Last updated January 5, 2022.
Some DeArmond pickups were designed for mounting on a flat surface, others for a curved surface such as an archtop guitar’s top.
Others, such as the Model 41, were cleverly designed with a flexible bezel to fit a flat or curved surface, without any adjustment.
Those pickups fitted in flat-top and archtop instruments with differing string heights between the bridge and neck pickups and required a practical solution with maximum flexibility and low cost.
This was not a problem with the transducer-type pickups, such as the models 700/750 (violin) and 900 (Bass Viol) as the ‘footprint’ of the pickup was small and the relevant rubber base cover was flexible enough for purpose.
The pickups for the Fender Coronado guitars and basses have flat integral bases and are almost 5″ wide. These pickups were fitted with black rubberised seats, shown above
The ‘Maximum’ pickups sets ( a Neck and a Bridge version) as fitted in Harmony models H6 meteor, H60, H61, H64 and H671 were supplied with the same black bezels as those supplied with the Model 2200 B & T pickups, as shown above.
Model 6812 pickup with flat base.
Underside of Model 6812 pickup.
Underside of Model 6811 pickup.
These four-scroll Model 6811 and 6812 pickups fitted in many archtop guitars were fitted with white bezels of different heights. The underside of these bezels were either flat for solid bodied instruments or slightly concave on their long side to allow for the archtop’s curve.
The Harmony mandolins Models H35 and H835, were fitted with an S-grille soapbar pickup in a black plastic bezel, similar to that used in guitar pickup Model 6812. The pickup would appear to be recessed, but is not. This particular pickup/bezel combination was not fitted to any other Harmony instrument (photo copyright ‘dirtyblueoveralls’)
Timber bases were installed under the ‘Hershey Bar’ flat rectangular pickups and the many pickups with a chrome-finished steel bezel. The base above is from a Harmony Bob Kat Bar pickup with a corner cable exit (photo copyright Virgil)
The timber base above is for a plain woodscrew-fixed chrome Hershey Bar pickup as shown (photo copyright dangerman1).
The model 2000 pickup as originally supplied to Gretsch was available in one height only. Where it was mounted at the guitar’s bridge, one or more plastic spacers were installed under it, to equalise the height of both pickups.
A Gretsch Duo-Jet 6128 with two Model 2000 pickups of the same height installed. The model 2000 pickup as originally supplied to Gretsch was available in one height only. Where it was mounted at the guitar’s bridge, one or more plastic spacers were installed under it, to equalise the height of both pickups. Note the spacer under the bridge pickup (photo copyright gearlicious).
Two recessed 210-style pickups of the same height installed in a Levin Model 335 M2 from 1959. Note the spacer under the bridge pickup to provide the necessary lift. DeArmond later produced a bridge height version of this pickup (photo copyright bagereli).