Baseplate swap?

[ztevie]

Hey all!

I wonder how difficult it is to swap baseplates between 2 pickups?
A Vigier Shawn Lane is coming my way, equipped with Dimarzio Classic humbuckers and a FS1 in the middle. I will give the Classics a fair shot but my guess is I'll like something hotter in the bridge at least.
Problem is this vigier has a pickguard and the humbuckers are mounted with 2 screws on the treble side and 1 on the bass side.
So the Dimarzio are clearly some special orders from vigier since the standard ones only have one hole on each side.
If I buy another Dimarzio is it easy to swap baseplates? I assume oss not as easy as just unscrew some screws and reattach them?
If it's too much hazzle I'll find some other way and i appreciate any advice.

Another question is if all SD Trembuckers have 3 holes per side? I know standard spacing SD's do not, but I've also seen pics of Trembuckers with only one hole so I don't know what to think.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Baseplate swap?

It's simple to swap baseplates. The only thing you need to do is figure out what the pole spacing is. There are four small screws which fasten the bobbins to the plate and you need to remove the polepieces. Then unsolder the ground from the baseplate and solder it to the new baseplate and replace the screws.

 

[ztevie]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Ok, sounds good!
So no messing with the wax potting or similar...
I assume it'll have to be the same brand of pickup though, an SD plate won't fit a Dimarzio for example?
And do you know if all SD Trembuckers have 3 holes per side?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Ok, sounds good!
So no messing with the wax potting or similar...
I assume it'll have to be the same brand of pickup though, an SD plate won't fit a Dimarzio for example?
And do you know if all SD Trembuckers have 3 holes per side?

Baseplates are fairly standardized all being based on Gibson. Duncan baseplates fit most Dimarzio and visa/versa. The most important thing is that the polepiece retainer matches polepiece spacing. Dimarzio glues some of their magnets to the baseplate, but I have been able to pry them off with a razor knife without problem. You shouldn't need to repott unless the components don't fit together well. However changing the baseplate material from brass to steel slightly shifts the tone of the pickup. http://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Pickup-Parts

 

[ztevie]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Thanks!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Dimarzio glues some of their magnets to the baseplate, but I have been able to pry them off with a razor knife without problem.

DiMarzio uses different kinds of glue depending on the PU. Some are rubber glues and the magnet is easily removed. I've also run into epoxy's that the ceramic magnet had to be chiseled off in pieces.

 

[koshikas]

Re: Baseplate swap?

if it is a ceramic magnet that needs to be chiseled off, I'll take every precaution not to break the magnet into pieces. unlike metallic magnets (them alnicos) the ceramics easily crack

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[ztevie]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Ok, i think i might skip the idea of plate swap, seems it may be more of a hazzle than I'd like.
I'll try to maybe make a smaller plate, drill extra holes on the side and attach it to the one holed leg. In theory it should work...
But still wonder, are all SD Trembuckers equipped with 3 holes per side or not?

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Baseplate swap?

all SD Trembuckers equipped with 3 holes per side or not?

Yes, but only the central one is threaded.

HTH,

 

[ztevie]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Thanks, good to know. But weird, what other reason for those holes than to use them just as the middle hole?
I understand that some fenders have those 2 holes, but on the bass side compared to Vigiers treble side.
Well, I'll just have to try and come up with my own solution.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Just for reference:

Dimarzio standard spacing is 48 mm
Dimarzio F-Spacing is 52 mm
Duncan standard is 49.2 mm
Duncan TB spacing is 53 mm
Gibson standard/neck spacing is 49.2 mm
Gibson F/bridge spacing is 52 mm
Bareknuckle standard spacing is 50 mm
Bareknuckle F-spacing is 53 mm
Duncan Designed standard spacing is 50 mm
Duncan Designed F-spacing is 52 mm

If the pole screws protrude through the baseplate you WILL NOT be able to fit a dimarzio baseplate to a Duncan pickup.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Baseplate swap?

if it is a ceramic magnet that needs to be chiseled off, I'll take every precaution not to break the magnet into pieces. unlike metallic magnets (them alnicos) the ceramics easily crack

If you want to swap out a ceramic magnet that's been epoxied in place, it's not coming off in one piece, baby. Replacement magnets are cheap.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Baseplate swap?

I've never seen a Dimarzio that was epoxied, it's more like silicone, and it's pliable and easy enough to slip a pocket knife between the baseplate and magnet to separate them. The silicone can then be scraped off the baseplate. Keep in mind that Dimarzio doesn't use spacers, they silicone the coils together, so you will likely have to put spacers in or redo the silicone job if you pull the coils apart. It's better to try to keep the coils together, but it's not always possible.

Another thing about Dimarzios, they also use slightly different sized magnets, so mag swapping with standard sized mags pulls the coils apart too.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Baseplate swap?

Just for reference:

Dimarzio standard spacing is 48 mm
Dimarzio F-Spacing is 52 mm
Duncan standard is 49.2 mm
Duncan TB spacing is 53 mm
Gibson standard/neck spacing is 49.2 mm
Gibson F/bridge spacing is 52 mm
Bareknuckle standard spacing is 50 mm
Bareknuckle F-spacing is 53 mm
Duncan Designed standard spacing is 50 mm
Duncan Designed F-spacing is 52 mm

If the pole screws protrude through the baseplate you WILL NOT be able to fit a dimarzio baseplate to a Duncan pickup.

That's a good general reference.

I will add that there are some of those measurements that have some additional fractions of a millimeter after them, and those little bits do make a difference when fitting replacement parts.

For instance, Gibson bridge spacing is 52.4 mm. That's because it's actually 2-1/16 in. by design. Even though we call it 52.4 mm now, it's still actually built to be 2-1/16 in. Also, Duncan TBs are 52.6 mm. While this 0.2 mm difference means that Gibson T pickups and Duncan TB pickups might be able to be fudged into having interchangeable parts, it does not necessarily mean that metric-designed 52.0 mm or 53.0 mm aftermarket covers and baseplates will work, on either brand's pickups. I've ordered both 52 mm and 53 mm parts, intending to fit them to a 500T, but no dice; neither one fit the pickup "properly." I needed 52.4 mm parts, the metric equivalent of 2-1/16 in. parts, not 52.0 or 53.0 mm. The parts I ordered were designed from the start using metric units, so they favored full millimeters. Even though I'm talking about just a few slices of a millimeter, the parts just didn't fit well enough IMO.

Point being, make sure you know the EXACT measurements of the parts you buy. Some parts advertised as either 52 mm or 53 mm are actually 52.4 mm, and the people writing the description have rounded up or down. But some parts advertised as 52 mm or 53 mm are EXACTLY those measurements.

In this case, I would either just drill the pickguard (most likely what I'd do), or custom order the replacement DiMarzios with the two-screw baseplates.

 

[ztevie]

Re: Baseplate swap?

I won't get into taking pickups apart. Seems it could cause more trouble than I'm willing to accept.
I'll see if i can find some small piece of softer metal I can drill 3 holes into and make the threads myself with a screw. Then I can screw that piece to the pickups leg with the middle hole and use the outer holes for the pickguard screws.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Baseplate swap?

I've never seen a Dimarzio that was epoxied, it's more like silicone, and it's pliable and easy enough to slip a pocket knife between the baseplate and magnet to separate them.

They do use epoxy on some. I've swapped mags on a number of DiMarzios, to take out the ceramic mags, so you might not have wanted to remove those in your PU's. As you know, I pull all ceramic mags and give them away to forum members.

 

[koshikas]

Re: Baseplate swap?

If you want to swap out a ceramic magnet that's been epoxied in place, it's not coming off in one piece, baby. Replacement magnets are cheap.

+1, one should never be so thrifty for ceramic mags. [emoji12]

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