How to open Kay Speed Demon

[GlennW]

I don't know - I'm asking.

I don't see any solder between the baseplate and cover. There're two rivets in the bottom that appear to fasten the mounting bracket to the baseplate.

Any special tricks or anything to get inside? I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks.

[Spence]

If those rivets go through the cover too then you'll have no choice other than to grind them off.
The trick is to grind them off the bottom, not the top. When you replace the cover you can use a self tapping screw to pull the remaining part of the rivet tight to the baseplate again.

[GlennW]

They don't come out the top. That's what has me stumped.

Here's what they look like installed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kay-K573-Speed-D...QQcmdZViewItem

[Sweetfinger]

Easier than you think

the cover is just held on by the wax used to solidify the coil. Heat the cover a bit with a hair dryer and the cover will slide off.

[WolfeMacleod]

That's actually a TrueTone pickup.
And it's NOT one of Ben's. I'm talking about the ORIGINAL TrueTone. Maybe "Tru-Tone"

Yes, it's held together with wax. Hair dryer will do the trick.

[GlennW]

Thanks guys. Worked just fine.

Sweetfinger, I saw in another thread on cheap pickups something about a Japanese "HB" with pieces of magnets...I like the little cardboard strips too.

I've seen stuff called Tru-Tone on ebay too, don't really know which is which. I think I've even seen them called Speed Bump pickups, but that might be another model.

[Possum]

speed bumps

What gauge wire did they use in those things? I've got a couple dead ones here and the wire seems to be inbetween gauges. I've been keeping records on their winds they were usually wound to about 5.6K, they sound killler when they work...

[GlennW]

It was disconnected where the coil wire attaches to the hot lead. I'll try to solder it tomorrow.

8.62K (this DMM reads higher than other stuff I've used, I don't know how accurate it is)

The wire is .002", maybe a bit less.

Thanks again for all the help.

[Spence]

They don't come out the top. That's what has me stumped.

Here's what they look like installed.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kay-K573-Speed-D...QQcmdZViewItem

Didn't see a lot of these guitars in the UK. It's the guitar though that's called a Speed Demon not the pickups.

Here are two quite different Speed Demons with quite different looking pickups :


and



Both have different fickups. I believe the pickups in the red one were made by DeArmond Rowe.

[Sweetfinger]

I've seen stuff called Tru-Tone on ebay too, don't really know which is which. I think I've even seen them called Speed Bump pickups, but that might be another model.

Truetone is a brand name that was used by Western Auto hardware stores. IIRC all the truetones I've seen have been made by Kay, but any product no matter the maker, would have been labeled truetone if it was done for Western Auto- just as any guitar made for Sears by Kay, Harmony, Danelectro, or others would be labeled Silvertone. I've never heard of those pickups referred to as truetone, they've always been referred to colloquially as 'speed demon', or 'speed bump' pickups. I believe 'speed demon' is the term Kay applied to some of their necks in their literature, which is especially funny if you've ever played one. A Jeff Beck strat neck is DAINTY compared to some of the 50's Kays.

No matter the brand, all the pickups that look like those in the picture are the same model. There's a Harmony made pickup that looks similar but the center of the cover has a raised shelf rather than a rounded bump.

[David Schwab]

(this DMM reads higher than other stuff I've used, I don't know how accurate it is)

Are you holding the wires in your fingers? That will give you weird readings.

Get test clips for the leads.

[jhailey]

I don't know - I'm asking.

I don't see any solder between the baseplate and cover. There're two rivets in the bottom that appear to fasten the mounting bracket to the baseplate.

Any special tricks or anything to get inside? I don't want to mess it up.

Thanks.

The cover is held on with wax you just prize it off.

[spud1950]

"There's a Harmony made pickup that looks similar but the center of the cover has a raised shelf rather than a rounded bump."

Harmony never made any pickups.99.9% of the pickups found in Harmony's were made by DeArmond-Rowe.The pickups you're referring are actually Gibson made pickups,the P13.These were used by Gibson for a short while as a replacement for their Charlie Christian pickup.Then the P90 pickup replaced the P13 and Harmony bought the remaining stock of the P13 and used them on a few models.

[Possum]

....

I'm not sure how long P13's were made, I don't think it was a "short while" because there are 3 maybe 4 distinct versions of P13's that exist. The "bump" one I think is the later version, is has a humbucker magnet as a blade pole inside, then there's the screw pole version, then the "knuckle buster version which is truly strange.

[spud1950]

You're right.I thought it was only a couple of years. I just read they were used from around 1940 until 1946, which is supposedly when Gibson started putting the P90 in their guitars.