Supro/Valco/National pickups

[zak]

Anyone have a spare 50s or 60s Valco pickup?

[Dennisthe Menace]

Anyone have a spare 50s or 60s Valco pickup?

Zak,
Is your pickup dead, or are you just missing one?

I don't know if this will help, but it might be worth looking into.......


Eastwood AIRLINE Single Coil RAUNCH N' ROLL pickups

Have you ever wondered what makes those old AIRLINE guitars sound so wicked?

How can a Humbucker sound like that? Well, it can't.

The original VALCO pickups were SINGLE COIL, not Humbuckers.

They looked like a Humbucker, but that is where the similarity ends.

The VALCO pickups were found in all AIRLINE, SUPRO and National Guitars in the late fifties and early sixties.

Eastwood dissected the originals and have now re-created that famous tone in a new SINGLE COIL design that is housed in a Humbucker format.

These are made specifically to replace your Humbuckers and give you that oh-so-nasty growl that is familiar from the likes of Jack White, Hound Dog Taylor, J.B. Hutto and Jimmy Reed.

[zak]

Hey Dennis, I'm missing a pickup for a gutted '58 Supro Ranchero which I bought without any electronics.

I'm aware of the Eastwood pickups, the problem is they don't really sound like the real deal, AND to top it off they are designed to be a drop-in replacement for generic humbuckers, which would mean hacking away at the Ranchero to make 'em fit.

The original Valco pickups outwardly look like humbuckers, but in fact they are single-coils with very different dimensions.

[Dennisthe Menace]

MY GOD!!! I just went thru frickin 8 PAGES of B.S. on "Ask.com" as well as different searches.
All I found were mostly 12'Aluminum Boats and Baby Strollers ....What the HecK!?!?!?
You probably already did this, but have you tried George Gruhn in Nashville, Elderly Instruments, etc? I can't believe that there is no .......never mind, this is nuts!! Zak, maybe some one else will chime in with some kind of info......

[dubtrub]

Zak, Check out these mini buckers from Guitar fetish. They may be close enough to make do without having to modify the pickup cavity in your guitar. http://store.guitarfetish.com/minihumbuckers.html

Dennis, I bet these would work alright in your Mosrite combo. Just get some black Krylon spray paint and paint over that chrome. I might have to order a set of these and try in one of my projects.

[Dennisthe Menace]

Zak, Check out these mini buckers from Guitar fetish. They may be close enough to make do without having to modify the pickup cavity in your guitar. http://store.guitarfetish.com/minihumbuckers.html

Dennis, I bet these would work alright in your Mosrite combo. Just get some black Krylon spray paint and paint over that chrome. I might have to order a set of these and try in one of my projects.

Danny

I tried that a long time ago with another Mosrite I once had. The paint kept chipping off from me playing it, but I seriously am looking into the Hallmark P'ups (Humbuckers) which are reasonably priced, just a little worried about their specs as far as output goes....
Danny, I think what Zak is looking for is a "Single Coil" P'up that will be as close as possible to the Valco. I thought that maybe the Eastwood (single coil) pickup might do the trick, but Zak must of seen or caught something there that didn't measure up to what he is looking for, like maybe the measurements of the pickup (Height, Depth & Width)?

[zak]

Danny, I think what Zak is looking for is a "Single Coil" P'up that will be as close as possible to the Valco. I thought that maybe the Eastwood (single coil) pickup might do the trick, but Zak must of seen or caught something there that didn't measure up to what he is looking for, like maybe the measurements of the pickup (Height, Depth & Width)?

Yep I'm definitely not interested in humbuckers, and the Eastwood pickups are completely wrong in terms of dimensions. There are no drop-in replacements for Valco pickups anywhere, so finding an old one is the only solution.

Oh well...patience and daily scouring of ebay...

[Dennisthe Menace]

How about this little Beauty?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... otohosting

Vintage 57 National/Supro Ranchero W/Org.Case*Must See*
Item number: 160245344536
Vintage 57 National/Supro Ranchero W/Org.Case*Must See*
Current bid: US $511.00
Reserve not met
Place Bid >
(Enter US $521.00 or more)
Buy It Now price: US $900.00 Buy It Now >
End time: 21 hours 46 mins (Jun-04-08 12:17:22 PDT)

Brand : supro Type: acoustic/electric
String Configuration : 6 String Color: tabacco sunburst
Series : ranchero
HERE'S YOU A SUPRO RANCHERO MADE BY GIBSON.THIS IS ONE SUPRO GUITAR THAT IS AS CLEAN AS IT GETS.YOU WON'T FIND ONE NO CLEANER,COMES WITH NO SUPRIZES.COLLECTORS QUILTY.YOU CAN GO AND BUY THE ES125 GIBSON THAT IS THE SAME GUITAR AS THIS BUT WITH DIFFERNT PICKUP FOR ALOT MORE MONEY THAN THIS SUPRO AND DOES NOT HAVE THE SOUND THAT THE SUPRO HAS (SUPRO BLOWES IT OUT OF THE WATER).THE NECK IS STRAIGHT AS A BANJO STRING WITH LOW ACTION.ALSO THE NECK IS A "V" NECK(PLAYES SWEET).THE PICKUP IS STILL HOT AND ALIVE.IT HAS THE ORIGINAL TWO TONE BLACK $ WHITE CASE WITH IT.IN THE SOUNDHOLE IT READS F-57-E MADE IN U.S.A AND 585H950.ON THE BACK OF HEADSTOCK THE METAL TAG READS X94932.

SUPRO WAS A BUDGET BRAND OF NATIONAL DOBRO COMPANY AND VALCO.SOME SUPRO MODELS ALSO SOLD UNDER THE AIRLINE BRAND FOR MONTGOMERY WARD.IN '42 VICTOR SMITH,AL FROST AND LOUIS DOPYERA BOUGHT NATIONAL AND CHANGED THJE NAME TO VALCO MANUFACTURING COMPANY.VALCO MANUFACTURING COMPANY NAME CHANGED TO VALCO GUITARS, INC., IN 62.COMPANY TREASURE ROBERT ENGELHARDT BOUGHT VALCO IN '64.IN '67 VALCO BOUGHT KAY AND IN '68 VALCO/KAY WENT OUT OF BUSSINESS.IN THE SUMMER OF '69, VALCO/KAY BRANDS AND ASSETS WERE SOLD AT AUCTION AND THE SUPRO AND NATIONAL NAMES PURCHASED BY CHICAGO-AREA IMPORTER AND DISTRUBUTOR STRUM N' DRUM(NORMA,NOBLE).TIN THE EARLY-80'S, OWNERSHIP OF THE SUPRO NAME WAS TRANSFERRED TO ARCHER'S MUSIC,FRESNOI,CALIFORNIA.SOME SUPROS ASSEMBLED FROM NEW-OLD-STOCK PARTS.
PHONE#270-334-3626

[zak]

That's a nice clean one...mine looks like someone used it to fight off an attacker.