How do you install the SSL-5?

[357mag]

Most pickups that I have seen for Strats have a triangular bottom plate so it's pretty easy to properly position the pickup in the pickguard. You just put the pickup in the pickguard so the triangular end with the wires coming out of it is facing towards the back of the guitar.

This is also true for the SSL-1's.

This is not so true for the SSL-5. There is no triangular bottom plate on the SSL-5. Why is this? What is the deal here? There is just your white wire on one end and the black wire on the opposite end.

I'm guessing the correct way to position the SSL-5 is so the white wire is facing me and the black wire is facing away from me. This would correspond to the diagram that shows the white wire coming from a pickup that does have this triangular bottom plate facing me(or on the inside).

Correct? I'd hate to get it reversed.

And because there is no triangular bottom plate on this particular pickup the cover doesn't sit as far down as I think it should.

 

[357mag]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

Anyone?

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

try what you think is right and turn them around if it doesn't work...?

 

[trevorus]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

Are SSL-5's staggered? if so, the lower two magnets on the end usually go on the treble side.

 

[357mag]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

My SSL-5 is staggered. I think I got it backwards cuz when I look at it the lowest two magnets are on the bass side. I will flip it around before soldering.

 

[Stratman]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

White wire is facing me and the black wire is facing away from me.

All depends how you are looking at this guitar - from the front or back....

Next time, state where your controls are facing bottom or top...

 

[Simon_F]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

I just matched the stagger of the SSL-5 to the stagger of my SSL-1s. Do you have SSL-1s in the other positions?

 

[357mag]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

I have an SSL-1 in both the neck and middle. Don't know what you mean by the front or the back...

Of course the front of the guitar is up cuz that is the side I'm working on. I'm not working on the tremolo cavity.

 

[357mag]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

Well I got my guitar back together. All in all it took about 10 hours to complete. I removed the 3-way switch and replaced it with a 5-way. And when you do that you have to replace the wires since the old wire that was there is now a mangled mess after you desolder it so it made sense to start fresh and put in new wire.

Then just when I was about to put the pickguard back on the body I discovered a broken ground wire. Didn't even realize it had broken off so I had to re-solder that too.

I installed a .001 cap for treble bleed also. I also discovered that this WD pickguard that I really wanted to use would not work because most if not all the screw holes located on the upper part of the pickguard would not line up with the holes in the body. The lower holes did but the upper holes were way off.

Very queer man.

This is so **** stupid. To borrow the words of Philip Anselmo:

Is there no standard anymore?

 

[hamerfan]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

I also discovered that this WD pickguard that I really wanted to use would not work because most if not all the screw holes located on the upper part of the pickguard would not line up with the holes in the body. The lower holes did but the upper holes were way off.

This happened to me too. Since the additional holes are covered by the guard i can live with that - even i go back to the old guard.

 

[BigJoe77]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

I had this exact same issue. It was extra confusing because the sticker on the back was put on upside down. (If I had put the pickup in with the part number sticker right side up, the pickup would have been reversed.) I had the same issue with an SSL3 where the sticker didn't match the orientation to be installed. I did the same thing as was mentioned above and just matched the magnet stagger. It's a small issue, but more confusing than it needs to be.

 

[shawnlanefan]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

i looked at all my guitars with single coils. mostly i use the flat versions but i do have some staggered pole pu's too. but ya the low poles go under the b and e. and these were installed by my old luthier who knew his stuff. and it don't matter which pu it is, if its staggered, the low poles are the b and e. so i second what trevorus says.

 

[neilrocks25]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

I am bumping this as I have had the same problem.

I guess just copy pole pieces ?

 

[uOpt]

Re: How do you install the SSL-5?

If it's staggered, orient it so that the G string is wrong (high). Or the other way round if you happen to like that better.

If it's not staggered it doesn't matter one bit.