"That's not what I ordered!"

[Plucky]

It has happened to most of us at least once. A part that was ordered shows up, and the quality is disappointing. This is common when sampling a certain part from a variety of suppliers, trying to find the one that 'works' for you, but also happens when ordering the same part as usual from the same place, and suddenly one day it's different!

I would like to start a reference thread where people can post reviews of parts to advise others of problems, pleasant surprises, and changes that occur with the parts you order. Pictures are a plus.

I'll start with my most recent one.

In another thread, It was mentioned that the vintage-style 'bucker baseplates from Allparts are metallurgically similar to older PAFs. This made me wonder what their P-90 plates are like. I ordered a few, and to my surprise, they are shiny nickel-plated brass! Didn't expect that one...

http://www.allparts.com/P-90-Soapbar...u-6956-001.htm

p.s. I'll follow up w/ pics and a few other posts...

[JGundry]

Vintage P90 baseplates are tin plated brass. The cosmetics of the all parts are way off for vintage but at least the brass is correct assuming they used the correct brass.

[tonedeciple]

For me, it's pickup rings. They symbolize the lack of standardization in the electric guitar component industry. The top ring in the attached photo came from WD while the bottom ring was purchased from GFS. Both are good quality rings, but they are sized differently.

[big_teee]

Yes, that is what happened to me with the 100 .688 A2 Magnets I received from Mojo.
I ordered the A5s, and got the A2s.
I learned a valuable lesson.
Always check them before You use them.
You know the rest of the Story!
B_T

[David Schwab]

For me, it's pickup rings. They symbolize the lack of standardization in the electric guitar component industry. The top ring in the attached photo came from WD while the bottom ring was purchased from GFS. Both are good quality rings, but they are sized differently.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]16400[/ATTACH]

Parts from GFS don't always even fit their other parts! I had a customer bring me a GFS Tele body, and a standard neck wouldn't fit, the pickup cavities were too tight, and the control cavity was too shallow for a standard switch. They are cheap Chinese parts.

[big_teee]

It can be pretty tricky putting full sized Pots, like the big CTS Pots in some of the Imports.
I about wore out a dremel tool getting everything in one.
B_T

[David Schwab]

It can be pretty tricky putting full sized Pots, like the big CTS Pots in some of the Imports.
I about wore out a dremel tool getting everything in one.

The issue was the depth of the cavity didn't allow even a compact blade switch. It needed more than a Dremel could handle. I would have to have done some major routing on the body, so he ended up getting another body instead.

[Jim Shine]

I use a reamer to open the pot holes for import to domestic. It is cleaner and makes a perfectly round hole quickly. The trick is to buy high quality as the blades stay sharp and don't chip the paint like a dull one.

Pickup rings do upset me. I tend to stick with those sold by Gibson, Dimarzio, and Seymour Duncan. The other peeve I have with them is the cream colors. I keep a variety of new and used around so I can come close to a match for a pickup.

15 or so years ago there used to be inferior cloth wire floating around. It was a shiny cloth jacket over a rubber insulated wire. Many of the parts places was selling it with the "standard" cloth wire shown in illustrations. I ended up with a ton of that crap. Lindy Fralin was the only place I would go to buy cloth wire for a while as it was "safe". I was restoring lots of Jaguars and Jazzmasters at the time. I would buy white and dye the wire the correct colors as yellow and black were the only other colors you could find.

[jason lollar]

this is typical even gibson pickup rings dont fit all gibson guitars, I know fender sources out parts like pickgaurds from different suppliers so you cant take a guard of one strat and put it on another. Talk about pickup parts, you have to check everything to know if you are getting a consistant quality, learning what all the variables are takes a long time. Even if its being made specifically for you you have to check everything about it if you are after a consistant result.

[ken]

this is typical even gibson pickup rings dont fit all gibson guitars, I know fender sources out parts like pickgaurds from different suppliers so you cant take a guard of one strat and put it on another. Talk about pickup parts, you have to check everything to know if you are getting a consistant quality, learning what all the variables are takes a long time. Even if its being made specifically for you you have to check everything about it if you are after a consistant result.

Boy, you hit a pet peeve here. I'm glad I don't own a music store anymore, I'd go nuts...

Fender's Mex Strat pickguards, pickup covers and bridges don't fit US Strats, not to mention all the 'other' import Strats. Their necks and tuners don't interchange either.

Epi's pickup rings don't fit on Gibson guitars, and you can't even interchange parts from one Gib model to another like Jason says.

I can remember when I ordered Gib 'cream colored' HB parts from Allparts awhile ago and got this weirdo pinky peach color instead. And don't get me started on 'keeper bars' - I ordered bars from the same supplier three times one year and got three completely different parts. I went from 'milled and drilled' to those punched out ones with rounded tops that look like loaves of bread.

Jason is right here. This is why I cannot think of a better reason to make all your own parts. I make as many of my own parts as I can so I don't have to worry about things like this anymore, and if I run low on something I just make more. I also get a much better pickup because I don't have 'surprise' parts quality changes to deal with.

ken

[Plucky]

Vintage P90 baseplates are tin plated brass. The cosmetics of the all parts are way off for vintage but at least the brass is correct assuming they used the correct brass.

I was actually expecting these particular ones to be nickel-silver. But...

I noticed, after the fact, that on the Allparts website the dog-ear baseplates actually appear to be quite shiny, while the standard ones do not.

Here's another one. Fillister pole screws from Mojo. They changed recently.

The one on the right is the newer one. Notice the head is taller and more squared, and the thread has lost the taper at the end.

I even found some of the older ones mixed in with my last order, so at some point, you'll end up with a mismatched set.

[kevinT]

They may have stocked those exact parts at one time or another and have the images of them that they use on their site, but in most cases, parts vendors aren't as anal as pickup makers themselves and will stock what manufacturers have available and they won't try to maintain the same product quality/specs.

Except for maybe mojo who are having parts specifically made for them, you're generally at the mercy of suppliers. Fastener companies/products are famous for inconsistantcies like that.

[David Schwab]

I was actually expecting these particular ones to be nickel-silver. But...
I noticed, after the fact, that on the Allparts website the dog-ear baseplates actually appear to be quite shiny, while the standard ones do not.

It's not like you are going to look at the bottom of the pickup once it's installed! The tin plated baseplates look nasty after a while.

Here's another one. Fillister pole screws from Mojo. They changed recently.
The one on the right is the newer one. Notice the head is taller and more squared, and the thread has lost the taper at the end.

I even found some of the older ones mixed in with my last order, so at some point, you'll end up with a mismatched set.

The screw on the right is more vintage correct.