Alumitone in older Zum, no go.....or maybe so!

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

It's so unbelievably freakin' miserably hot outside, I decided to tackle the job of installing an Alumitone pup that I've been pushing around for 6 mos. on my older Zum.

FYI, on this older late '81 ZumSteel, the AT is too long and too tall to mount with an attached mounting plate. The pickup hits the strings. A mounting plate to fit the pup is so long that it sits on top of the changer mounts. The normal adjustable pickup plate shown in the photos doesn't even come into play and is not the problem.

A mounting plate would require slots for the AT legs to drop through to allow clearance from the strings. At best, it's just under 1 quarter with no mount plate at all.

There's no way to drill into the changer mount legs to use the 4 screws that come with the Alumitone because they won't clear the changer mounting screws.

I ruined 2 lexan mounts that I spent a half day making by trying to open up slots and electronics clearance holes. The dimensions for clearance are so tiny, that the lexan isn't strong enough to allow mounting the pup to it without cracking.

Some type of adapter plate is required, but one that will allow the legs to drop through. Perhaps, if I could machine such a plate out of alum., it would work, but I just don't have the equipment to do that. Even then, I'd still have to make clearance for the pup electronics.

I'm still exploring alternate means of mounting this thing and would welcome any ideas from folks who have actually done it.

I could grind the legs or cut them down if I could be sure it was going to be a permanent modification, but who knows? I might not like it or decide to sell the pickup down the road, so don't want to gom it up.

I'm guessing the older Zum changer mounts are different from the later ones as I know some of you have been able to just drop 'em in your recent ZumSteel guitars.

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

David Higginbotham · From: Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

Earnest stated:

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Jerry maybe you should give Bruce a call and see if the later model pickup plate will fit your older guitar... I mounted Alooms on my 2001 and they just slotted in perfectly ...I got them from John Fabian and they had a mounting plate already attached.

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14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

There! That oughta hold 'er. I ain't been watching Red Green all this time for nothing Laughing

Seriously, I suppose I could silicone it in there, but there really isn't any room for anything, including tape. Anything you put under it will cause it to hit the strings near as I can tell. I don't like the idea of metal to metal mounting, plus I was hoping for a more stable and attractive looking job. I don't really like the look of that big gaping hole.

I could maybe fabricate something to cover up the space, but if I could do that, I could make an adaptor.

Paddy, the plate won't come out without taking the neck off. Anyway, that wouldn't help. The changer legs are higher than the plate and the pickup is too long to clear them.

I could probably find some longer screws and maybe drill holes through the mica and wood through the body, but that wouldn't solve the metal/metal issue and I hate to drill a bunch of holes in my guitar anyhow.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll cogitate on all your suggestions and maybe come up with something or just scrap the idea entirely. Smile

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Ok Jerry, sounds like it won't be an easy job to accomplish -- you have to admit they do look great in there though, and they sound really good Very Happy

_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Yes, they do look good. And a gorgeous Zum you have there too my friend.

I won't give up quite yet. I'm still considering everyone's ideas. I'm sorta thick headed and it takes a while for things to filter through. Thanks again.

Bill Ladd · From: Wilmington, NC, USA

Greg Wisecup · From: Troy, Ohio

Instead of trying to attach the bottom of the p/u to the guitar; how about wrapping the outside of the p/u in a strip of some kind if foam/rubber like maybe weather stripping?
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Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I decided to try to fab another plate. This time out of thin alum. stock. Using a drill press, jigsaw, etc., I roughed out a piece. I still had filing, sanding etc. and work on the appearance. I made a template afterward in case I ever do this again.

The photo below is the finished project. The jury is still out on the sound. I took a lunch break after wiring it up and just heard it for a tune on 2. Initial thoughts: I would like to lower the treble side some to balance the output, but it's already as low as it will go....barely 1 quarter clearance. Pretty hot output, a little hum at wide open pedal, really clean and punchy.

I still think I like the duct tape better Exclamation

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

I'm following all this closely as I'd like to try an Alumatone in my 2005 Zum at some point.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

I don't think you'll have the issues I encountered on your late model Zum, Mark. Paddy, Randy Beavers and several others have installed Alumitones in newer models without any of these problems I had with this older one. For most, it's as simple as unbolting the old one and installing the new one, especially if you order it with the mounting plate.

I could've ground down the changer mounts or the pup legs to achieve more clearance, but I did not want to alter either unit.

I played the guitar for 4 sets tonite. It was honkin' pretty good. The main thing I'm noticing is that the highs are really solid, clean and full all the way up to the 3rd string and way up high on the 'board.

I'm still not sure it has all the sweetness of the TT I took out, but I'm not sure it doesn't either. More time will tell.

I asked the guys what they thought of my new pickup. Their reply? "It's pretty". Laughing

Good luck with your install when you decide to do it. I think you'll be pleased.

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Mark you should have no problems... my guitar pictured above is a 2001 and they slotted straight in!
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.

Scott McRee · From: Georgia, USA

No idea how yours went straight in if its a 2001. Mine is a 2002 and I have literally the identical story as the guy who started the thread. I ended up bending the legs just slightly on the pickup so it would clear the changer legs but now there's no custom plate like I was hoping to put in there and it sits to low and just doesn't sound that great and I can't adjust the height. It was way to close to the strings with even a very thin aluminum mount. I spent a lot of time thinking and there is just no way because the changer legs are in the way so you have to build a plate that sits on tope of them but then the alumitone sits up to high. It's not possible to do correctly unless you do something with the changer legs which obviously isn't really possible that I know of

Ken Metcalf · From: San Antonio Texas USA

I mounted one in a Carter U-12 and ended up mounting it directly to the body. It worked very good for me but there was no adjustment. I guess I like the PU a little farther away from the strings than most. That was almost a 1/4 inch.
Mounting any new pick up can be tricky.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Scott, I used a dremel to grind down the changer mount legs a bit. Just enough to allow the pickup to clear the strings. I also slotted the bottom of the mounting plates so that the pickup legs could drop through. Then used the foam that came with the pickups between the pickup legs and the changer.

It was enough to let the pickups clear the strings by barely a quarter thickness. It's enough though, no problems with volume and tone.

In retrospect, the best idea would be to grind down the pickup legs for more clearance between them and the changer mounts. Depending on how your guitar's pickup mounting plate is designed, you'd still have to grind a hole for the pickup electronics.

Needless to say, all this is very difficult to achieve without pulling the neck off the guitar.

I'm not sure it's worth all the trouble and I probably wouldn't attempt such an installation again on a Zum with this changer design.

People say these pickups work fine on a lot of guitars and even a lot of Zums, but for situations like yours and mine, they just do not fit. They're just too tall and wide. Another type of pickup with dimensions of the original design is called for.

David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

Jerry..Derby guitars came with factory installed George L pickups and they were equipped with plastic covers that fit over the outside of the pickup body and covered the exposed space in the opening. Someone may have one they are no longer using.

George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

I am thinking about trying the Telonics 409, wide mount, pickup in my 1982 Zum. Has anybody done this and does the pickup fit in without major problems? I asked Dave Beaty at the Dallas show and he said the wide pickup should work. BUT I FORGOT TO TELL HIM I HAVE AN OLDER GUITAR.

Also, I am really on the fence if I should swap out the original single coil pickup or not. I have never been a big fan of humbucker's, so I am a bit concerned. My original pickup is quite brite, so I would not mind going down a bit on the highs and I think the Telonic's will do that, but not sure.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

George,
I took a Zum in trade some time back and it had Alumitone pickups. I didn't care for it. Sad

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