

Hi Guys. Finally got around to changing out the strings on my Bluesbird and pulled the Pups. You guys were right, of course, Seymour Duncans, not Scahallers as I'd been told by a local guitar shop. They say "Made in America," and are labeled "59 NL" and "59 BL." I assume this is what would be expected for my 97? Are the SH-1s a 59 Gibson clone? Because you asked - pictures below...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3075573/DSC02948.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3075573/DSC02949.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3075573/DSC02950.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3075573/DSC02951.JPG

 

[gilded]

Pretty easy to mix up Schaller and Seymour if you are 'audally lysdexic'.

I have had some great Schaller pickups over the years, too.

 

[murkat]

looking at the pics, looks kinda obvious to me what they are, am I missing something?

 

[AfterGlo]

No, I don't think so. The original question came after I had a local guitar shop set up my BB and he commented on the Schaller PUPs. I told him I thought they'd be SDs and he said they weren't. I didn't want to pull tghe new strings off to check the PUPs myself, so I asked whether anyone had heard of Schallers on a 97 BB. Anyway, I finally changed my strings and pulled the PUPs and it looks like the guitar tech was confused. Someone had previously suggested that I post a picture of them when I got around to pulling them, so I did.

This is really just a case of a mystery that ended with the realization that there was no mystery.