Need info on "Red Rhodes Velvet Hammer 54' Pickup"

[dudeitskevin22]

Im looking for some information on the Red Rhodes Velvet Hammer 54' Pickup. My dad gave me one of his old broken telecasters and I want to restore it. I want to find information about this velvet hammer pickup that was on it. Its a single coil neck pickup and has a white case over it that says Velvet Hammer in handwriting. Under the case its made of clear plastic with a copper coil and says: Velvet 54 Hammer (R). On the back it says PAT PENDING (Patent Pending.) MFG. BY RED RHODES ENT.

So far I know that this pickup was disigned by Red Rhodes. It was made for the 54 telecasters, its not being made anymore and its apparently rare. If you have any information on it it would be appreciated.

Im also anxious to know how rare this pickup really is.

Ill add some pics i took of it awhile ago



This is a closeup on it. Its quite blurry but you get an idea of what it looks like.



This is a picture of it In the American Telecaster. Yes I know i have alot of work to do on the telecaster :). And the telecaster was cut out so it could have a tremolo bridge. and theres a DiMarzio Distortion Humbucker for the bridge pickup.

[dudeitskevin22]

bump

[Oster]

I'll help you bump this thread. I'm really interested in finding out about these old Red Rhodes Velvet Hammer pickups too. I know they were one of the first custom drop-in pickups available but the only guitar I know of to be outfitted with one is Eric Carmen's Melody Maker which now belongs to Joan Jett. From what I've heard - as pickups go - they are quite rare and quite valuable.

Anyone?

[BrianF]

I have one of those 54 Strat VH pickups...they sound great... I like it...very rare these days since Red is passed away for quite a number of years. I was lucky to find mine on ebay one day for around $30. The Tele pickups I've seen sell for over $400 for a set (not worth it though...I was not that impressed with the VH Tele Bridge pup.....despite that there is a mystique about them.

[beep.click]

All I remember about the Velvet Hammers is that they were supposed to be wound hotter than normal.

I have a friend who knew Red, and I sent him a link to this discussion. Maybe he'll have more info!

[Stan Martin]

in my Tele and for me it had that huge fat Tele tone that Clarence had. I loved the tone , but my bridge pickup was so microphonic and even after re-potting the pickup the squeal was just too much to bear. Regretfully I sold the set a few years back.

[dudeitskevin22]

Originally Posted by beep.click

All I remember about the Velvet Hammers is that they were supposed to be wound hotter than normal.

I have a friend who knew Red, and I sent him a link to this discussion. Maybe he'll have more info!

cool, maybe he can give me a wiring diagram or something, i wanna see what these sound like!

[BillyG]

As I understand it, the DeTemple "Sweetspot" pickups are a replica of those. Look at his site: http://www.detempleguitars.com

[dudeitskevin22]

Hmm. Well I also have this other telecaster my dad gave me that I've read up on. Its an original custom 72' deluxe telecaster, however its not stock so its not that rare anymore, if anyone knows where I can find parts to fix this guitar too that would help. I need a bridge and all the electrical stuff and everything wired properly. I dont know how to do this myself.

You can kind glimpse it in one of the pictures, its been sanded down so all you see is wood and some white paint. Has dual dimarzio humbuckers in it in replace of the stock ones (same one thats in the american telecaster).


Heres a pic of it


If anyone can help me find the parts needed to fix either of these it would really be appreciated.

[dudeitskevin22]

bump

[getbent]

Stan and Brianf what are you using now for pickups?

[Naked Clarke]

I have a Velvet Hammer 54 pickup but it is a humbucker. Cream colored cover and the top of each coil has the model and name molded into it. Braided lead with red, green, black and white wires.

Does anyone know anything about them?

[BrianF]

Originally Posted by getbent

Brianf what are you using now for pickups?

Partscaster #1 Lace Sensor Tele bridge and neck
Partscaster #2 Velvet Hammer 54 Strat neck and Fender CS Texas Special Bridge
Fender Clarence White Sig Tele: Alan Hamel 54 Strat neck, Alam Hamel 56 Tele Bridge

[nashwest]

Sounds like the pups are late 70's. The single coils are VH S-1 or S-2's. The S-2's are overwound. The S-1 is wound to standard 54 Strat specs. The humbuckers are just two S-1's or 2's.........good luck

[JimiBryant]

yer dad was pretty rough on his guitars, eh?

Joan Jett's Melody Maker used to be Eric Carmen's??
really??
I did not know that!

[Oster]

Originally Posted by JimiBryant

yer dad was pretty rough on his guitars, eh?

Joan Jett's Melody Maker used to be Eric Carmen's??
really??
I did not know that!

Go All The Way

It has seen some stickers and a pickguard change since but there it is. The first reference I ever saw of a Velvet Hammer pickup was in an old Joan Jett interview I read, possibly in VG.

I find it gets very hard to find any info about pickups and the like from before the '90s boom.

[getbent]

Oster, I remember in the late 70's and early 80's guys talking about taking their guitars to Red to 'fix the pickups' and other mods etc... I was always sure I didn't have the cash for it, but now I wish I had ventured forth.

He was a legend among country and country rock guys in LA (and session guys etc).... and a really cool steel player too....

[Oster]

Originally Posted by getbent

Oster, I remember in the late 70's and early 80's guys talking about taking their guitars to Red to 'fix the pickups' and other mods etc... I was always sure I didn't have the cash for it, but now I wish I had ventured forth.

He was a legend among country and country rock guys in LA (and session guys etc).... and a really cool steel player too....

I guess when you're named 'Red' you're pretty much preordained to be a hotshot guitarist.

I'm thinking of Gordon Lightfoot's longtime sideman Red Shea and of course - needless to say - Redd Volkaert.

Thanks for the info getbent. I'm fascinated with that period of gear (small blurbs in the backpage classifieds of guitar magazines). It would make for a good book: The first wave of small shop parts/luthiers late '60s, early '70s. I'd buy it (heck I bought Will Hoover's 'Picks!' - book on guitar picks - and thought it was the best guitar read I had in a long time).

[bw]

I had a set of Velvet Hammers in a tele, got rid of the bridge to microphonic as noted above.Still have a Velvet Hammer in the neck.Wish I would have kept the birdge though!It would up going to Chris Lawrence who is an amazing tele/steel player.Don't know if he still has it or not in his tele.

[getbent]

Originally Posted by Oster

I guess when you're named 'Red' you're pretty much preordained to be a hotshot guitarist.

I'm thinking of Gordon Lightfoot's longtime sideman Red Shea and of course - needless to say - Redd Volkaert.

Thanks for the info getbent. I'm fascinated with that period of gear (small blurbs in the backpage classifieds of guitar magazines). It would make for a good book: The first wave of small shop parts/luthiers late '60s, early '70s. I'd buy it (heck I bought Will Hoover's 'Picks!' - book on guitar picks - and thought it was the best guitar read I had in a long time).

I just got Mike Nesmith's bio.. i know he and Red were close.. I'm hoping for some more info... I wish I had been older during that period... it was all so 'magic' back then.

[dudeitskevin22]

[quote=JimiBryant;1136974]yer dad was pretty rough on his guitars, eh? QUOTE]

Yeah he liked to play mostly hard rock and he liked the feel of the telecasters so he bought em and did some customization. At the time these guitars werent worth so much. He does regret it now though, after the Re-Issue of the 72 deluxe theyre worth what.. 7grand now? and he bought it for roughly $900. He actually owned 2 of them but 1 was stolen.

Same thing with the Velvet Hammer, he hadn't a clue how rare these would turn out, it was in a box for 20 years in our basement till he gave me the guitar 3 years ago and I went out to find information on it all so i can fix it.

He told me how he would buy a cheap $300 guitar and just strip it down and customize it, hed router out places so he can add different parts to it, hed scratch on little drawings and quotes from famous rockstars onto the guitar, he basically made his own frakenstien guitars.

But yeah, I strung up the Amercian telecaster with out the electrical stuff goin just so i can try it out without the amp, I can see what he means by how he "Liked the Feel of a Telecaster" all I need to do Is get 'er goin so I can know the feeling of the telecaster with the sound of a Dimarzio H.

[Gokarna]

I just bought a Red Rhodes Velvet Hammer B.C. 54 Telecaster bridge including the original box, that was never used before.
It is tapped with three wires
The paper in the box sais it's Model VHTBX with cover in black.
I never heard before of this pickup and from the first look on it after receiving, I wasn't very impressed because of it's poorly looking plastic cover and plastic plates.

After testing it, it sounds quiet okay, but not impressive. ( I just bought an old tapped schecter Tele-Bridge PU, that's more my sound....)
Then I began to search on the internet and found some auctions on ebay with a price from 300 /400 US-dollars upwards and really wondered, what the hell is so expensive or special about them.

It would be nice to have a neck-PU of these, perhaps then I could understand, why people are spend or want so much for these pickups.

All the best,

Till A / Germany

[Gokarna]

Hi there,
here are some photo's of the bridge pickup I got.
I've been in contact with someone here on the forum and promised to send some pictures - Sorry, I forgot who it was.....

Best regards

Till

[getbent]

wow, i rarely feel TOTAL envy. But I do right now... that is so cool... I'd love to find some vh's...

[tcgtr]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum but happened to come across it when I was looking for some biographical material on my old boss - Red Rhodes.
I used to work at the guitar shop (Royal Amp) back in the 70's and was one of the people who was responsible for making the Velvet Hammer pick ups (yes, we used to make them in the back of the shop!). I still have all the old specs somewhere, but I do remember that they were based on the '54 Telie specs. Maybe, if I get a chance, I'll dig through my boxed and look for all the actual information.

[davidge1]

On the Clarence White Forum site there's a thread called "Clarence's Tone". Bob Warford posted mp3 clips of Clarence White playing Buckeroo on two different nights... one with his white guitar with stock pickups, the other with the sunburst guitar (pre-b bender) with the pickups that Im assuming were re-wound (or custom wound) by Red Rhodes. On both clips, Clarence White's guitar is going straight from an out on his amp into the tape recorder. The difference between the two guitar tone's is like night and day.

Check it out:
http://www.bbenderguitars.com/CWforu...opic.php?t=490

[davidge1]

tcgtr... I really want to hear more about your old boss (and his pickups)! Im sure you have some great stories to tell.

[holndav]

Was waiting for someone to mention Clarence.

I always loved the name Velvet Hammer. Great imagery.

I want one too.

[Stan Martin]

the vhtbx really needs to be wired ala Nasville West wiring scheme to get the full benefits of that pickup. I do have one somwhere and can mail it to interested parties.
the vhtbx HAS the booster coil, so it is NOT like a '54 pickup, if you use the coil tap it will be close to a '54 ohms wise. the booster coil makes it sound like a classic tele pickup, but with mucho muscle.
i have tried overwound pickups and they do not replicate the red rhodes pickup. how red retained the clarity while adding girth is a mystery.
as i stated in a previous post my vhtbx bridge was way too microphonic.

as to what i use now? i prefer low K bridge pickups.
SD A2 pro,DiMarzio Twang Kings, HD Special '54, and the SD Jerry Donahue , which is probably the best pickup seymour makes. i love the nocaster neck pickups for their clarity regardless of whatever bridge pickup i have.
the only other neck pickup that i really liked was the harmonic design mini-strat. genius! if you want a real strat sound with tele pole piece spacing, this would be the pickup.

[nashwest]

Our German friend has a nice TBX , only one small problem....your missing the pickups baseplate. Get a baseplate and you'll be singing a different tune

[nashwest]

Just a quick appeal, If you still dont like the pickup id be more than happy to take it off your hands so I could give it to Stan Martin. No one is more deserving.

[Oster]

Originally Posted by getbent

wow, i rarely feel TOTAL envy. But I do right now... that is so cool... I'd love to find some vh's...

I've been away from this thread and have missed much. I totally agree with you.

The only remotely comparable thrill pickups-wise for me was finding out my '71 is loaded with a Bill Lawrence Black Label, a very old one.

But to have such a find as a Velvet Hammer in its original box!



Wow.

[ferratus]

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[ferratus]

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[ferratus]

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[ferratus]

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[ferratus]

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[tcgtr]

Hi there. I'm new to this forum but saw your message when I was surfing. I was one of the techs originally involved in the manufacturing o f those pickups. I used to work with Red back in the 70's at his shop (Royal Amp) in Hollywood. We used to make those pickups in the back of the shop. there were a variety of configurations: telies, strats, p-bass, humbuckers.
What kind of info were you looking for? I think I still have all of the specs (windings, wire, magnets, etc.) somewhere in a box. Is that what you wanted, or was there something else you were looking for?
Let me know.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by dudeitskevin22

Im looking for some information on the Red Rhodes Velvet Hammer 54' Pickup. My dad gave me one of his old broken telecasters and I want to restore it. I want to find information about this velvet hammer pickup that was on it. Its a single coil neck pickup and has a white case over it that says Velvet Hammer in handwriting. Under the case its made of clear plastic with a copper coil and says: Velvet 54 Hammer (R). On the back it says PAT PENDING (Patent Pending.) MFG. BY RED RHODES ENT.

So far I know that this pickup was disigned by Red Rhodes. It was made for the 54 telecasters, its not being made anymore and its apparently rare. If you have any information on it it would be appreciated.

Im also anxious to know how rare this pickup really is.

Ill add some pics i took of it awhile ago



This is a closeup on it. Its quite blurry but you get an idea of what it looks like.



This is a picture of it In the American Telecaster. Yes I know i have alot of work to do on the telecaster :). And the telecaster was cut out so it could have a tremolo bridge. and theres a DiMarzio Distortion Humbucker for the bridge pickup.

[Oster]

Originally Posted by ferratus

hi guys.

i came across this post & decided to sign up & send along a few pics of a couple of my hammers & some related docs. have many goodies, some to be soon available. just sending along a few.

- if anyone has any wiring diagrams & additional info on any of these, i would appreciate it - especially the nos vhhc / vhhc+ humbucker set (with 2 sets of covers).

let me know, enjoy.

------------------------------------

some of the hammers (& documentation)

(1) 1948 single coil (with black tele & black single covers) 60 years old + brand new, never installed

(1) 1954 single coil (with white single cover) haven't i'd model or if it's straight or reverse wound

set of (2) vhhc / vhhc+ humbuckers - set of black covers and a set of white covers - brand new, never installed - haven't id year yet - these baby's are tall - from bottom of metal plate to top of plastic cover they are 1.25"+ high.

Very cool, ferratus! Thanks for posting!

[tonebender]

I have a full set of VH's in my tele wired bridge, middle and neck. I like to tones it gives me