61 PAF w/ steel bobbin screws

[Bill M]

Got a 61 les paul/sg in for service. Neck pup doesn't work.
I have had at least a dozen PAF's through my hands and have never encountered one with magnetic steel bobbin mounting screws.
Has anyone encountered steel screws before? This is a fully original guitar.

[JGundry]

Yep. I have had one in for repair with steel bobbin screws. You can get a decent gauss reading from the screws.

[Bill M]

Maybe I should have phrased it a little different. I don't mean the screws are magnets, I mean the screws are steel and not brass.

[Possum]

....

Are the bobbins butyrate or are they hard plastic with totally flat tops? Is the keeper punched or totally flat and drilled? I have a questionable PAF in here trying to get a handle on what year its from.....

[Bill M]

Dave I didn't pop the cover yet, I will on monday and report. I have to pop it any way, it has no output, reading as open. Did anyone click on the picture in my first post....No the camera is in focus, the lettering on the sticker is doubled. I pulled the bridge pickup and that one the lettering is normal. Well hopefully this one can be repaired and I don't have to rewind a coil.

[JGundry]

Maybe I should have phrased it a little different. I don't mean the screws are magnets, I mean the screws are steel and not brass.

I understand what you meant. I'm just saying since the screws are steel they act like mini pole pieces. The pickup that I repaired with them had butyrate bobbins.

[kevinT]

They still use steel bobbin mounting screws in many lower end asian-built pickups.

[EFK]

Hmmmm. Mini-poles on the bottom of the pickup! Will this add "woody" tone? Or maybe built-in reverb?

(Actually I'm serious - could there be a tonal effect?)

[Possum]

....

The most is would probably do is add a tiny amount of inductance which might show up a a tiny treble loss, kind of doubt you'd hear anything with only four tiny screws....

[David Schwab]

The most is would probably do is add a tiny amount of inductance which might show up a a tiny treble loss, kind of doubt you'd hear anything with only four tiny screws....

Lover specified brass screws as not to "waste" any magnetic field out the back of the pickup. I doubt that's happening though.

Did you ever see a Gibson Ripper bass pickup? It used four mini humbucker headless screw poles. Looked really funny for a bass pickup.

[SJE]

Well I use them - on the whole because without importing brass or another non magnet metal screw type would end up just being hugely expensive. I really do not see what effect they would have on the tone of a pickup.

Sure they'll slightly alter the magnet field but the pole screws disrupt then enough anyway - but then again as I don't use pole screws just slugs I guess they would be something of an offset instead of pole screws . . .

[voodoochild]

I've used both brass and steel screws. I can't hear any difference. Maybe it shows something on paper but to my ears it shows nothing and that is all that matters. FYI I have seen tons of original PAFs with steel screws. They just used whatever in those days. Who knows, maybe the ones with steel screws were better sounding :-)

[Possum]

....

What I thought was possibly a '61 PAF turns out to be a mystery pickup. I talked to Tom Holmes who's never seen one like it, Lollar doesn't recognize it, anyone here see one like this?

[David Schwab]

That's a strange one!

[Possum]

...

Yeah its very strange. It has PAF correct magnet wire, the keeper is sanded the same way Gibson did some but is sanded on all sides, screws are narrowed at the ends which points at mid-60s' maybe, it did have an actual PAF sticker on it at one time, unfortunately its been potted and crepe tape wrapped. Slugs are PAF spec, bobbins seem the right height. Sounds exactly like a real one. Bobbins are hard plastic totally flat on top. Feet have no "L" tool marks. The hand engraved in the mould numbers on the bottom of the bobbins are very strange.