dano-bobkat project

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noisepunk
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dano-bobkat project

Post by noisepunk » Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:07 pm

behold!
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i got this guitar made by forumite cooterfinger in a trade some eons ago–great acoustic sound, but life got crazy, i moved across the country and back, and never got further than painting it (which i'm planning to redo, because i did a pretty shit job).

i've got some time on my hands before leaving for the UK in mid-august (or so) and was hoping to finally do this thing a solid and get it fully functional.

short of it: i'm looking for some cheap pickup suggestions. i have a humbucker routing template and very nearly just hogged out a cavity or two today, but figured i'd kick some ideas around with you all before doing anything impulsive.

thinking of a single pickup, probably in the middle (maybe mid-neck :o ), can't spend more than $50-per-pickup, and even $100 for a set is probably a bit of a stretch, which i know significantly narrows my options (except that GFS has a million pickup options).
Last edited by noisepunk on Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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JSett
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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by JSett » Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:50 pm

If you're going for a single pickup then you could do a lot worse, in my opinion, than to rout for a HB then put a P90-flavoured something in there (HB sized). That leaves you wide open for any changes down the road and a huge aftermarket/used market to choose from
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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by Steadyriot. » Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:27 pm

A single gold foil smack dab in the middle.
I would’ve suggested one of those Victory ones but they now sell for 75,- so a bit above budget.
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I always thought the Gretsch Electromatic Lapsteel Pickups looked cool, but no clue how they sound. Cheap though, can pick ‘m up for about 30 dollars.
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Can’t go wrong with a single bridge p90 either, mini humbucker would be cool too.
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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by cooterfinger » Thu Jul 08, 2021 2:38 pm

Hey, I remember that.

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Here's what it looks like under the hood.

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How 'bout a Giovanni p90 neck humbucker. I think they're under $50.

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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by jthomas » Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:29 pm


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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by threewordname » Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:45 pm

I have a similar style guitar with a gfs ny in the neck position, wired straight to the jack. It sounds beefy.

When I record, I pretty much double track everything with that guitar.

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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by noisepunk » Fri Jul 09, 2021 5:43 am

thanks for all the suggestions! i'm going to try and narrow it down to a shape (probably p90 or humbucker), and go from there. a goldfoil obviously makes a lot of sense (a lipstick pickup would of course make a lot of sense too), i've also never actually owned a p90 or mini-humbucker guitar, so maybe that's the way to go.

i'll probably use this thread for updates as they happen.
cooterfinger wrote:
Thu Jul 08, 2021 2:38 pm
Hey, I remember that.

Image

Here's what it looks like under the hood.

Image

How 'bout a Giovanni p90 neck humbucker. I think they're under $50.

Image
ooh, thank you for these–i should've saved them when i got the guitar from you. looks like the giovanni p90 is about $30 before shipping– i'll definitely look into those.

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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:01 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:50 pm
...to rout for a HB then put a P90-flavoured something in there (HB sized). That leaves you wide open for any changes down the road and a huge aftermarket/used market to choose from...
I think routing for the biggest possible option is great advice, so long as you're planning on adding a pickguard.
I hit this snag ages ago, realising that the Filtertron upgrade I had planned would mean more routing to the body.
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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by noisepunk » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:14 am

PorkyPrimeCut wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:01 am
...so long as you're planning on adding a pickguard.
well, i'm hoping to do something more along the lines of this:
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(edit: more like this actually)

except i'm going to body mount the electronics, so basically a half version of that pickguard which will cover an access cavity for installing a wiring harness. a full pickguard would definitely make my decision easier– still not married to anything yet, so i should probably consider that.

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Re: pickup suggestions for a dano/bobkat hybrid?

Post by Singlebladepickup » Fri Jul 09, 2021 3:16 pm

gold foil and/or lipstick

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re: dano-bobkat project

Post by noisepunk » Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:47 pm

did some body work today– it took me an embarrassingly long time, but in my defense i was a bit under-equipped and simultaneously working on a sculpture.

anyways, got the pickup cavity hogged out, routed a hole to feed some electronics through, got the holes for those drilled, and made a pickguard template (first time i'll be making one of those from scratch :unsure: )!

shots!shots!shot!
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super rough mockup:
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...i'll be repainting it–thinking either surf-green/sonic-blue (somewhere in that color family), or something in the pink/orange family (like a day-glo miami sunset kind of vibe). not sure what color (or material) i'll make the pickguard, any suggestions for either would be appreciated :)

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Re: dano-bobkat project

Post by antisymmetric » Sun Jul 11, 2021 4:39 pm

8) I like where this is going!
For pickups, have you checked EZPZ on eBay? Their thing seems to be Silvertone/Harmony-derived stuff with silver/gold foil, etc.
If the paint is hard to decide on, maybe just keep looking for a pickguard material that jumps out at you, and let that inform the paint choice?
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Re: dano-bobkat project

Post by noisepunk » Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:09 pm

thanks, it's good to finally see it turning into something after all this time :)

i just went with a GFS gold-foil *shrug*, i've wanted to try their pickups for a while, and they were out of stock of my first choice– but i think this will sound pretty great.

good call on the pickguard–i need to figure out who stocks plastic sheets locally.

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Re: re: dano-bobkat project

Post by smjenkins » Sun Jul 11, 2021 7:11 pm

noisepunk wrote:
Sun Jul 11, 2021 3:47 pm
super rough mockup:
Image
I love where this is headed. Grabbing popcorn...

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Re: dano-bobkat project

Post by LVC » Sun Jul 11, 2021 11:59 pm

Some Danelectros had a Masonite pickguard. Or what about cutting one out of a scrap of Formica laminate sheet? A retro "boomerang" pattern would look awesome!

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Otherwise, I would think MOP (white or aged) goes well with almost any color, especially pastels.

As for finish, I love the mid-2000s Danelectro colors.

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The finishes were satin rather than high gloss. I have a Dano 63 in tangerine... No picture I've seen really does it justice. Sometimes it looks orange, sometimes salmon, sometimes coral pink, depending on the light.
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