help with pickups falling out of place

[D_gratch]

I have an am. double fat strat with two SD humbuckers. the problem is that the pickups are pretty loose and they pop out when you move the guitar. The screws where you adjust the height also come out of place. I tried to tighten those screws but when I do it gets closer to the strings than I would like it and doesnt really solve the problem. When the pickups are lowered it kind of solves the problem but I loose some volume. I dont think the problem has to do with the height but rather it's how the pickups are sitting. anyone wanna take a shot at this?

 

[Zerberus]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

I´m not sure what you mean by "pop out". Could you clarify that , please?

 

[JOLLY]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

Sounds to me like you need longer screws....although I've never had that problem.

 

[D_gratch]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

for example if I were to carry my guitar to a gig then when i take the guitar out (after being transported and moved around) the pickups are not sitting in place. They come out towards the string as if they were loose.

I don't know if that helps

 

[southadc]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

Have you checked to make sure the height adjustment screws pass through the springs on their way to the pickup baseplate?

EDIT: or maybe the springs aren't long enough, which is why the problem goes away when you raise the pickups. How far out do they fall?

 

[D_gratch]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

Have you checked to make sure the height adjustment screws pass through the springs on their way to the pickup baseplate?

EDIT: or maybe the springs aren't long enough, which is why the problem goes away when you raise the pickups. How far out do they fall?

I am not really sure how to do the first thing. For the second thing when they fall out they dont completely come out of place just really loose as if I tighten the screws towards the strings and that the screws also come out also.

 

[southadc]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

I am not really sure how to do the first thing. For the second thing when they fall out they dont completely come out of place just really loose as if I tighten the screws towards the strings and that the screws also come out also.

Hmm, I'm a bit out of my depth on this one, but here's what I'd try:

I'd adjust the pickup screws to how you normally have them (when the pickups 'fall out'). Then, next time I had the strings off, I'd pop the scratchplate off and have a look underneath. Viewed side on, I think you should see (from the head of the screw to the tip) the scratchplate, spring on the height adjustment screw, then the pickup baseplate.

If the pickup is only falling out partway, I'd guess that the spring isn't long enough. As you look under the scratchplate, the spring should completely fill the gap between the pickup baseplate and the guitar scratchplate (there should be some compression on the spring even - I'm sure there's a thread floating around about what a pain they are to change).

If the spring is free to move (i.e. there's a gap in there somewhere), that may cause the problem you're having. If you tighten the screws, this will reduce the gap and put compression on the spring, which will stop the pickup moving around. This sounds like what you were describing before.

If this is the case, then yuo can either buy some new springs, or I think some of the guys on the forum are using some sort of tubing that they cut to length.

As I said though, I'm a bit out of my depth here, so maybe someone can picth in and correct me if I'm off the mark?

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: help with pickups falling out of place

I had a similar problem on my axe. The problem on mine was with the stock screw being too small. Now not necssar;;y the same problem on ur axe but hey Isay chek it out, its a pretty simple job which u can do ur self