Stripped Pole Piece

[Mike Shaw]

I tried to adjust the high E pole piece on my Seth Lover neck pickup and the pole piece just spun. I pulled the pickup and found I was able to push the pole piece up from the bottom and remove completely from the pup with my fingers without turning at all. The pole piece itself looks OK and the threads feel nice and 'sharp' so I guess the bobbin is stripped.

Anyone have any ideas on how to repair this?

Thanks!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

The bobbin might be stripped, but that wouldn't be a deal killer for pole screw adjustment. That's because the screw should also be threaded into the metal keeper bar below the bobbin, as well as the pickup's baseplate. If all three of those things are stripped, it would be something I've never run into before, and I can't imagine how it could have happened without someone also snapping the screw pole by turning it so hard. I'd think the keeper bar would hold up far better than the screw in such a situation. The good news is that it would require only a new keeper bar to fix.

The other possibility is that the keeper bar was removed at some point, maybe to convert the pickup to a "half air" type, or maybe just because the person who took it apart lost the part.

 

[Mike Shaw]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

Thanks for the info! I bought the pickups (neck and bridge) new from a reputable music store a number of years ago and just now decided to try tweaking the polepieces. I'm usually a 'flush to the top' kind of guy.

Is a replacement keeper bar available? How do you change it?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

If you bough them new, that's weird then. The keeper bar shouldn't be missing, and it shouldn't be stripped either.

 

[Mike Shaw]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

Yes, it is weird!


OK, the weirdness continues ..... I completely removed the high E screw by pushing it out from the bottom. I then unscrewed the B screw and removed it. Put the B screw in the E hole and it worked perfectly! Hmmmm.... took the E screw and put it in the B hole and it screwed in fine although it didn't feel as 'tight' as the other screws. So, I seem to have a mildly defective screw.

Anyone know where I can get a replacement polepiece screw for a nickel Seth Lover pickup?

Thanks!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

Well, at least that's a very simple and cheap problem to solve. Give S.D. a call, and I am sure they can help you replace that part.

 

[Mike Shaw]

Re: Stripped Pole Piece

I'll do that. Thanks!