Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 ............ I have a Rob Allen Mouse which is very much floating my boat. I do wonder how it would sound with a magnetic pickup on board as well. Obv installing one with a router would be the height of stupidity, but can anyone think of a way of doing it with perhaps one screw hole into the end of the fretboard in an unobtrusive place? I am merely thinking aloud here and am not rushing into it, don't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Email Rob and ask him, I have a Mouse too and have emailed queries to him, he is most helpful. Here’s what it says in the FAQ section of Rob’s website on this very subject... Can I add a magnetic pickup to my bass? this is possible in theory, but not practical or cost effective. The work for this needs to be done at an earlier stage in the construction of the instrument. In addition, special electronics are needed that can blend a magnetic pickup with a piezo. If a highly skilled repairman wants to do this work it can be done, but I do not offer this work as a modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Thanks Frank, my own thoughts are some sort of floating pickup mounted somehow into a single fixing point at the end of the fingerboard. I realise that there are a lot of "ifs, buts and maybes" along the way and it is entirely possible that it will just not work. However, here is the best place I know to throw ideas around. I just fancy a short scale magnetic thump now and again and realised that I have the instrument just not the pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Discuss it with him, no better way than chatting with the man who made it. Mine is a fretless and I really struggle seeing the line markers on the edge of the fretboard, I’m considering luminlays but the thought of cutting into such a beautifully made instrument is disconcerting to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 I am thinking of it as a clip on/off thing and would not want any mods for controls etc. I could run a cable straight from the pickup. This thread is brought to you by "Owen just cannot leave things as they are". I will ask him as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) Schaller used to make an acoustic guitar pickup that was designed to attach to the end of the fingerboard by screwing into the sides. I have one fitted to my acoustic guitar and it's slim enough to fit between the soundboard and the strings. I don't know if they still make it because their site won't load for me at the moment. Edited August 10, 2018 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Thanks BRX, that is the kind of design idea I needed to access. BC always delivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 So, how thin can I have a properly functioning magnetic pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 So, how thin can I have a properly functioning magnetic pickup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Lace do a thin pickup only 5/16" thick apparently - http://www.lacemusic.com/USAB.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 30 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said: Lace do a thin pickup only 5/16" thick apparently - http://www.lacemusic.com/USAB.php Was going to suggest that - also Benedetto used to do one I think with Seymour Duncan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhay Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 There is a fairly common type of pickup designed to mount to the end of the fretboard of an acoustic archtop guitar. One example: https://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Pickups/Electric_Guitar_Pickups/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbucker.html You can bend the mounting arms to account for some variation in the width of the fretboard, but this may not be enough to fit. Also, while it should be designed to have a pretty good bass response, it is a guitar pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Do you play with your right hand only in one place? (I assume you are right-handed, because I have to assume one or tother... ) If so, could you arrange a mount with the pickup above the strings? I've intended to do that with my Aria Sinsonido for years, and never got round to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, owen said: Thanks BRX, that is the kind of design idea I needed to access. BC always delivers. The Schaller site still won't load, but I managed to find what looks like the current equivalent of the pickup I have on the Thomann Site. Have a look at all the photos to see how the adjustable mounting system works. According to the technical drawings the pickup itself is only 9mm high, but you probably need to add another 1mm for the mounting system. It's designed for the top of the pickup to be flush with the top surface of the fingerboard and so quite close to the strings. I have mine mounted by the bridge and bolted through the top of the guitar (with the neck mounting system removed). The strings are probably only a couple of millimetres above the pickup but I haven't noticed any of the adverse effects on the tuning that having the pickup that close can often produce, so I suspect it's not particular "hot" compared with the average pickup. Edited August 10, 2018 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 Thanks everyone for your input. The Lace looks very interesting, but I am suspicious of tape that "does not damage finishes". Just to make it more fun, the mouse has the fingerboard extension as a thumbrest so getting purchase onto both sides of the end of the fingerboard is not an option. I really like the concept of mounting it over the strings. I could craft (obv I mean pay someone else to) an all in one wooden pickup cover which would be like a P pickup cover, but wooden. This could contain any sort of pickup I like so depth would not be an issue. I welcome further thoughts from the BC Masif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 (edited) Looking at the Mouse, that fingerboard extension is not only fitting the pickup to the end of the fingerboard but also getting it to sense the lowest string, unless the pickup is mounted further along the body anyway. Maybe the mounting the pickup over the strings isn't such a wild idea after all. What are you going to do with the cabling? Edited August 10, 2018 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 (edited) On 10/08/2018 at 06:55, BigRedX said: The Schaller site still won't load, but I managed to find what looks like the current equivalent of the pickup I have on the Thomann Site. Have a look at all the photos to see how the adjustable mounting system works. According to the technical drawings the pickup itself is only 9mm high, but you probably need to add another 1mm for the mounting system. It's designed for the top of the pickup to be flush with the top surface of the fingerboard and so quite close to the strings. I have mine mounted by the bridge and bolted through the top of the guitar (with the neck mounting system removed). The strings are probably only a couple of millimetres above the pickup but I haven't noticed any of the adverse effects on the tuning that having the pickup that close can often produce, so I suspect it's not particular "hot" compared with the average pickup. That Schaller jobee looks very neat as a pickup and a fixing, although the cable exit is maybe an issue, even if you didn't mind an external cable @owen ? What does the fingerboard extension look like @owen? Edited August 11, 2018 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 I am thinking P bass pickup cover vibe in wood over the end of the fingerboard with fixings to the side of the fingerboard. I could prob run a trailing wire around the back to the bass past the cutaway because I NEVER use that end of the fingerboard so that is not an issue. The fingerboard extension is https://goo.gl/images/WWvE4E BRX, the present pickup is piezo under the bridge. All this needs to be tempered with the knowledge that I am musing about this while camping in France so it might just turn out to be a pipe dream , However, it does seem possible..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 A Guild/Dearmond Rhythm Chief 1000 with the fingerboard rod mount could perhaps work. It's another guitar pickup, but about the only one that mounts to the bass side of the fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 And then I flogged it. But thanks everyone for humoring me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Just now, owen said: And then I flogged it. But thanks everyone for humoring me! My life in a thread 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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