Q: 7-string pickup rings?

[darren]

I hope this is the right area to post this. I want to dress up the look of my Dean EVO Special 7 with cream pickup rings, but i'm having a hard time finding anything but black rings for 7-string pickups.

Does anyone out there have a source for cream 7-string pickup bezels?

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Nope ... I'm in the same position ..

<---- (Albeit ... mines Burst and yours is Black)

Personally I'm Dying for some cream rings, Zebra Bobbins, gold top hats, and an aged switch top (ie. Brownish rather than a bright Cream colour) http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~musicst/0158.jpg (for the colour of the switch)

But all I can find for pickup rings is black. So I might end up spray painting a pair to see if that works

 

[Travis]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Try www.fretsonthenet.com. Dave is a great guy to deal with. He normally does parts for Chravel/Jackson but it wouldn't hurt to email him and see if he could do some for the Dean. I got one of his pickup rings and a trem plate cover and they are top notch. Tell him Travis from the JCF sent you.

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Yeah, i saw that Dave was custom-fabricating rings for EMG 707s, and thought about sending him some specs to get a quote. I just wanted to see if anyone had found stock cream rings before i went the custom route.

TheProphet: Sweet Evo! I was torn between the black and the sunburst, but most of the sunburst ones i've seen photos of didn't look that hot. Yours is the most beautiful one i've seen! If you're looking for zebra bobbins, talk to Brian at Universal Jems. He has a product called "bobbin toppers" which are essentially vinyl decals you can stick to the top of your existing bobbins. They look pretty good. What pickups do you have in your Evo?

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Thanks ... picked it up over in BC 4-5 years back, they had 3 EVO's sitting there with the hottest tops I've seen on Deans ... Technically it's a Facotry Second due to some finishing blams on the headstock. Give them a new nut, good setup and new pickups and they are the best 7 string on the market (or used to be) IMHO

As for Pickups, it's those stock ones for now (which drive me nuts) ... I'm probably sticking a '59 in the neck and ordering a custom shop 7 string Full Shred for the bridge sometime in the next year or so.

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Very nice. That's a gorgeous burst on a really amazing piece of maple. All i've done to my Evo is replace the pickups, pots and most of the wire. I'm thinking of replacing the black speed knobs with chrome domes, and i'm trying to see if i can get a TonePros tune-o-matic bridge. I wouldn't mind maybe swapping out the tuners for a set of locking Grovers, too.

The stock pickups were surprisingly not too bad. I had to replace mine because they were just too microphonic at high volumes. But overall, not too shabby. I put in a '59-7 neck and a JB-7 bridge. The '59 can be a bit woofy at times, but i really like it... it's very versatile. If i did it again, i might consider the Jazz-7 neck just to get it a little lighter and more mellow.

I also have series/parallel switching (via push/pull pots) on each pickup, which opens up the tonal palette quite nicely. Eight distinct options, all of them hum-cancelling!

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

I hope this is the right area to post this. I want to dress up the look of my Dean EVO Special 7 with cream pickup rings, but i'm having a hard time finding anything but black rings for 7-string pickups.

Does anyone out there have a source for cream 7-string pickup bezels?

I'm in the same boat. Wanting creme rings to match my zebra set of Air Norton7 and Tone Zone7 for my EVO7. I would think by now ALL APrts or Warmoth or WD would have these...

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Prophet my guitar is your guitars twin brother. Looks very nice btw. I hope if you find a source to post back here as I have been wanting creme rings for over 2 1/2 years since I've had this guitar.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Prophet my guitar is your guitars twin brother. Looks very nice btw. I hope if you find a source to post back here as I have been wanting creme rings for over 2 1/2 years since I've had this guitar.

Nice going man ... Yeah these babies are great.

I'm still fearing that I'll end up using Cream Spraypaint on the stock rings for now ... but I'm hesitant over damage to the plastic and wear issues

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Prophet the creme paint might be a decent option actually. You might want to hit it with a coat of clear afterwards and then dull it down with some 0000 steel wool so it won't look ghetto.

I sprayed a set of black plastic rings with Brass spray paint to match the brass hardware on an old Westone I have and it came out pretty good.

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

My epiphone les paul 7 string came with creme pickup rings and I painted them black to get the appearance of a custom or standard les paul. Looks kind of boring though, so I want to go back to the creme.... dipping them in varsol isn't an option so I guess I should just use sandpaper?

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Update: Dave at Frets on the Net is having trouble acquiring 3/8" cream Delrin material to make my custom rings, so i'm back at square one.

If any Epiphone Les Paul players have their original cream rings and want to swap them for a black set, please contact me.

Has anybody else had any luck in the search for these? If Epiphone put them on their 7-string Les Pauls, they must exist somewhere!

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Darren,

Yeah I ordered a set for my Jackson from Dave last month and I didn't realize that the 2 guitars I have, come with the smaller pickup mounting rings, and I always thought all Jackson pickups were oversized. That and the creme rings look more like a dull white. Dave was cool and asked if I wanted to send them back, but I will keep them, for a future guitar GAS attack. His rings are truly a work of art. Top notch!

I wish ya luck and if I find any I'll let you know.

Kevin

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Yeah, i prefer them to be more dull white, because the 'cream' binding on my guitar is actually white, but the clearcoat has yellowed. So having them more 'ivory' in colour is exactly what i'm looking for.

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

I was also hoping Dave could make normal sized rings for your everyday humbuckers like Dimarzio and Seymour Duncan, and unfortunately he's not set up to make them that size. It's too bad because they are truly the best rings I've ever seen felt touched or tasted... hehe a little play on words there.

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

I'm pretty sure Dave can make anything you need.

I can make pickup rings for any guitar you'd like, as long as you can supply me with a template (unless I already have it).

He even makes "adapter" rings that match the larger Jackson mounting screw pattern, but will fit a smaller, standard-size pickup like a Duncan or an EMG.

I sent him one of my pickup rings to use as a template, so my rings will be custom-made based on that, plus measurements and a scribe of the contour of my guitar's top.

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Yeah I have both sizes of the Jackson rings one for oversized Jacksons, and one for smaller pickups to fit the oversized Jackson ring.

I did email him specifically if he makes pickup rings to fit normal humbuckers and he told me he didn't. I also knew about the custom sized rings as I saw the template mentioned, but I dunno why he told me he couldn't do it, as I asked for replacements for my Gibsons.

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Well, Dave came through for me big time! Taken just moments ago:

These are custom-made cream 7-string humbucker mounting rings, made by Dave over at Frets on the Net. I provided him with one of my stock black plastic rings to use as a template, so he now can offer custom 7-string rings in black, light cream, white, polished aluminum, polished brass, and probably even more materials.

These are beautiful pickup rings, machined from solid Delrin (not flimsy hollow-cast plastic), and they have a beautiful matte finish that feels like ivory. If you want custom-made pickup rings, Dave is the man to talk to!

Next up: I have a TonePros Tune-o-Matic 7-string bridge on the way, and the stock Grover mini-Rotomatics are getting replaced with locking Grovers. I'll probably also replace the plastic nut with a GraphTech one if i get around to buying a proper set of files.

More pics to come when the rest of the parts come in and she gets strung up again. (Hopefully on a sunny day... it's very overcast here today, which is why the colour in the latest pics is off.)

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Darren, looks awesome. I might send the ones back I bought from Dave, if I could get these in an even exchange. I can't really use the ones I have right now as they are the oversized Jackson rings, and Im sure they aren't quite big enough to fit 7-string pickups either. Once again a great job by Dave. He is the man1

 

[darren]

Re: Q: 7-string pickup rings?

Here are some new pics of the guitar all back together and strung up. The Grover Locking Mini Rotomatics were a bust... they're larger than the standard Mini Rotomatics, so they weren't a direct replacement. I really wanted to swap them out and not have to drill more holes in my headstock. Oh, well... they didn't accommodate my .070 low B string anyway.

But the TonePros bridge is nice.

More photos here.