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Vintage 1950s / 1960s Kay Archtop Pickup Install

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  • čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
  • Make and install a Pickup in a sweeeet vintage Kay F-hole.

Komentáře • 160

  • @NickRatnieks
    @NickRatnieks Před 6 lety +20

    "No guitars were hurt in the making of this video!" Great job! It's a shame more people do not follow your example.

  • @damiankildare9230
    @damiankildare9230 Před 11 měsíci +1

    You could and should build these as a kit. I would buy one for sure. Great job with not only the idea but also the execution.

  • @leedee4968
    @leedee4968 Před rokem +1

    One of the best videos of this type I have seen😮

  • @guitarmangordon.9286
    @guitarmangordon.9286 Před rokem

    Hey Listen: I want to thank you!!!!!!
    I had the very same situation with an old Harmony that I've had for 40 years. I wanted to add a pickup, but nothing on the market would work, & I did not want any kind of Piazo. You gave me the key! I used one coil from an old Seymour Duncan Humbucker I had, & ground down the Alnico V slugs from an old Tele neck pickup. The Darn Thing Rocks. I owe you my friend, thank you.
    If you want to see the result, I have videos on my page. Thanks again!

  • @tristanslokschuppen7895
    @tristanslokschuppen7895 Před 3 lety +2

    Thanks a lot! This helped me, for my Kay. You rescued me! Now I can sound like Jack White. He also gots a Kay archtop.

  • @Concentrum
    @Concentrum Před 4 lety +4

    youre extraordinarily entertaining and obviously a great guy. thanks for this vid!

  • @martinlouden9005
    @martinlouden9005 Před 3 lety +2

    What a great result. I wasn't aware that Kay made such good quality guitars, and your conversion has made it even better!

  • @johnletourneau3688
    @johnletourneau3688 Před 4 lety +1

    I have a late 60s Kay f-hole archtop that I have brought back to life. I've been thinking about a P90, but was worried about messing with the internal structure. Amazing example of how it's done. If only I had a clue how to make custom pickups. Really enjoyed watching your process. Thanks.

  • @adriantyler6911
    @adriantyler6911 Před 3 lety

    Been staring at an old 'Famos' Archtop for about a year wondering how to get a P90 on it.....can't believe I just found this upload! Cheers chap, you're a genius!!

  • @Jef-sj6zc
    @Jef-sj6zc Před 2 lety

    Man , you are the best!!
    I admire you what you can and your skills and your knowhow about guitars and pickups

  • @voornaam3191
    @voornaam3191 Před rokem

    Sir, thanks for this video. Got a Venlonia, from the Netherlands, early 60's. I gave it a 4/4 neck, it had a 3/4 one, and it deserves pickups. Or a neck pickup.

  • @RobertHodgman
    @RobertHodgman Před 6 lety +3

    Loved this vid, and that Kay! I have a '35 Harmony Supertone Archtop and love these old Chi-town Guitars. I would never have the brass ones to drill into it, but you are a better man than me Gunga Din! Plus you can really play man! Great job!

  • @davepontrello4159
    @davepontrello4159 Před rokem

    I watch your video and it inspired me to put a P90 in my Harmony Monterey archtop. It came out great and sounds wonderful. Thanks for putting your video out there.

  • @m33pzor
    @m33pzor Před 7 lety +6

    Man, great job and this is the exact issue I am running into with my Harmony H1215 that I just refinished. I would really love to take your approach and method but unfortunately I am not sure I have sufficient tools to get the job done. Great video and keep em coming!

  • @rodrigo329
    @rodrigo329 Před 4 lety +1

    This is awesome, you did a great job. I'm looking to do exactly the same on a Harley Benton Manhattan hollow body, but I didn't want to make a big hole in the body,so this is exactly what I needed to see

  • @jamesmowenby
    @jamesmowenby Před 4 lety +2

    I just bought a Kay N-9. I may have to put a P-90 in mine

  • @duderama6750
    @duderama6750 Před 2 lety

    You really did a good job, and the choice of a coil tap was the best option. Well done, it sounds great.

  • @christopherlord3441
    @christopherlord3441 Před 5 lety

    Great. Very impressive result and a pleasure to see someone who loves his work.

  • @hakanaxlund7951
    @hakanaxlund7951 Před 2 lety

    Great video! Your personality in combo with content. Wonderful! Thank you.

  • @TheGorillafoot
    @TheGorillafoot Před rokem

    The literally thought of doing the same thing when I first saw one of these. Good to see it worked out.

  • @MrGavinspoppop
    @MrGavinspoppop Před 7 lety +1

    I had high hopes that I could do what you did to my 1950 Gretsch , however ...... after viewing this I concede that I am over my head in this adventure .... but you are a real guitar file ... nice job brother !! Love the doggies too !

  • @copych
    @copych Před 6 lety +2

    Great! I like when people can make something worth. And I like the respect you treat this old guitar with.

  • @williammcdonald9833
    @williammcdonald9833 Před 5 lety

    Oh man your a freaking genius! Thanks for sharing your ingenuity and craftsmanship! I have a fully hollow Airline that plays and sounds great and this is what is going to happen to it soon!

  • @jasonbrown7644
    @jasonbrown7644 Před 7 měsíci

    This is incredible! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. May do this one day!

  • @Tuvgatan
    @Tuvgatan Před 2 lety

    Thank you very much, it was a very nice, interesting and fun presentation. I benefit from this and intend to do something like this with my old Levin archtop. Very inspiring. Alternatively, put the controls in a pickguard with a "floating" pickup. Thanks again ! // Roger 😎

  • @vintagetweed
    @vintagetweed Před 2 lety

    Just came across this! I put a 1970s Airline electric guitar pickup (its a really oddball Airline pickup made to look like a humbucker, but is only a single coil), and mounted it at the top of the sound hole in a 1973 Canadian made Citation 682. Sounds unreal. Looks way too cool and have honestly never heard another like it. Id love an old archtop project like yours! Very cool indeed.

  • @mv4236
    @mv4236 Před 4 lety +1

    Great project! Well thought through before modifying. May be interested in doing the same to a '68 Framus 5/51. A few things to think about. Good playing too Vaughn. Thanks for your time making this video.

  • @valentinavintage2032
    @valentinavintage2032 Před 3 lety

    Wow, beautiful sounding archtop! Will buy it from you. Cheers!

  • @davidlawlor4317
    @davidlawlor4317 Před 2 lety

    That's great. I want to do the same thing to my Epiphone Olympic. I hate the idea of cutting into the body too. That 125 T is my dream guitar. stunning.
    Thankyou for passing on the knowledge.

  • @mikeault
    @mikeault Před 2 lety

    Great job, sounds great!

  • @cortezcortez739
    @cortezcortez739 Před 5 lety +1

    Nice work, Vaughn! You're a real treat!

  • @AlchemyMusicConcept
    @AlchemyMusicConcept Před rokem

    I've got the same guitar with 2 original speedbump pickups. Great tone. Nice job with the P90. Sounds great.

  • @bindig1
    @bindig1 Před rokem

    Nice. I have a '61 Framus Riviera archtop laying around. I've been contemplating doing this exact thing to it.

  • @FriendM2010
    @FriendM2010 Před 4 lety +1

    Nice work, great sound, cute doggies ... 🤘

  • @freddiemaq2186
    @freddiemaq2186 Před 4 lety

    Wow that is an incredible transformation. Amazing skills.

  • @davetuttle9701
    @davetuttle9701 Před rokem

    Absolutely excellent work!

  • @peteandrews7169
    @peteandrews7169 Před 5 lety

    That neck pickup winding tap is a great idea, in these big boxes, sounds fantastic with both outputs. Nice Kay by the way, and awesome its a latter 60's version with the headstock adjusted proper trusrod. Nice work!
    And glad to see your using an extraction fan when soldering, for your health, cheers from Melbourne Australia

  • @vinoveritas4921
    @vinoveritas4921 Před 6 lety +2

    Great job and cool guitar. People who love guitars and dogs can't be bad, but be carefull with green tea.

  • @YiaMdj
    @YiaMdj Před 2 lety

    This is pretty much what I wanna try for my next project. Thanks for the video!
    I'm gonna buy a cheap old 60s archtop and put a dogear on it and a nice new parts.

  • @jackoshaw
    @jackoshaw Před 6 lety

    SOUNDS NICE! You did justice to the old Kay!

  • @Meekmanvideo
    @Meekmanvideo Před 8 měsíci

    Cool mod. I love Kays.

  • @RichardFriendartist
    @RichardFriendartist Před 8 měsíci

    hahahahaha...whiskey to green tea is basically my path right now...I'm at coffee. lol....oh man. that cracked me up.

  • @DaytonaShooter
    @DaytonaShooter Před 2 lety

    Sounds great. Impressive work.

  • @jackoshaw
    @jackoshaw Před 6 lety

    Thanks for posting this!.... This is a project I will tackle as soon as the parts come in.... I have an old Kay, that at one time, Had a P-90 on it and someone has removed it, through the years... The Volume and tone knobs are still there, as well as the 1/4" jack....One thing I have done in the past, On an acoustic guitar, I have used an end pin connector instead of the traditional 1/4" Jack.... It's not correct for the Kay Archtop, but it is pretty nice...

  •  Před 6 lety

    Great. Just needed that. I'll be doing same thing next week, so now I know how to do it! Thank you!

  • @WhiteNacho
    @WhiteNacho Před 4 lety

    Love your work and your critters!

  • @monkeybro819
    @monkeybro819 Před 4 lety

    This is an unbelivable ilustration how to make and play a guitar, man, you rulle! I love it this video more than other musicians top stars. Man!!! Super I actualy have the same proble, I have an acustic jazz from 1961, archtop, and i cant fit it, now i see that the solution does exist. It will take some tome to find someone to do the same as you, but there is a solutio, and, thanks to you, man!

  • @eyeball226
    @eyeball226 Před 6 lety

    What a gorgeous sounding result!

  • @mrlongtree
    @mrlongtree Před 3 lety +1

    Great piece of work, inspirational stuff.

  • @mainsblanches8793
    @mainsblanches8793 Před 3 lety

    Craziest demo ever!!...hi!..hi!...stuff falling all over the place, coffee on top of the amp right besides a beautiful archtop guitar!!...hi!..hi!...

  • @mainsblanches8793
    @mainsblanches8793 Před 3 lety

    So cool to get those old guitars to sing again!!...

  • @beatleme2
    @beatleme2 Před 6 lety +1

    I won a pickup from Sentell pickups.. it was made like a Jazzmaster but is a p-90 and fits into the p90 case .. and flush mount everything " inside the cover" .. only thing i had to do is lay it in the Hot sun and let the Wax melt out..i hate over waxed pickups ..Sounds Great ..and mounted in the Middle of my '62 Harmony ... has Alnico rod Magnets like yours to replace the 2 under like a P-90 ..got it for 22 bucks !... heard Gibson made these as far back as the 1940;s ..and callled p90 staples ..later jazzmaster ..made famous on songs such as "Mr sandman" etc..wish mine was closer to the Neck tho...but then again i'd play right on the pickup as you do ..and that might create problems...that sanding deal i might have to do !!..wish you could sell these ..on Ebay i's buy one !! ..with the Curve sanded for a tighter fit.. I'd like to have a neck ..and use mine for the Bridge... Do you sell on Ebay !? ..and how much if you did sell one like this !?..mine came with a cream cover also ..i spray painted black..then used fine sand paper for the distress vintage look

  • @thomasmick469
    @thomasmick469 Před 5 lety

    First time seeing any of your videos. Great job fun and informative.

  • @phillieg26
    @phillieg26 Před 7 lety +1

    Very entertaining and informative!

  • @monkeymindmatters
    @monkeymindmatters Před 3 lety

    Wow, that sounds amazing!

  • @firelandmetal2933
    @firelandmetal2933 Před 4 lety

    WOW that acoustic tone sound really good

  • @mainsblanches8793
    @mainsblanches8793 Před 3 lety

    Amazing job!!...

  • @groundleaf865
    @groundleaf865 Před 7 lety +1

    Sounds fantastic!

  • @janjanoca
    @janjanoca Před 5 lety

    That's so neat... you're awesome. So creative. thumbs up, thumbs up, thumbs up. Now scouting craigslist, lol.

  • @ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm

    well done vaughn yes i have often seen nice guitars like that and thought mmmmmmm electrify the instrument ! and you are doing it = top and great show ! thank you sir !

  • @mikecabral1579
    @mikecabral1579 Před 6 lety

    Sweet job. Very talented man. Thanks

  • @eriknorlander5814
    @eriknorlander5814 Před 4 lety +10

    do you sell these pickups? I'd be interested at the right price :)

  • @jackoshaw
    @jackoshaw Před 6 lety +1

    That is the trouble with my AC30.... Can't set my Coffee on it..... It has "Drain Holes" on the top!.........Excellent tones and guitar picking!

  • @murattaner7384
    @murattaner7384 Před 3 lety

    Sounds better than all the Gibbies and Fendies put together (to me anyway ) :))))

  • @blueatlantisguitar
    @blueatlantisguitar Před 2 lety

    The scratched spot [from picks] on the guitar,,, id put some scratch cover by Old English,, wont disappear but will look like finshed wood again... used it on my 1961 Gibson L50 looked good.

  • @BronxCowboy
    @BronxCowboy Před rokem

    Man I enjoyed the video. Love the hounds too. You sorta remind me of Steve Goodman, a tad.

  • @BixLives32
    @BixLives32 Před 2 lety +1

    Good work, lad. I love luthiers who are willing to do archtop electronics! I also like watching a fellow use a lot of choice tools well.
    HOWEVER, that may be be SOLID top box. I'd have used a commonly available, stock-made, THIN mini humbucker, and FLOATED it, -directly mounted to the neck.
    But, I am a Jazz player. Alas, a floating mini humbucker can still be used to play pop styles, but that is why I have an old Tele (with a mini humbucker fitted at the neck position. I shaved my Tele for Jazz work (in a pinch).
    Your Kay box is quite bright (acoustically) and might have made a great Jazz box for a player who hasn't the massive £bob for a 1980s Benedetto (forgive the pun).
    Also, why use standard 1/4" pots and mount them on a spruce top?! This is invasive to the originality of the piece. Also the frilling for the P90. Although your fashioning the custom P90 was excellent work. (why not use an 8 pole p90? -Too big?)
    There are available, mini, thin, FLAT rheostat assemblies containing two pots that can be glued under an F-hole, -OR, better yet, glued under a standard archtop PICKGUARD. This would allow the top to vibrate as intended and NOT irreversibly alter the guitar.
    This archtop originally had a pickguard that likely evaporated (nitrate). Personally, I find it much easier to play Jazz with a pickguard on almost any archtop.
    Your output pot was done well, but why not mount it in the tail piece block? OR, mount a 1/8" mini jack on the pickguard? Jacks mounted on archtop side wood are prone to breaking the wood (I hate when that happens). E.g., one step on the cord, pulls the cord tight, and then you hear wood crackling. In my 63 years, I have done that twice. Ugh. Rebuilding wood around a 1/4" jack is not fun. Also, the less internal wiring in ANY archtop, THE BETTER!
    With a lot LESS work and tool use, this guitar could have been set-up as a classic JAZZ box. It certainly has the raw acoustic bones to make a good Jazz archtop.
    PS: Check out getting a Weller REGULATED 35 watt soldering iron: Regulated power for an iron makes for easier soldering and better solder joints. Weller makes a version with a plastic chassis and a lower price than the professional version, yet the circuitry is the same and it comes with a thinner iron head then you are presently using. -Much easier for the type of soldering you do. You may be surprised how much better a regulated iron works. -Cheers

  • @PK_TANG_PK
    @PK_TANG_PK Před 5 lety

    They are soooooo cute!

  • @BrokenPortriats
    @BrokenPortriats Před 2 měsíci +1

    custom P90 !!?? sweet. Why?? wait til you hear it play at end of this story. ...SICK...Why put a 454 in a Vega? Why work so hard on an old archtop ??? it's going to amazing miss daisy.

  • @paulbaker9277
    @paulbaker9277 Před 3 lety

    ***I have a question for identification***, I have a full body arch top and most likely, it was made under license. Its features,***it has a deep V neck neck with no truss rod*** , the F holes are not cut in one section , ***to finish the F holes, they have used a separate round hole*** . On this guitar, ***they used the pick guard to attach the pick up and tone and volume including coax***.
    (The Pickup is all chrome , it is called a ***Gold tone un-waxed*** ) from what I can tell as I did not at this stage I did not want to do any unnecessarily damage ...At this stage I believe the guitar was made around 1940's / 1960's at a guess I don''t have a mirror to look under neath inside for numbers or a makers mark Just one other thing it the tail piece the re are so many of these but it looks unusual Imagine a flat piece of steel with the centre cut out nothing special about that however, for each string their is a tube for each one, about an 1 inch long, I just though that it seemed an odd shape and I have not seen any so far to mach it. Thank all for your time. just one last thing , the body is a cuter way and this model one is called a Sapphire. ty

  • @eyeball226
    @eyeball226 Před 6 lety +1

    A P90 with rod magnets is kind of a slightly undersized Jazzmaster pickup.
    EDIT: Just got further along to the point where you call it exactly that!

  • @thesword2380
    @thesword2380 Před 3 lety

    Hah... I followed your exact same Drinking Digression.
    Green Tea all round.
    Though Coca Tea is The Real Thing, I just canna get it.
    Also.. I hope you have one of "these" for Nylon String Guitars..

  • @alainbrisebois8334
    @alainbrisebois8334 Před 4 lety

    I would love to see how you fish the pots and the jack plug inside the guitar. Verry nice work.

  • @chrismillett
    @chrismillett Před 3 lety

    So awesome. Next project ✅

  • @MayhemJack
    @MayhemJack Před rokem

    If, say, the guitar already has a piezo installed, could I do this but wire it in a way that I could switch between the pickup and the piezo? So they could both go out the same jack?

  • @splitsevin
    @splitsevin Před 6 lety +4

    Amazing video but quick question...how did you run the wires/pots/output jack through the body?

    • @WW-1995
      @WW-1995 Před 2 lety +2

      Through the pickup hole and then help with the f holes.

  • @guyharandonmusic
    @guyharandonmusic Před 5 lety +4

    Wait, Have you kept acoustic strings on it!? Sounds amazing!

  • @andrewbegin
    @andrewbegin Před 6 lety

    Fucking great video, love the demo at the end. Gonna try this with an old Kay I picked up (stay tuned)

  • @brandonholguin2872
    @brandonholguin2872 Před 3 lety

    Fantastic!! Very cool Kay mod. Sounds great. I have a large Epiphone Broadway hollow body jazz box that I want to fully mod. Starting with Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Alnico V Staple P-90 pickups. Along with a Bigsby B6G, Embie-Matic bridge, Tone Man Custom 50's P.I.O. wiring harness, Tusq XL nut and Hipshot locking tuners and finally string it with Thomastik-Intfeld Jazz Swing, JS113 flatwounds .013-.053. Your thoughts on these mods I would like to install would be greatly appreciated.

  • @shawni321
    @shawni321 Před 4 lety

    Anyone know anything about a no-name or at least a non-visible name, double f, looks like a Kay or a Silvertone, acoustic/electric, white elevated pick Guard, possibly late 50s to early 60s, single pickup? Similar coloring, more yellow to the body but dark edges. Your git sounds so sweet! Nice work

  • @ShorelineSailboats
    @ShorelineSailboats Před 6 lety +1

    I’m doing this to a ‘67 Kay N5. I’m going with soap bar P90s. I had to repair the neck butt block that was cracked, so I had to remove the back anyway. That will make wiring easier.
    Quick question: what strings do you recommend for this acoustic/eclectic hybrid? Thanks for the inspiration!

  • @jihyopark4614
    @jihyopark4614 Před 5 lety

    That's fantastic!

  • @contentconsumer487
    @contentconsumer487 Před rokem

    I have one of these that I don’t play much because of the neck. I have always been curious about the wood. Is the top a solid piece of spruce? Pressed into shape? I cannot imagine they hand carved them.

  • @redantares
    @redantares Před 6 lety

    WOW!! Very COOL!

  • @JeffKeel
    @JeffKeel Před 7 lety

    Fantastic Vaughn

  • @Anshul1614
    @Anshul1614 Před 4 lety

    I have an F-hole Archtop Electro Acoustic guitar and i put up a pickup on it, but it has so much acoustic sound and it interferes with the sound from the amp. Should be covering the soundholes and putting on Electric guitar strings?

  • @ef2b
    @ef2b Před 3 lety

    When you do a neck reset on an archtop, how do you decide how much of the action comes from the neck angle and how much from the bridge height? I have an old Gretsch acoustic that I'm scratching my head over on this, partly because I do not have the original bridge, so I don't know what the bridge height was supposed to be (and the current bridge is going to be replaced).

  • @ibberman
    @ibberman Před 4 lety +1

    What gauge strings ? Thank's for the great video. Home run, the Kay sounds better that the Gibson.

  • @miloslavbritovic1012
    @miloslavbritovic1012 Před 2 lety

    Whoa?!? Dude that is awesome! That sounds incredible. What would you charge to repeat that in a ‘63 Monterrey?

  • @translateslowly
    @translateslowly Před rokem

    I really do wish you'd sell me a handful of these pickups

  • @hjz266
    @hjz266 Před 4 lety

    I know someone asked this already but would you sell a pickup and pre-wired t/v control so I can install one on my Harmony?

  • @redrock1963
    @redrock1963 Před 5 lety +1

    Mnnm kay Mr. Garison.

  • @rodneykitchen3869
    @rodneykitchen3869 Před 3 lety

    Great video, one question, would n't a floating pick up be better as no"surgery" required ?

  • @ImpalamansGarage
    @ImpalamansGarage Před 4 lety

    Sounds killer.

  • @davidrourkemusic
    @davidrourkemusic Před 5 lety

    How thick is the top? I have an old Gibson L-50 I'm considering doing this to but the top is only 3 or 4mm thick. Would this concern you? Thanks!

  • @marlobreding7402
    @marlobreding7402 Před 5 lety

    I don't think I would have used kind of drill bits he was using I like using Brad points. They're designed to cut the edge of the hole so you don't get tear out. I especially don't like that Universal tapered bit.

  • @maliciousstudios9970
    @maliciousstudios9970 Před 2 lety

    How did you get the volume and tone pots inside the guitar

  • @lilipearl1
    @lilipearl1 Před 6 lety

    Great video hmmkay....

  • @williammattey1949
    @williammattey1949 Před 2 lety

    Hi there. I need this type of pickup for my old archtop! Would you consider done one to order? Serious enquiry.

  • @michelledavis2847
    @michelledavis2847 Před 6 lety +1

    very helpful