The roots and jazz guitar virtuoso offers insights and guidance on how to make the most of the vintage sound of the company’s enduring RH, FH, and Rhythm Chief pickups.
What do the screaming tone of Elmore James’slide guitar, the dirty rumble of early Muddy Waters recordings on Chess, the smooth 6-string voice of Johnny Smith, and the warm melodies of Gábor Szabó’s eclectic repertoire have in common? DeArmond pickups. Since 1939, DeArmonds—in particular the company’s RH (round-hole) and FH (f-hole) models, and the Rhythm Chief 1000 and 1100—have helped define the sound of experimenters and traditionalists, depending on the era.
One of today’s most notable DeArmond players is the revered blues and jazz guitar virtuoso Duke Robillard, a deep student of vintage tone who has learned how to recreate many historic guitar sounds. We asked Robillard to share his expertise and experience with DeArmond pickups, which goes back to the mid-1950s, when he and his father built his first guitar for a school science fair. They took the neck from an old, acoustic Kay Kraftsman and cut a Tele-shaped body from two pieces of 3/4" plywood, inspired by the guitar James Burton played on TV’s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Then, they recycled the Kay’s bridge and tailpiece, and ordered a DeArmond. “A week after that, I was in a band,” Robillard says.
DeArmond originally referred to its pickups as “guitar microphones,” as they were designed to amplify acoustic guitars without altering their organic tone. Of course, once plugged into an amp all bets on that were off, given the breakup characteristics of the small combos that were common at the time. The RH pickups, which James and Szabó, for example, used, are held in place by clamps. The FH and Rhythm Chief models are floating pickups, mounted by what’s often called the “monkey-on-a-stick” method. Essentially, the pickups are held in place by a metal bar that’s screwed to a guitar’s body, and the pickups can slide up and down the bar, like a simian might scale a tree, to find the sweet spot.
DeArmond’s Rhythm Chief 1100.
By the time Robillard founded the swing and jump blues band Roomful of Blues in 1967, he was playing a Gretsch Synchromatic archtop fitted with a DeArmond, in quest of the authentic vintage tones he heard on records from the ’30s, ’40s and early ’50s. “Then I went to a Gibson ES-125, where I ended up finding a way to make a Rhythm Chief 1100 work in the neck position,” he recounts. “Then I added a P-90 for the bridge. I didn’t want to use a guitar with a cutaway because I wanted every setback that the guitar players in 1940 had. That stopped me from going high on the neck all the time, which I think was a discipline that made me a better musician.”
“The cheapest model [the 1000] is really the best sounding one.”
Today, he uses a variety of DeArmond pickups on his guitars, but his favorite is the Rhythm Chief 1100, which has screwdriver-adjustable pole pieces. And he applies the tricks he’s learned over the years, like placing stick-on felt pads under DeArmonds positioned near the bridge, to raise the floating pickup to the correct height. He also notes there is an alternative to attaching the monkey stick behind the bridge. “A lot of jazz players would shorten the bar and have it flattened out, so you could screw it to the side of the neck. That became popular with guitarists who played Strombergs, D’Angelicos, and L-5s, for example.
“The cheapest model [the 1000] is really the best-sounding one,” he continues. “And you need to use a wound G string on an archtop, or it’s going to howl like crazy. It isless of a pickup than a microphone. You can actually talk into it, and I’ve done gigs where something went wrong with the PA and I’ve sung through the pickup.”
Robillard’s latest album, Roll With Me, includes “You Got Money,” played on his DeArmond-outfitted J.W. Murphy archtop.
These days his favorite archtop is a J.W. Murphy with an 1100 with a shortened bar attached to the side of the neck. He puts stick-on felt pads under the treble side to keep the pickup height as he likes, and to preserve the natural sound of the guitar. You can hear Robillard play his DeArmond-outfitted Murphy on “You Got Money,” a track from his new album, Roll with Me, on Bandcamp.
One more recommendation: “Use a small amp because that’s what they sound best with,” he says. “Small tube amps are what these pickups were made for, but if you’ve got a closed-back cabinet they tend to feed back on the low end. Keeping the bass side of the pickup lower helps with that. When you’re setting up the pickup, press down on the last fret and get the treble side high and the base side low, and then just balance it out till you get the right sound.”
AC/DC return to the road in the United States for the first time in nine years on the 2025 Power Up North American Tour.
This run kicks off on April 10, 2025, in Minneapolis, MN at US Bank Stadium, canvases the continent, and concludes on May 28, 2025, in Cleveland, OH at Huntington Bank Field. Along the way, they will play some of the most iconic and historic stadiums in the world, including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on April 18 and Soldier Field in Chicago, IL on May 24.
Tickets go on sale December 6 at 12pm local time HERE.
The tour shares its name with their 2020 album, Power Up, which bowed at #1 in 21 countries. In 2024, AC/DC completed a European leg of the Power Up tour, packing the biggest stadiums on the continent in the process. Power Up notably notched their third #1 debut on the Billboard 200 and exploded as one of the best-selling albums of 2020 worldwide,” . It closed out the year on Rolling Stone’s “Top 50 Albums of 2020” and Consequence of Sound’s “Top 50 Albums of 2020.” Plus, it garnered Grammy Award nominations in the categories of “Best Rock Album” and “Best Rock Performance” and “Best Music Video” for “Shot In The Dark.” Power Up is available HERE.
AC/DC played their very first show on the 31st December 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, Australia. The band’s Back In Black LP is the “bestselling album by any band ever” and the “third bestselling album by any artist” with global sales of 50 million and counting. AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The band continue selling out stadiums on multiple continents, sell millions of albums annually and generate streams in the billions.
TOUR DATES
4/10 Minneapolis, MN US Bank Stadium
4/14 Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium
4/18 Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl
4/22 Vancouver, BC BC Place
4/26 Las Vegas, NV Allegiant Stadium
4/30 Detroit, MI Ford Field
5/4 Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium
5/8 Pittsburgh, PA Acrisure Stadium
5/12 Landover, MD Northwest Stadium
5/16 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium
5/20 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium
5/24 Chicago, IL Soldier Field
5/28 Cleveland, OH Huntington Bank Field
Mystery Stocking is here! Buy yours below.
About Mystery Stocking
Each year, Premier Guitar puts out these mystery boxes as a part of bringing some fun to the holiday season. Each box contains guitar goodies ranging from picks, strings, and straps to pedals, guitars, and amps! Remember, this is supposed to be a fun holiday treat! If the contents of this box will ruin your holiday, deplete the last of your bank account, or end your ability to see the good in humanity, it may not be for you.
- This year's Mystery Stocking will cost $44.95. ($39.95 + $5 Flat shipping)
- Each box will be guaranteed to contain $40 or more MSRP.
- US only. (Sorry World.)
- Make sure your shipping address is correct.
- Have your credit card ready to go before you refresh the page. Paypal is not available. Autofill may not fill in your information.
- There will be NO REFUNDS given.
- There has been a huge demand for these in the past. When they are gone, they are gone.
- One per household, one per person.
Your Stocking could include:
Q: What's in the Mystery Stocking?
A: It wouldn't be much of a surprise if we told you, now would it?
Q: Will I definitely get my money worth?
A: Yep.
Q: Can I return it if I don't like it?
A: Nope. All sales final.
Q: What if I live outside the US?
A: Sorry, US only.
Q. How much is it?
A. $39.95 Plus $5 shipping
Q. When will it ship?
A. On or before December 5, 2024.
Q. What form of payment do you accept?
A. Credit cards only. Sorry, no Paypal for this.
Q. Can I ship to a different location than my billing address?
A. Yes
Q. I tried last year and didn't get one. Will I get one this year?
A. There is an overwhelming demand for Mystery Stocking. Be sure you have a fast internet connection and be ready when they go on sale.
Q. I want to buy 5. How can I buy 5?
A. You can't. This year, we're limiting to one per household, one per person, so more people can get in on the fun!