Official Luthiers Forum!

Sorry for the double-post. I put this in a different forum and it's getting no play, so I'll try it here.

I'm working on a Gibson Thunderbird bass. The pickup screws keep working their way out, and when I took them apart I saw that they screw into wood, with a spring on the screw between the pickup and the body. No surprise there, but I question the wisdom of having an adjustment screw screwing into wood. So far I've just filled 'em and drilled 'em, and that works, but I'd like to find a more permanent solution.

Is there a place I can look to get a metal insert/bushing to put in so the adjustment screw goes into metal? I can get the exact parameters if necessary, but for now I'm just wondering if such an animal exists. The screws are black, so if I have to replace them I'll need black ones, as any other color on this thing will look out of place.

Thanks

_________________
"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman

Sounds to me like the problem is the springs..... try some foam rubber underneath the pickups instead. Worked all these years for Fender basses.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I 've got no problem with your suggestion, but my dilemma is that I'm a little leery of screws that are not tightened all the way down and in theory going to be adjusted periodically being screwed into wood. It'll probably be fine, but I'd rather see them threaded into metal. The bushings (I'm not even sure that's the right term for what I'm looking for would be like the ones used to anchor a stop tailpiece, only (obviously) smaller.

Thanks for the suggestion, though. I'm going to look into that.

_________________
"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman

What theory is that, Bill?
Hasn't been my experience in 35 years of guitar repair.
Methinks you making a mountain out of a molehill.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Wouldn't be the first time...It's just that if I was designing something to be adjusted I would do it differently.

Oh, and I like your sig.

_________________
"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman

There are lots of different kinds of threaded inserts that screw into wood and allow bolts to be tightened into them. I use one size of these for my bolt on necks because I don't like screwing into wood. You'll need to know the diameter and number of threads per inch, but this will get you started

http://www.grainger.com/category/thread ... alog/N-8nr

ps - I would used the springs in addition to the insert - that is the way a humbucker mounts

That's what I'm talking about. Thanks.

Yeah, I'll use springs as well. But I might try it with the foam rubber that Chris mentioned just to see how it feels. Sometimes pickups (especially wide ones like humbuckers) can feel a little "swimmy" with springs. Plus, I've never tried the foam rubber before and I'm always looking for different ideas.

_________________
"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman

Screws in to wood are by far a superior alternative for this application than machine threads. If the original hole was over-drilled or stripped, plug it and drill a proper pilot, .010"-.015" undersized from the shank. Wood screws in a proper hole will hold much better, always maintaining a healthy but if tension and friction against the shank and threads. Unless you are using thread-locking screws, or locking nuts on the adjustments, your standard machine screws will be left more prone to vibrating loose than tight fit wood screws.

Of course in practice either can work fine, as even with sloppy machine screws the friction at the head of the screw is normally enough to keep it from vibrating loose. Still, I would put this in the "solution in search of a problem" bucket, as a properly fit wood screw is not only as good, but arguably (at least in the abstract) better.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Good point. I was thinking of the softness/flexibility of the wood as a detriment, but in this situation (as you point out) it's actually a benefit. Plus it saves me a trip to the hardware store!

Thanks, all.

_________________
"Real guitars are for old people, Mr. Marsh."

Eric Cartman

Not only do I agree that wood screws work very good but for some reasons not mentioned are
that when they are used with foam the springs are not needed (if you sized the foam correctly) and
when the pickups are mounted with centered screws/machine screws the foam will keep the pickup level with superior support compared to springs or surgical rubber.
Pickup foam is just a good thing to use with any of the mounting/adjustment methods IMO.

I too agree with the foam and wood screws.
Once pick ups are adjusted,
it's usually a done deal.
A tech told me once,
that you fret at the highest fret,
and get the pup as close to the strings as possible,
without the strings buzzing against the pup.