Aiello Fountain Pickup

Mitch Druckman · Post by **Mitch Druckman** » 8 Feb 2008 8:11 am

It looks like Rick Aiello is at it again. Check out this link to the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association's tech forum.

http://www.hsga.org/forum/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1202070707

Eddie Cunningham · Post by **Eddie Cunningham** » 11 Feb 2008 12:27 pm

Every time I go for a M.R.I. I think of the potential power in that magnetic field ! Has anyone ever tried double winding a pickup and running a small current ( small 1&1/2 or 9 volt battery ?? ) thru one set of windings to boost the E M F magnetic field power output ?? Would this work ?? Any body ever try it ??? Eddie "C" ( the old geezer )

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 11 Feb 2008 1:39 pm

Eddie ... "Field Coil" technology (as in old 30's amps) ... essentially an electromagnet ... could certainly be used to generate a field for a guitar pickup. I even know a guy who's contemplating one

.

The plethora of permanent magnet materials available now-days ... is enough for me to experiment with, though ...

Speaking of which ... I should have a "Fountain Pickup" in my buddy Terry F.'s Superslide ... pretty soon ...

All my stuff came while I took the family for a 5 day vacation at Disney World ... we just got home. $:\$

Hey Steinar ... I took my girls to a "Princess Character Lunch" in Epcot's (Norway) Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

I asked our server (a guy ...

) if he knew you ... he said not personally ... but knows of your work ...

Pretty cool huh ...

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 13 Feb 2008 5:02 pm

Rick Aiello wrote: Hey Steinar ... I took my girls to a "Princess Character Lunch" in Epcot's (Norway) Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.

I asked our server (a guy ... ) if he knew you ... he said not personally ... but knows of your work ...

Pretty cool huh ...

Oh, he was probably just being polite....

Steinar

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 13 Feb 2008 5:22 pm

I think he did know ...

He made that "gesture" ... you know ... hands moving "lap style" ...

He said "lap slide" ... but, I didn't want to get into that with him .... ha, ha

Very cool ... the whole "Norway Experience" ...

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 21 Feb 2008 3:47 pm

The Fountain next to a George L 10-5

This prototype ... with a string sensing length of 3.875" ...

Temporarily in my Excel JB Frypan ... will be driving over to Baltimore Saturday ...

To meet Dave "The Hula Monster" Giegerich ...

Then it's going to be pulled out ... and sent to New Mexico ... to live in my buddy Terry Farmer's 12 string MSA Superslide ...

If you are wondering ... the mold was made of white oak and even though I sealed the wood with acrylic lacquer ... the RTV silicon picked up the wood grain ... $:\$

Doesn't look like much .. but I'm very pleased with it ...

Harry Dietrich · Post by **Harry Dietrich** » 21 Feb 2008 10:22 pm

If you are wondering ... the mold was made of white oak and even though I sealed the wood with acrylic lacquer ... the RTV silicon picked up the wood grain ...

That's cool Rick...when people look at it they'll think it's made out of wood.

Harry

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 22 Feb 2008 9:34 am

Maybe the next one ...

I'll cast using brown, black and a touch of red ... whirled and swirled ...

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 22 Feb 2008 9:41 am

Good work Rick! Keep pushing the pickup envelope.

Did you make it to the Polynesian luau when you were at Disney World last week?

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 22 Feb 2008 10:26 am

Well sadly

... nope.

They did away with the "Mickey's Menehune Kids Luau" ... at 5 pm ...

By the later shows ... at the prices they charge now for the show ...

... my babies were either all asleep and/or too Grumpy ... for that kinda show ... that late.

I did manage a few Mai Tai cocktails in the upstairs lobby of the Polynesian ... one evening

But by the time I got there ... the Hawaiian solo guitaist/singer ... was on his third set ...

And announced it was time for him to cut loose abit ...

He then commenced to play/sing Jimmy Buffet, Eagles, etc ... $:\$

I enjoyed it though ... lots of old memories from that hotel

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 22 Feb 2008 10:33 am

Rick, that's wild. I look forward to hearing how it sounds.

Mitch Druckman · Post by **Mitch Druckman** » 22 Feb 2008 11:40 am

I'm curious how the Fountain will mount in the SuperSlide, since it's so much bigger than the stock pickup. Also looking forward to hearing how it changes the stock sound of the SuperSlide.

Rick, how does the Fountain pickup sound in comparison to your other pickup designs?

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 22 Feb 2008 12:28 pm

This one was made to Terry Farmer's specs ... i.e to fit in ... where his stock 12 string George L presently resides ...

That photo above is the smaller 10 string George L.

It's 4.5" x 1.25" and 1.25" tall ...

The mounting will be done by Terry ... using the existing mount on his Superslide.

No modifications will be required to his steel ...

As far as how it compares to my other neodymium powered pickups ..

This thing "shoots" up a "wall-like" magnetic field ... the flux density is very uniform ... for almost two inches "up from" its source.

I ain't sayin' much more about it though ...

I very well may apply for a patent ... it's that "New and Unique" ... if for no other reason than to have one

I will say the internal repulsions that generate this field ... literally blew the first two prototypes apart ...

As far as the sound ...

I'm having a hard time telling it from my best effort .. The "Potbelly" ...

We'll see what Dave has to say tomorrow ...

Dave Giegerich · Post by **Dave Giegerich** » 22 Feb 2008 1:55 pm

Rick,
Looking forward to seeing you and hearing the pickup tomorrow,
Dave

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 22 Feb 2008 7:37 pm

Rick, you can have your drawings and sketches postmarked. That will help protect your ideas. I have had stuff like that stamped at the post office.

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 23 Feb 2008 4:49 am

Thanks Bill ... I'll do that !!!

Craig Stenseth · Post by **Craig Stenseth** » 23 Feb 2008 6:48 am

Rick,
Would a wooden mold stay intact long enough to pour some aluminum into it? Just wondering what a wood-grain frying pan would look like.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 23 Feb 2008 7:57 am

Rick/Bill, as I heard it, you must keep the envelope sealed after it's postmarked.

Anybody know if this is true, or urban myth?

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 23 Feb 2008 8:12 am

Craig ... no it would "incinerate" as soon as the molten aluminum hit.

That said ... the oiled sand I use is sensitive enough ... to pick up grain ... if its packed tight enough ...

Not as well as the RTV silicon of course ... but the sand is pretty good at it too ..

Ron, I've heard that too ... cheaper than a patent ...

Probably good evidence regardless ...

But my wife is impressed enough to send me to a patent attorney ... who is a patient of hers (he works for US Dept of Patents and Trademarks in DC) ...

I hope Dave is as impressed ...

We'll find out in about 2 hrs ... were packing up the kids for our little day trip right now ...

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 24 Feb 2008 2:11 pm

I'll let Dave speak for himself ... but I sure was pleased

Dave had three amps warmed up & waitin' ...

A big Fender Vibrosonic ... an Evans with a Sarno "Black Box" ... and a Fender Princeton Reverb.

It was exciting watchin' him jump from the JB Frypan to his Sierra ... goin' from amp to amp ...

Thanks Dave ... it was a wonderful day ... all-round

We left Dave's and went to the Inner Harbor (it was quite chilly though) ... $:\$

Quote of the Century comes from my 4 yr old son Dusty ...

We stopped into Hooters for late lunch and when the waitress came to the table ... he asked her ...

Why do all you girls have the same orange underwear on ???

...

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 24 Feb 2008 2:58 pm

Tim Carlson · Post by **Tim Carlson** » 24 Feb 2008 3:16 pm

Ron Whitfield wrote:Rick/Bill, as I heard it, you must keep the envelope sealed after it's postmarked.

Anybody know if this is true, or urban myth?

Ahh, the poor mans copyright... Before the advent of CD burners that were readily available, this was the easy way to copyright protect written music. An old friend used to write out his music(on paper/ sheet music), and record it as written, then send the both of them together in a "certified mail" envelope or something like that. He would require a signature for delivery of the envelope, and make sure he was around to sign for it. He'd then tuck it away in a safe, unopened. If ever there was a question of ownership of the music, he'd pull out the envelope and take it to court, to be opened by the judge if necessary. I don't think it ever came to that, though.
I think this no longer works in America, as envelopes can be steamed open, re-sealed, etc. Additionally, I think that in court cases, both sides must be privy to any evidence provided, meaning the envelope would need to be opened prior to the actual court case, negating the integrity of the sealed package. Don't take my word for it, though. I'm not a patent lawyer.
Rick, if you're genuine in your beliefe that this technology can be patented, go through all the steps necessary to do so, even if you don't plan on manufaturing them. At the very least, you could contact a pick-up manufacturer, let them know you've already obtained a patent, and either liscence the technology to them, or sell the patent outright.

Dave Giegerich · Post by **Dave Giegerich** » 25 Feb 2008 10:04 am

Another winner from Rick!
The new Fountain pick up is wonderful. Rick and I spent about a half hour comparing my Sierra with the Potbelly pickup and a JB Frypan with the Fountain, and it was hard to pick a favorite. Both sounded full and even across the strings. There was not a noticeable difference in output, they both have volume to spare. The Potbelly was a little deeper and more mellow, and the Fountain had a bit more definition, but again, both sounded great. Some of the difference is probably due to the type of guitar, and where they were mounted on the neck – the Potbelly is closer to the fretboard and the Fountain is near the bridge. The Fountain's under the strings design should make it appealing to pedal steel players and the woodgrain is a nice touch, too.

In the audience at my gig Saturday night was Jeff Bober, who makes the boutique Buddha amps. The first thing he said was how good the steel tone was and asked if it was a Jason Lollar pickup. I told him it was made by Rick Aiello, and he had heard the name. I showed him the Potbelly and he was very impressed by the look, and just raved about the tone.
Once again, great work Rick, and good to see the family.

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 25 Feb 2008 1:09 pm

Too bad you couldn't switch positions per the two PUs and see to what degree the results were reversed and how pronounced the tonal changes were. Obviously, the neck PU will be warmer vs a PU next to the bridge.

Great to have more new options in good sounding PUs becoming available, and the hard work/good fun is appreciated.

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 25 Feb 2008 3:06 pm

Thanks for the kind words Dave ... it was a fun day, for sure.

Tim ... thanks for the info. My wife is gonna set up a meeting with that patent attorney ... I think this one is worth a shot ...

Ron, I usually drop all the new stuff into my Sierra ... and I should have done so this time ... but I had something else planned for the JB and knew I was gonna yank that unit out ... the very next day ...

So I was tryin' to kill two birds with on "pan" ...

The "Fountain" prototype is now on it's way to New Mexico ...

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