Complain

[Spy]

I would like to share with you my experience buying a Seymour Duncan product. My project was to replace the bridge pickup of my Fender Stratocaster with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Trembucker. I was very enthusiastic about this product. So for the reason that the Fender pickguard has two holes on top and one in the bottom position of the pickguard it was very hard to find a humbucker to be fit in that pickguard. After I made my research that the Pearly Gates Trembucker has three holes in each ear, by writing an email to Seymour Duncan, reading in various forums including yours and reading the user manual of the PG trembucker I have placed my order. After I have received the PG trembucker and the new pickguard, I went to a luthier to place the humbucker. So the luthier made a wider cavity and he tried to place the new product. After that he made me a phone call and he informed me that the holes in the humbucker are not threaded except the holes in the center of HB. The two holes in the edge of its ear were just two holes without the ability to take a screw. You understand now my surprise. I have destroyed my guitar by wide the cavity and I have paid 200 euros for the humbucker, the new pickguard plus the luthier without a reason, because there was no way to complete my project. So, the only solution was to thread the holes. I spend extra money to buy the special tool and went back to the luthier. There we have realized that the screws provided with the Pearly Gates were not compatible with the tool, because in Europe we have different treads than the USA. So again I have to find new screws. Up to this point I had spent too many hours and money just for a job that it would be very easy, if the holes were threaded. Or, to be written in the product specification sheet that the holes are not treaded and not buy the product. Nowhere it was mentioned anything about the threaded holes, not even in the official email answer.

I would be very pleased if I had a comment from your company about my inconvenience.

Kind Regards,

Spiros

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Complain

Shame to hear you have a bad experience Spy!
I honestly think it would have been better to contact your dealer or the Seymour Duncan customer service when you noticed the holes had no thread, so that they could solve the problem.
If your luthier threaded the holes now, he surely must have screws that fit the thread he put on, or am I mistaking?
Once more, a bummer to hear you had a bad experience!

 

[Riley]

Re: Complain

I would like to share with you my experience buying a Seymour Duncan product. My project was to replace the bridge pickup of my Fender Stratocaster with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Trembucker. I was very enthusiastic about this product. So for the reason that the Fender pickguard has two holes on top and one in the bottom position of the pickguard it was very hard to find a humbucker to be fit in that pickguard. After I made my research that the Pearly Gates Trembucker has three holes in each ear, by writing an email to Seymour Duncan, reading in various forums including yours and reading the user manual of the PG trembucker I have placed my order. After I have received the PG trembucker and the new pickguard, I went to a luthier to place the humbucker. So the luthier made a wider cavity and he tried to place the new product. After that he made me a phone call and he informed me that the holes in the humbucker are not threaded except the holes in the center of HB. The two holes in the edge of its ear were just two holes without the ability to take a screw. You understand now my surprise. I have destroyed my guitar by wide the cavity and I have paid 200 euros for the humbucker, the new pickguard plus the luthier without a reason, because there was no way to complete my project. So, the only solution was to thread the holes. I spend extra money to buy the special tool and went back to the luthier. There we have realized that the screws provided with the Pearly Gates were not compatible with the tool, because in Europe we have different treads than the USA. So again I have to find new screws. Up to this point I had spent too many hours and money just for a job that it would be very easy, if the holes were threaded. Or, to be written in the product specification sheet that the holes are not treaded and not buy the product. Nowhere it was mentioned anything about the threaded holes, not even in the official email answer.

I would be very pleased if I had a comment from your company about my inconvenience.

Kind Regards,

Spiros

PM sent, hope we can get this worked out for you!

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Complain

Sorry to be blunt, but being English not your mother language, I think you got a lot lost in translation, and in your past 17 posts, all you asked about was about wiring.

You didn't ask the Forum about the non-threaded holes in the Trembucker baseplate, and you didn't search well enough, as there've been references about that in the past. See? Found it right away:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...unting-holes&p=2875764&viewfull=1#post2875764

You simply assumed.

So, your mistake, to start with, and that your "luthier" didn't have a clue about getting screws that matched the thread measure of the tap tool or getting the right tap tool for the provided screws didn't help either.

Sorry man, but you simply can't pin this on the Duncan Co. The only one you have to blame here is you, and your "luthier" for being just as clueless.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Complain

Also, I would add that I don't think the 2 holes in a Fender pickguard (for the Fender pickup) are in the same place as the outer two holes on the Trembucker pickup.

 

[dotsdad]

Re: Complain

A professional luthier can't drill a hole in a pickguard????

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Spy]

Re: Complain

Dear Kojak,
I have found the solution alone. Now my guitar is ready. The sound of my PG trembucker is awesome. You are right about my previous posts. In these posts I was asking help about the wiring and I would like to thank again all the members for their precious help. But I am writing about something different. As a final consumer, when I am buying a "ready" product I expect everything to be perfect. I really can't understand how difficult is for a factory to thread two more holes. What is the logic to make un-threaded holes? Sorry but I can't understand that. Moreover, I don't believe that is a luthier's work to thread holes. This is the job of the factory. Moreover, I expect the "thread thing" to be written in the product manual or to the specifications in order to make my choice if the product is suitable for me or not. After all I am a guitar player not a technician. The reason that I am writing to the forum is that I wanted to share my experience with the company in order to fix this problem for future customers that will face the same problem. if you believe that the mistake is mine you are right, because as you wrote, I have made an assumption for the reason nowhere was written that the holes were un-threaded.
Duncan is a great company, and I believe needs its customer's experiences, in order to be even greater.
Sorry for my English. Its not my native language.

Best Regards,

Spy

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Complain

A professional luthier can't drill a hole in a pickguard????

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

I know, I was like WAIT WAT?! It's a pickguard right?! LOL

Anyway glad everything worked out.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Complain

In before the lock!

And I am super-glad that you your Pearly Gates going! Love me some Pearly Gates!!!

Kojack - Duncan sent a baseplate that wasn't threaded. There would be no need for the Luther to be an idiot if that hadn't happened. By luthier I assume that in Europe that means the same thing as here: Guy who SAYS he knows how to work on guitars. But yes - he was the second problem. If you have a tap, you have a screw for it!

 

[Riley]

Re: Complain

Glad that you were able to work it out!

Just for clarity, the outside holes on the Trembucker are not threaded normally and do not line up with the mounting holes on this style of Fender humbucker/pickguard. I could be wrong, but I believe the Trembucker design actually pre-dates this mounting style that Fender is using, but either way it was not intended to match the Fender spacing.

We always appreciate feedback on your experiences with our pickups, and especially as it relates to the ease of installation in your guitar.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Complain

I would have thought a new pickguard/blank would have been cheaper than tapping base plates and tap tools, etc.

 

[Artie]

Re: Complain

Also, I would add that I don't think the 2 holes in a Fender pickguard (for the Fender pickup) are in the same place as the outer two holes on the Trembucker pickup.

A professional luthier can't drill a hole in a pickguard????

I'm sorry you had this problem, and glad you got it worked out, but I don't think much of your "luthier". As Frank said, the holes don't line up anyway, and there's no need to drill holes in the pickguard. Some older Peavey's have this same mounting configuration. It's dirt simple to take a little "hobby" aluminum strip and cut a little T-bar. You use the existing threaded pickup hole to bolt the strip to the pup, and then drill and tap the strip to align with the pickguard. Nothing, not the pickguard, not the guitar, and not the pickup, are altered. Everything is reversible.

Dirt simple. 15 minutes. (If you're prepared, with hobby stock, drill & tap. Which any good luthier/tech should be.)

Artie

 

[stupendous silly]

Re: Complain

Guys I will hopefully soon have a similar hole-matching problem with my trembucker PG and my strat, but I am not there yet. The cavity on the original fender pickguard doesn't match the size of the trembucker. 53mm spaced buckers from other companies didn't cause this problem in the past. I forced it a little to fit in, and now this tip of the wire shows from the binding and I just pray I didn't break the wire and it is the actual end of the wire that has come out. Shall I unbind the pickup to check what is going on? never did that before.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Complain

I've been disappointed that those four holes are unthreaded too.

IMO, Duncan ought to quit using that baseplate because it's misleading.

I've read other complaints about it here.

If I remember right, those four holes are left overs from the past but part of the die or stamp or process in making the baseplate and Duncan didn't want to retool.

So those unusable holes continue to get stamped into the baseplate.

Anyways, they need to retool and either leave those holes out...or tap them so they're useable.

Just to avoid bad feelings and disappointments.

 

[stupendous silly]

Re: Complain

My present problem is whether I may have broken the wire by forcing the trembucker into the pickguard cavity, I may need to ask about the holes later. Do you recommend unbinding the tape around the wiring to check? It could help with my psychology. Some wire-end is sticking out, whether it is broken or not.

 

[stupendous silly]

Re: Complain

Is it possible that it will fit into Gibson humbucker rings so I may at least try the pickup on another guitar?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Complain

Is it possible that it will fit into Gibson humbucker rings so I may at least try the pickup on another guitar?

Trembuckers are about 1/8" wider than Gibson humbuckers and might be too tight in a Gibson ring. Plus the ht. adjustment screws are spread out wider as well.

You can check for continuity with a multi-meter...something you need almost as much as a good soldering tool if you're going to do much work on guitar electronics.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Complain

Do you have a meter to check the reading on the pickup? BTW, it should fit in the Gibson rings, either arched or flat.

 

[stupendous silly]

Re: Complain

I may find an amper-meter. And where do you suggest I connect the poles thereof to see if the pickup is broken or not? Thanks a lot for the assistance by the way.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Complain

The best way is to have the pickup out of the circuit. Have red & white connected, set the meter on 20 ohms, and put the meter on green & black. You should get a reading.