Can it be solved?

[LtKojak]

Hi guys, looks like I'm in need of some help here, so please bear with me:

I've recently bought the following guitar:



I've bought a set of Lace's Holy Grail for it.

The p'ups sound good, but there's a thing: once installed, I've realised that the rods are located with a different, wider spread than the strings, so the first string is so off that it has about only half of the volume of the other strings. The original p'ups didn't have this problem... I couldn't imagine the they had a different spread than the "standard"!



How would you deal with the problem? The vibrato system can't be adjusted. Buying other p'ups for it is NOT an option.

[chevalij]

Import guitars, like most MIM Strats have a narrower string to string measurement at the bridge. A vintage American style strat bridge has a string to string measurement of 2 3/16" while I beleive an import is 2 1/16" So, you may be able to swap out the bridge. BUT, I believe the mounting screw spread is different also. Can anybody else chime in on mounting spread?

[Dave Kerr]

If you're not willing to swap the pickups or replace the bridge, then two options come to mind:
1. Make a new pickguard and angle the pickups sufficiently to align the poles and strings. You may have to route out a bit under the pickguard for the pickups to fit the new orientation.
2. Try tweaking the strength of the pole pieces by putting small neo magnets on the underside of the magnets where's you're out of alignment.

[JasonG]

say let it be. If you like the sound of the guitar then you are already in a good spot. I have spent a lot of time trying to perfect some of my projects only to be disappointed in the end. Ether I could never reach the perceived level of perfection, I was able to reach that point but it was not as great as I thought it would be or I ended up worse off than I began.
If you spent 5 hours getting everything lined up would it be worth it? At this point there has to be some sort of compromise.
If it were my guitar I would have swapped out the magnets in the original pickups and put in an air coil.

[emoishboy]

In my experience, pole spacings usually don't have anything to do with the volume of the pickup- having the pole spacings match tends to be more of an aesthetic thing rather than a necesity. (I feel like I spelled that wrong...) are you sure there isn't another more serious problem?

[David King]

I tend to agree that the pole spacing isn't the only reason that you are experiencing a volume drop. Check the magnet strength across the poles and if anything I'd knock down the strong poles rather than try to buck up the weak ones with neos. Neos will change the tone and maybe not for the better?
If you want to establish "correct" spacing at the bridge, I'd get in touch with the nice folks at Graphtech in Vancouver, Canada. They make replacement saddles for all sorts of instruments and probably have the solution you are looking for.

[LtKojak]

I would have swapped out the magnets in the original pickups and put in an air coil.

Well... the original p'ups are cheap single coils with a ceramic bar in the bottom of the p'up and have slugs, not magnetic rods. They sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Just thinking about it make my teeth hurt!

I would've changed the ceramic bar with an Alnico one, but unfortunately they're superglued, so it's not possible to remove'em.

[David Schwab]

In my experience, pole spacings usually don't have anything to do with the volume of the pickup- having the pole spacings match tends to be more of an aesthetic thing rather than a necesity. (I feel like I spelled that wrong...) are you sure there isn't another more serious problem?

We went through this before, and I even posted an audio clip that shows that you do get a drop in volume when you bend a string away from a pole. If you have your amp up load enough you just don't notice it.

This particular pickup is actually a sidewinder split coil humbucker. The coils are also kind of triangular. Not sure if that makes it more sensitive to the string being over the pole.

This is not like a regular pickup on the inside. Looks like you might be able to slide the rods up and down without harming anything.

[LtKojak]

I tend to agree that the pole spacing isn't the only reason that you are experiencing a volume drop. Check the magnet strength across the poles and if anything I'd knock down the strong poles rather than try to buck up the weak ones with neos

How do I check for weak rods? I can't afford a gaussmeter... heck, I don't even think they're any for sale here in Italy.

[David Schwab]

You can also try getting a small steel washer with a hole large enough to fit over the magnet, which will increase the surface area on that pole.

[LtKojak]

We went through this before, and I even posted an audio clip that shows that you do get a drop in volume when you bend a string away from a pole. If you have your amp up load enough you just don't notice it.

This particular pickup is actually a sidewinder split coil humbucker. The coils are also kind of triangular. Not sure if that makes it more sensitive to the string being over the pole.

This not like a regular pickup on the inside.

No, they're NOT a regular p'ups by any means. I was quite happy when I got this set at such a good price. And the tone is almost the one produced by the Fender Custom Shop '54, just no hum at all.

It's not a complaint, mind you, but they behave very (too?) "politely" to the touch, they don't behave like normal single coils, more like the EMG SA set, but the sound is closer to a single coil than the EMGs.

Is it possible to "bridge" the rods somehow? Or... maybe the magnets are not fully charged, or not as charged as the other ones?

I'm having this problem only on the neck p'up; the middle p'up is a bit off too, but it's too subtle to bother me.

Any ideas, David? Maybe super-glueing an Alnico bar at the bottom could help without killing the tone too much?

[David Schwab]

Is it possible to "bridge" the rods somehow? Or... maybe the magnets are not fully charged, or not as charged as the other ones?

I would try that. Either on the top or the bottom. That should work.

Any ideas, David? Maybe super-glueing an Alnico bar at the bottom could help without killing the tone too much?

Unless you put the alnico bars like on a P-90, you wont find any thin ones with the pole on the flat surface area.

I'd try to bridge the poles with some thin sheet steel, or a steel bar across the poles on the bottom. It will probably alter the tone somewhat though.

[JasonG]

Ok
Maybe I should have read the post a bit more carefully. I think a Wilkinson 5+1 modern bridge may solve your problem. It's forgiving when it comes to screw spacing and It has the vintage US string spacing. The block is stainless steel too so its going to be closer to a US PRS bridge.
I have had 2 of there bridges and I like them.
Here is there website.
Wilkinson Guitar Parts, Pickups and Bridges - Trev Wilkinson official web site

[David King]

Well... the original p'ups are cheap single coils with a ceramic bar in the bottom of the p'up and have slugs, not magnetic rods. They sound like fingernails in a chalkboard. Just thinking about it make my teeth hurt!

I would've changed the ceramic bar with an Alnico one, but unfortunately they're superglued, so it's not possible to remove'em.

Super glue and most glues are very heat sensitive. I'd try warming it up with a hair drier or heatgun or heat up the poles with a soldering iron and see if the magnets will pop off with a knife blade under a corner.

[spud1950]

So, you may be able to swap out the bridge. BUT, I believe the mounting screw spread is different also. Can anybody else chime in on mounting spread?

That is the case.Typical vintage style import trems also have 2 1/16" mounting hole spacing.Fender American vintage trem mounting hole spacing is wider.You have to plug the mounting holes in the body with dowels and re drill them for the wider spacing.The Wilkinson trems are 2 1/18" string spacing,and the mounting hole spacing is the same is same as the Fender American.Another problem is that most import bodies are thinner then American Fender bodies.A full sized block as found on the Fender,Wikinson,or any other brand of Fender spec'ed vintage style trem will protrude to far out and the trem cavity cover will not fit back on.I put a Wilkinson trem on an import body,but I had to have a friend mill about 1/8" off the height of the block to it make work properly.