Round Soundhole Humbucker Pickups

[jetrier]

I'd like to mount a humbucker in the round soundhole of my acoustic. Think of it as a poor man's version of a Howard Roberts model. I love the wider 1.72" neck profile of my acoustic. (Side note: The more you play Godin brand necks, the harder it is to go back to Gibson/Fender standards). The truss rod adjustment is in the hole, so the pickup must be removable. I've really liked the tone of Kent Armstrong's mini humbuckers ("slimbuckers"), so that would be the tone. I might blend it with the acoustic piezo with a little two knob mixer pedal. I'm considering the DeArmond Tone Boss and the Bill Lawrence A345SS that are on Reverb right now.

I've read the other threads on very similar topics where people do DIY mounts or permanent mounts. I'd prefer to go with removable, non-intrusive, easily movable and resalable if I don't like it.

Does anyone have any experience with that kind of setup, either of those pickups or something else that you might recommend for the mini humbucker tone?

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Long Live JazzGuitar.be. The best resource on the web for Jazz Guitarists or those that pretend, like me

[neatomic]

check this- a pickup cradle..lets you soundhole mount your fave pup

Pickup cradle





cheers

[jetrier]

Thanks neatomic -

I hadn't seen that version of a mount. I had seen the ones from eureka sound...
Sound Hole Pickup Mounts

They looked a little flimsy. The Pickup Cradle looks more substantial.

I'll admit that that 2/4 split concept from eureka speaks to me... like a Siren before I crash into the rocks of regret. LOL

Lots to consider

[Matt Milton]

I love the wider 1.72" neck profile of my acoustic. The more you play Godin brand necks, the harder it is to go back to Gibson/Fender standards).

At risk of sidetracking your post, which Godin guitar(s) do you have? I'm a wide-nut only guy and I have three Recording King acoustic guitars as they have a 1.75 inch nut. The only affordable electrics I know of with a wider nut are those by The Loar and the Godin 5th Avenue.

[jetrier]

Matt - yup, I have a Seagull Entourage CW, a Godin 5th Ave Kingpin II, and a La Patrie Hybrid CW. Ive also had a ACS and a A6. All in the Godin family. Loar is another wider-nut, it's true, but I dont find their quality as good as the Canadian made Godins. For Loar I've owned a 300, 309, & 350. Eastman's have wider necks but affordable only on a rare occasion used, IMHO. Oh, Hofner Verythin is wider neck if you're thinking of a semi hollow. Very flat radius is the way I remember it. But good string spacing.

I dont understand why other brands dont offer different neck profiles on their guitars. To me it's not just playing style although I love fingerstyle chord melody. It's also hand size. I'm a big guy and I just find the wider necks give me the spacing I like.

[sgosnell]

Any humbucker with 4 leads can be split. All it takes is a proper switch, usually a push-pull mounted in a potentiometer. Those are widely available, but mounting one on a flat-top without drilling holes could be tricky.

[jetrier]

The 2/4 split that eureka sound has is not the usual split. They split out the 2 low strings from the high 4 so that an octave drop can be used on the low 2 for a bass effect on E and A strings

[jetrier]

At risk of sidetracking your post, which Godin guitar(s) do you have? I'm a wide-nut only guy and I have three Recording King acoustic guitars as they have a 1.75 inch nut. The only affordable electrics I know of with a wider nut are those by The Loar and the Godin 5th Avenue.

Hi Matt - I found this site today with wide nut guitar options. I thought I'd pass it along. John

[Spook410]

You could just use a neck mount. You could probably reach under it for the truss rod adjustment. Or just unscrew it from the neck if necessary.

[jetrier]

I'd love to mount a KA Slimbucker, but the standard neck mount won't work. There's no neck available underneath there to mount it to. There's just not a lot of room to work with in there.

[Socalbill]

Hi. I have tried both the Eureka sound mount and the Pickup Cradle. The Eureka
was too delicate and the pu wasn’t stable. One good bounce... It did have an integrated volume control, but I sent it back. The Pickup Cradel is excellent. You can get different adapters for different pickups and the thing is solid and stable. No volume control though. I currently have it installed in my Eastman EROE

btw, the little blue thing that looks like an led is actually a pearl that my wife glued on there to cover an old pick guard screw hole.

Bill

[jetrier]

Bill - Thank you. Great info. I appreciate you uploading the pics, too. Sounds like the Cradle is definitely the way to go.

Is that a Seymour Duncan SH-2 Jazz Neck humbucker? I take it you're happy with the electric tone you get. I like the way the black blends in versus going with the zebra color version.

Your soundhole is pretty much taken up by the pickup which I don't think mine will be. Are you still happy with the acoustic sound?

Thanks again, John

[Socalbill]

Hi John,

the Eastman is an acoustic oval sound hole version of the El Rey electric arch top. It’s about a 14 inch lower bout and has a pretty tiny voice. Lots of mids and treble. Yes that’s a Jazz neck that I had around and it works for this guitar as that pu has a lot of high end. I’ve had the guitar for more than 10 years and I use it as a “sit on the couch an noodle” kind of guitar. Electric sound is much fuller, and a bit like the El Rey sibling. The pu does block some acoustic sound, but would not be much of an issue with a round sound hole imo
Bill

[Socalbill]

Bill . I like the way the black blends in versus going with the zebra color version.

Thanks again, John

oh, and btw, the black option comes with the lettering engraved so the letters are white. I just blacked them out with a marker
Bill