Description
Long before anyone talked about “preserving the acoustic voice” of an archtop, DeArmond solved the problem with the Rhythm Chief 1100. Its clamp-on fingerboard mounting bar lets you drop this pickup into the neck position without drilling into or otherwise touching the top of your guitar — a design that’s kept it in production, largely unchanged, since the mid-1950s.
Tonally, the 1100 leans into what archtop players actually want: an open, woody, acoustic-leaning voice rather than a hot, compressed electric snarl. The rubber magnet contributes to that softer, rounder attack, and with 6.60K of resistance you get enough output to drive an amp without sacrificing the pickup’s natural character. It’s a big part of why this remains a go-to choice for jazz and archtop players chasing an authentic, vintage-correct sound decades after its debut.
This version comes finished in gold plating for players who want their hardware to match the rest of a dressed-up archtop, and all mounting hardware is included.
- Rubber magnet single coil
- 6.60K resistance
- Fingerboard mounting bar — no soundboard modification required
- Gold plated finish
- Hardware included
- Weight: 3 oz
- Dimensions: 5 x 1.35 x 0.6 in
Whether you’re restoring a vintage Guild or fitting a new archtop with period-correct tone, the Rhythm Chief 1100 delivers the sound that started the whole conversation.
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