Removing pickup rings and mounting?

[theatomicjeff]

I think I'm might want to remove the pickup ring from my Droptop. Can I simply remove this ring or is there a difference between the way the pickup is mounted into the body with rings vs. the mounting without the rings?

thanks,
Jeff

[pipedwho]

What about the 4 holes that'll be left in the body after you take out the ring?

[theatomicjeff]

What about the 4 holes that'll be left in the body after you take out the ring?
Not worried about those. They're small and would only be seen upclose.

[SonicGator]

I'm not sure if this is the case with the Anderson's or not, but on some guitars, I've seen, the Ring or Pickguard Mounted pickups have extra routs on the side for increased depth. This is so the longer screws don't "bottom out" when adjusting the pickup height. These routs are not always there in a direct mount pickup location because that is where the screw goes into the wood.

[theatomicjeff]

Thanks Sonic!

*bump for confirmation before I start taking stuff apart*

[sylvanshine]

I've ordered several Andersons with the pickups mounted to the body. Tom doesn't like to do it especially, and I kinda understand why. At high gain and high volume you can get nasty feedback. It's happened to me a couple of times.

I can say, besides the cosmetics, there isn't a noticeable change in sound (assuming you can get the pickup to the same height). In other words, don't do it because you think it will sound better. It probably won't. But YMMV. :)

[theatomicjeff]

*Bump*

What I'm really wanting to know is if I can simply unscrew the pickup ring screws and remove those rings or do I have to remove the entire pickup as well and reinsert the pickup?

[tom]

you'll have to remove the pickup to drill new holes to mount the pickup to the wood. why do you want to do this?

[theatomicjeff]

Thanks Tom,
I was considering doing this because I've had second thoughts about the pickup ring color. I wished I'd have never ordered the ring, particularly in the cream color. But I can live with it, as I certainly don't want to drill new holes. Thanks for the input. Next time I order - no pickup rings!

BTW, I love the guitar - it's my most versatile and it's really a beauty.

[pipedwho]

Post some pics of the guitar that you're changing the pickups on. :)

You can also try these guys for something a little different: http://www.pickuprings.com/

[theatomicjeff]

Tom has talked me out of it. I'm not interested in drilling additional holes in the body. But these rings look interesting....thanks for the link, pipedwho.

http://www.pickuprings.com/inc/sdetail/94

Here's the axe:
http://i32.tinypic.com/2hp6snl.jpg

[pipedwho]

That's a great looking guitar. I can see why you wanted to remove the pickup ring. The contrast in colour to the body finish is a little too much making the ring stand out more than it should.

When I saw the pic of the guitar I was first thinking that a basic black ring would suit that guitar nicely. But, I have to say after clicking the link that those cocobolo rings would be awesome! :cool:

[pipedwho]

PS. I wonder how much it would cost to have someone at TAG dye and lacquer a set of the flamed maple rings to match the guitar body underneath. ;)

[theatomicjeff]

PS. I wonder how much it would cost to have someone at TAG dye and lacquer a set of the flamed maple rings to match the guitar body underneath. ;)
I wonder if those rings in the link would fit?

Tom?

[tom]

can't speak for the other rings. figured rings would look weird to me, too busy. i'd just put a black one on.

[pipedwho]

The second guitar down on this page is a TAG Drop Top: http://www.pickuprings.com/gallery

[theatomicjeff]

Thanks guys - still debating.

Tom, do you use special rings, i.e., is there a particular place you get them from where they would know exactly which ring to accomodate a droptop? I'd even buy one from you!

Thanks in advance, guys!

[tom]

we use the duncan trembucker ring because it's flat and has a matte finish.

[theatomicjeff]

Thank you, Tom!

[ConnemaraGuitar]

Greetings, nice people with really wonderful guitars (and to the folks that make them),

Tomorrow (or Thursday) I start assembling a hollow-body strat style guitar I've been working on for a few weeks. The electronics are all Anderson, pickups, harness, etc. At the bridge I'm installing an H2+ for which I plan to use a pickup ring. The neck and middle will be SF1R and SF1.

On the guitar featured in this thread, the singles are not installed with neck rings.

From an acoustic standpoint, does it matter whether the singles are mounted with rings or to the body? I prefer the look of no rings, but think the rings may add stability and improved adjustability.

Please help me break free of this dilemma...PLEASE!!!

[pipedwho]

The singles on an Anderson are still height adjustable, even though they have no rings. Mine appear to be as stable as any mounting method could make them.

So don't worry about sacrificing stability or tone for aesthetics. You can have both. :)

I'm waiting for a set of SF1/SF1Rs to arrive. 2 weeks now! Yay! I can't wait to try them out.

[tom]

we use wood screws and rubber tubing for the mount to wood pickups. they are very solid(depending what length you cut the rubber), you just have to be careful with cutting the rubber straight and making sure the wire doesn't have tension on it so they sit straight.

[theatomicjeff]

After the change.

Tom, thank you so much for sending this. It looks so much better. I love ya, mang!

Does the plastic tip on the pickup switch simply lift off? I pulled on it a little trying to replace it with a black one but it wasn't coming off and I didn't want to yank on it too hard.

http://i30.tinypic.com/w7bnt1.jpg

[tom]

it does just pull off, but they can be super tight. if you don't need to keep the cream one, grab it with wire cutters and wiggle it from side to side and it should come off.

[theatomicjeff]

Thank you, sir.

[pipedwho]

That looks much better IMO. :cool:

[Pietro]

I liked it better with the cream ring.

But it looks great either way.

[theatomicjeff]

That looks much better IMO. :cool:
Thanks. Agreed.