Stumbled across

[Rocky]

Personally, I like the look of the blacked-out Armstrongs on those . But looks are not all that important in this discussion. Gold HB-1s will look great too, just not all that Nightbirdy.

Black sonicallytransparent covers can always be fitted.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Tough call, C T. Do you have to do any surgery to put the HB-1s in place of the Armstrong pickups? You could just try the swap and see...

Personally, I like the look of the blacked-out Armstrongs on those . But looks are not all that important in this discussion. Gold HB-1s will look great too, just not all that Nightbirdy.

Good luck with your choices, and welcome aboard!

With the HB-1 having been an option, I would expect the routes to be big enough

 

[matsickma]

Are the Gold pickups vintage HB1's, SD1, the later Fender version? Also do they have pickup rings that have not been altered?

In general I would choose your wiring harness to make it a minor chore to be able to swap out your gold pickups with the stock Armstrong. Vintage HB1 or Armstrong will maintain the value. Reinstalling the original stock bridge stop will raise the value and adding the new tuners will get it back up close to market. Not sure what you paid for it but below the GC asking price makes it a reasonable "investment" that would sell for more than you paid. Is the case the original Guild case?
M

 

[Harp Tail]

If I were lucky enough to have a set of HB-1s "already on hand", I would not hesitate.