Replacement Strat Pups

[al heeley]

I got a set of s/c strat pups from gfs for my partscaster, but the old fixing screws allow the pups to slip back off the threads as their holes are too big. Is there a quick and easy way to sort this without going off hunting for some wider fixing screws?

[JoeAArthur]

Didn't your pickups come with new mounting screws that are the appropriate size? I just got a new Tele bridge pickup from GFS and it came with screws and springs. All of the GFS pickups I have received do.

Or are these pickups the budget ones that GuitarFetish sells? If so then they are not GFS pickups.

Or do you need to use the old screws for some other reason?

[al heeley]

No my pups did not come with the new mounting screws (otherwise there would be no point in my post or my question)

Yes these ar the budget clearance specials (but not at all bad for the ridiculously low price.)

I have no other use for the old screws other than trying to hold in place my new puppies.

[crafty]

Surgical tubing on the under side of the pickup would work, but by the time you bought some you could've spent $.30 on six new screws.

[JoeAArthur]

Surgical tubing can be used instead of springs, but if the screw it too small for the pickup base where it is supposed to screw into... it won't help much to replace the springs with surgical tubing.

Buying new screws of the correct size would be the correct option if you have no other reason to keep the others as you said.

I did have to keep smaller screws once - simply because they were slotted head and not phillips. I used small nuts. Screw through the pickguard. Put on spring/tubing. Screw through pickup mounting. Screwed on nut.

It works, but you cannot adjust pickup height simply by turning the screws. You have to remove pickguard and hold the nut. Once you get them adjusted... not a problem.

[al heeley]

OK, thx guys, crafty I think you mean a very narrow bore bit of tube to effectively act as a nut, underneath the pickup? Otherwise looks like I have to go buy some wider screws.

[crafty]

That's exactly what I mean. Kind of like a nyloc nut--except just a temporary fix until you can get proper screws. If you put a regular nut on there it will either rattle like crazy or eventually come loose and wreak havoc inside the electronics cavity and maybe the pickup, too. Nuts don't exactly help with the magnetic field dispersion if they're magnetic, either.

Edited April 25, 2006 by crafty

[hooglebug]

you could just try putting a dab of glue (wood glue or epoxy) in the pickup adjustment holes and then screw the old screws in (when the glue is dry obviously) and they'll make new threads.

not great if they're going to be adjusted a lot but why would they?

[al heeley]

not great if they're going to be adjusted a lot but why would they?

Because its a rebuild project with new pups and the guitar needs setting up properly to get it sounding good. This normally involves me playing with the pickup height for a few nights until I'm satisfied with it.