PDA

View Full Version : Pickup rings


pdicristina
03-27-2010, 07:02 AM
Can someone explain when pickup rings are necessary and when they aren't? For a while I assumed that they were required for humbuckers in all circumstances. But they obviously aren't required for Atoms. Is there a technical reason for when they are required?
pdicristina
03-28-2010, 12:34 PM
anybody have info on this? Tom?
tom
03-28-2010, 03:46 PM
we use rings on all the traditional stuf with flat neck anglef. the atom got no rings cause i wanted 3 point mount so the pickups could follow the angle of the neck. the bulldog got rings cause people wanted to see them. i set them in the body at an angle to make the pickups sit parallel to the strings and also to get them out of the way so you don't feel them on you right palm.
pdicristina
03-28-2010, 03:59 PM
OK - if I'm understanding correctly, there's practical reasons not to have them for guitars with non-flat neck angles but in the other cases they're included for aesthetic reasons.
tom
03-28-2010, 04:04 PM
the atom style that do not have rings are that way because they need to adjust for the neck angle. so this is totally function.
the flat neck angle guitars have rings both for aesthetics and function. the bulldog has them for aesthetics and because we angle their footing they sit on they also function properly.
pdicristina
03-28-2010, 04:44 PM
The one aspect that I'm still fuzzy on is whether, for flat neck guitars, the pickups could be mounted without rings. I'm probably an oddball but I love how the pickups look on my Atom without the plastic rings. My original question really should have been stated more directly as: Is there a technical reason that pickup rings HAVE to appear on drop tops and cobras?
tom
03-28-2010, 05:30 PM
the shape of the "normal" humbucker is not as smooth as the atom counterpart. i always thought they looked unfinished when installed without rings. the atom pickup is a more rectangular shape so the cavity looks cleaner.
pdicristina
03-28-2010, 05:53 PM
That makes sense. I wasn't aware that Atom's had different pickup shapes.
tom
03-28-2010, 06:23 PM
the bottom plate is rectangular as opposed the the traditional plate with skinny ears where the mounting screws go.