Replacing a pickup on an ar503ce - need some advice

[Wildfield]

Whoops...I didn't mean to post twice. 

[chinabird]

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster...

I've been thinking of replacing the pickup on my 503 archtop (recently bought used on Reverb, manufactured in 2014). As far as I've gathered, it's a Kent Armstrong HPAG-1.

Did anyone go through the process? 
Any advice or impression will be greatly appreciated.

Specifically:
1. Did anyone experience any difficulty with the rounded shape of the HPAG-1 tabs vs the rectangular tabs on most other pickups?
2. Did you swap the rest of the electronics or just the pickup?
3. How many wires should the new pickup have? 4 or just 1?

BTW, the leading replacement candidate is currently a Seth Lover, but I have no idea how it's going to pair with the guitar, so I'm open to suggestions...

Many thanks

While I'm no expert, I've replaced quite a few pickups over the years.  I have a single p/u Eastman AR603-15 in which I replaced the stock humbucker with a Kent Armstrong 16-pole handwound PAF.  Love the sound of that particular pickup and have installed the same model on a few of my guitars including a G&L ASAT Blues Boy and a handmade Stephen Holst archtop.  Most recently, I installed a floating version of the KA 16-pole PAF on my Ibanez GB40th.  Happy to post photos, if anyone is interested to see.

Re:  Kent Armstrong HPAG-1
It looks like a pretty standard PAF to me.  I would guess you could use the existing Eastman p/u ring with the mounting screws and springs that come with the p/u.  Shouldn't be too difficult.

Re:  Did you swap the rest of the electronics...
The first few p/u swaps I did, i just cut the existing pickup wires and spliced them to the new pickups.  I admit...doing it that way is a bit of a hack job but it was easy and it worked.  The majority of pickup swaps I have done over the years has involved removing all of the electronics (pots, p/u jack, switch, etc.).  Once out of the guitar, I can "sweat" the existing pickup wires off of the pots/switch, etc. and then solder the new pickup(s) to the existing pots, etc.  This the next cleanest way of doing it, short of replacing all of the electronics...which I have also done.

Re:  How many wires should the new pickup have?
Depends on the p/u.  Some come with 4 insulated wires with an outer braided shield; others come with just one insulated wire and outer braided shield.  If you have the 4 wire config, you can download a wiring diagram from Seymour Duncan specific to your setup and follow the directions.  Same for if you have only 1 wire.  If your AR603 only has one pickup, it should be super easy since you don't have to deal with the switch or second p/u.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Best,
Darryl

Thanks Darryl! That's very helpful

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Have you tried playing around with pickup height at all? I'm a single coil only guy, and find that all humbuckers have muffled low strings, but you might gain a bit more clarity by lowering the pickup on the bass string side only (and raising the individual pole screws to compensate for the lower volume).

Thanks Roman! I'll get right on it...

[Lukew]

Remember that the guitar sounds a lot different when you are playing it to how it sounds standing in front of it. Have someone else play it for you so that you can hear it front on.  

I have the 580ce with the Kent Armstrong HPAC-1 pick up.  Eastman has since changed it to SD Jazz as standard so that is something you might want to look at.  In any case I intended to change the pick up, but to be honest I have been quite pleased with the Kent Armstrong and haven't bothered.  

It is wound to a resistance of 8.8k and has an Alnico V magnet.   This can be an advantage in a hollow body Jazz Box as it is less affected by the richness of the tones which are much more complex than in a solid body or semi hollow guitar. At first this might sound like a disadvantage, but in fact it makes it more controllable.  Interestingly the SD Jazz is about 7.5.

Of course there are better pick ups than the KA HPAG-1, which is actually the KA vintage series 6 Shooter PAF style pick up.  

As others have said, there are many things that contribute to the amplified sound of your guitar including strings, amp and your fingers.  It is very important to know what you don't like and what you are looking for before looking at changing a pickup, especially if you don't want to make a habit of it.

I will be interested to hear what you do and if you get to bond with your guitar.

[chinabird]

Thanks Lukew - those are some great advices. And "if you don't want to make a habit of it" seems to be more than a fair warning, all things considered.

[Lukew]

Thanks Lukew - those are some great advices. And "if you don't want to make a habit of it" seems to be more than a fair warning, all things considered.

Some people love to keep trying new things in their never ending search for the perfect tone. That's fantastic and good luck to them, I am sure it gives them years of fun.  

In my humble opinion most times the differences are minor even barely noticeable.  

Sooner or later you have to just enjoy your playing and good players make anything sound good and that is what you should focus on.  J. J. Cale's favourite guitar was a $50 harmony and it can be heard on most of his recordings.