Kent Armstrong strange HB's

[MAGUS®]

I've got this pair of Hummers from ( apparently ) a customised G&L 2000, but checking the K A website, which isnt K A but WD Music, they dont list these pickups. Theres a link to the schematics on the main WD Music page, to help identify the wiring but none of the listed diagrams correspond to mine, which as you can see is 1 red, and 1 bare, in a grey outer sleeve.

If anyone has an idea of what is what with these pickups, or how to contact KA himself ( as they maybe a 1 off build ) please post here...thanks !

[sunbeast]

What do the tops look like?

Karl

[PilbaraBass]

don't know if they're KA. But as far as the wiring, it's pretty obvious from the photos.

the red wire is a hot (+) the copper acts as both ground and the negative (-).

the coils are connected in series via that little jumper soldered between the two coils.

to keep the phase relationship the same between the two pickups, they should be wired the same way.

you can also easily wire these hummers parallel or set them up 4-wire...just remove the jumper and connect a wire for each of the 4 poles and then use another wire for the ground lug (the lug next to the silver foil).

[MAGUS®]

Karl

The tops look like this



Pilbara, thanks ! Thats very useful info, though i may keep it simple and just rewire the other one identical and keep them that way. The options are there of course should i feel the need

[luknfur]

Cool looking pups. Ebony wood cover look to them in the pic. I'd contact Kent and see what they are. 6 terminals so they may be triples. Looks like a quality pup. What's it sound like?

[MAGUS®]

I dont have a clue what they sound like Luk, as i've had them for about 3 days, and are going to be fitted in my P bass, after i get to grips with a router.

They also weigh about the same as my 2 seater sofa - damn heavy.

As for contacting KA, i cant find that out anywhere, as googling only ever brings up WD Music.

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

I dont have a clue what they sound like Luk, as i've had them for about 3 days, and are going to be fitted in my P bass, after i get to grips with a router.

They also weigh about the same as my 2 seater sofa - damn heavy.

As for contacting KA, i cant find that out anywhere, as googling only ever brings up WD Music.

FWIW:

to my knowledge WD -IS- how you contact Kent. You go through them.

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by luknfur

FWIW:

to my knowledge WD -IS- how you contact Kent. You go through them.

I concur...

http://www.kentarmstrong.com/KentContact.html

clicking on the email link opens your mail program with a message addressed to:

sales@wdmusicproducts.com

[MAGUS®]

OK folks - thanks.

I'll send them photos and see if they can ID them and confirm the wiring options as posted by pilbara..

Theres also the case that they may not be KA's at all, as pilbara said...

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Perhaps a thread titled "Can anyone identify these pickups?" is in order. That would attract a potentially different group of viewers.

[bdgotoh]

Those look a good bit like some custom KAs I have. The six soldering tabs on mine are to tap the coils, and they are arranged exactly how yours are. I'd take a multimeter to those pickups and figure out what you have.

[MAGUS®]

Well i emailed WD Music, but i'm not expecting an answer.

AS for the meter, I'll have to get someone else to wield that baby, as i'm severely lacking in that dept.

[Searcy]

Assuming these are RWRP humbuckers it seems pretty self-explanatory to me. Going from top to bottom.

Lug #1 is the end of the top coil.
Lug #2 is the start of the top coil
Lug#3 is the end of the bottom coil
Lug#4 is the start of the bottom coil.

Installing a switch to jump lug 4 with lug 2 would allow you to switch from single coil to humbucker mode. You could also do some series parallel switching with it if you like.


Cool pickup.

[MAGUS®]

Searcy, thanks and what do you think those jumpers are currently doing to the pickups ? In other words, looking at the picture, which mode are they in at the moment?

I'm not likely to want to single coil tap them, as i already have a Jazz that covers that nicely, so i want them just as straight humbuckers.

PS - WD Music have actually replied though they couldnt answer the question. They sent me Kent's direct contact

[BillyB_from_LZ]

I know that you asked Searcy, but my guess is that the pickups are presently wired in the series-humbucker mode. Like a guitar humbucker essentially.

I wonder if the extra terminals are taps to the coils... An ohmmeter would tell you...

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

Searcy, thanks and what do you think those jumpers are currently doing to the pickups ? In other words, looking at the picture, which mode are they in at the moment?

I'm not likely to want to single coil tap them, as i already have a Jazz that covers that nicely, so i want them just as straight humbuckers.

PS - WD Music have actually replied though they couldnt answer the question. They sent me Kent's direct contact

FWIW:

a "real" coil tap is not singling a coil out of an HB, it is actually a third (or more depending on the pup) winding that is "tapped" part way into the total coil so that in effect you're only accessing a portion of the coil thereby getting a different tone. Such a coil would have 3 leads in the coil - start, finish, and the tap - and therefore would read two different DCR's on that coil.

There are no coil-tapped bass pups I'm aware of made these days, there have been in the past. It's always been more common in guitar pups at any rate.

To know what those terminals are doing you'd probably have to disconnect the leads and jumper and use a meter - then you'd know what you have otherwise it's mere speculation. The bare is likely just common ground. At any rate, you'll likely know when Kent gets back to you. That's probably either a triple coil or tapped HB.

[BassoP]

Originally Posted by luknfur

FWIW:

a "real" coil tap is not singling a coil out of an HB, it is actually a third (or more depending on the pup) winding that is "tapped" part way into the total coil so that in effect you're only accessing a portion of the coil thereby getting a different tone. Such a coil would have 3 leads in the coil - start, finish, and the tap - and therefore would read two different DCR's on that coil.

There are no coil-tapped bass pups I'm aware of made these days, there have been in the past. It's always been more common in guitar pups at any rate.

To know what those terminals are doing you'd probably have to disconnect the leads and jumper and use a meter - then you'd know what you have otherwise it's mere speculation. The bare is likely just common ground. At any rate, you'll likely know when Kent gets back to you. That's probably either a triple coil or tapped HB.

I don't know of anyone offering true coil Tapped guitar pickups these days either. I can't say that I've ever seen one for sale.

[MAGUS®]

Thanks again cousins...!!

And Kent got back to me real quick, which is impressive in itself these days.

Dear Peter :

They are hand made by me or my son Aaron in the UK. If they are after 1999 then my son made them, as he is my office over there now.
The humbuckers are coil tapped.
If you number the tags 1-6 ( does not matter which way ) ....

1 = finish coil A
2 = tap coil A
3 = start of coil A.
4 = start coil B
5 = tap coil B
6 = finish coil B.

The big tag on the steel is a grounding tag.

If you have any other questions call my son on 01233 ******.

Sincerely Kent Armstrong


I'll call Aaron on the ol dog n bone sometime, and maybe he can give the other spec thats missing, like K ohms etc and possible wiring options.

Hey - they're gen-U-whine handbuilt KA's !! Not bad for the price of ( quick exhange rate calc.. ) $17.50

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

Thanks again cousins...!!

And Kent got back to me real quick, which is impressive in itself these days.

Dear Peter :

They are hand made by me or my son Aaron in the UK. If they are after 1999 then my son made them, as he is my office over there now.
The humbuckers are coil tapped.
If you number the tags 1-6 ( does not matter which way ) ....

1 = finish coil A
2 = tap coil A
3 = start of coil A.
4 = start coil B
5 = tap coil B
6 = finish coil B.

The big tag on the steel is a grounding tag.

If you have any other questions call my son on 01233 ******.

Sincerely Kent Armstrong


I'll call Aaron on the ol dog n bone sometime, and maybe he can give the other spec thats missing, like K ohms etc and possible wiring options.

Hey - they're gen-U-whine handbuilt KA's !! Not bad for the price of ( quick exhange rate calc.. ) $17.50

ohm-meter will give you the DCR specs...(not really important, it's just a nice to know...

wiring options???...well given the info that Kent gave you...we here at TB can give you about a dozen different ways to set these things up...

Personally, I'd go with a series/parallel switch on each pickup and leave the taps alone ...

but you could go series/series-tapped/parallel...

or series/series-tapped/parallel-tapped/parallel

or series/series-tapped/single/parallel-tapped/parallel

are you getting the idea?

[MAGUS®]

Yah i'm getting the idea, and its broken my head

Howzabout series humbucking on each and no switches ?

Considering i'd have to wire them up my self, the less there is to do, the less i'll get wrong.

The other thing is, how many pots will be needed if each is left in series humbucking mode ?