Crooked bridge pickup in a 4003S and treble bezel inserts

[johnallg]

How do you know it came out of the factory like that?

Exactly.

[ilan]

Because it's not the only one?

[milo]

I guess I can't prove that somebody didn't remove the pickup from the mounting plate and drill a different mounting hole in it until I go the next step, but it looks like I have some extra work to do. The holes in the mounting plate are on center so it's the pickup itself that is crooked.



Did the factory actually just run a self-tapping screw through the pre-drilled mounting plate and drive it into the pickup bobbin without having pilot holes in the bobbin itself? What risk do I run of ruining the pickup if I have to drill a new hole into the bobbin when I try to straighten this? I could also just skip the insert and leave everything as it is right now. I've survived without one and only rarely accidentally hook my pinky into the bezel when I use a pick and anchoring my pinky is a habit I try to break except for the fact that it's ingrained from playing guitar and is sometimes helpful (for me) on the six-string.

[cassius987]

Something about that pickup just looks wrong. (I'm talking about the appearance of the bobbin, not the obvious bit that it's askew.)

Because it's not the only one?

It's the only one I've ever seen. I've seen them a bit off-center before but nothing like this. And for some reason it doesn't look like most of the older pickups I've seen, something about the material seems textured wrong, but I'm no expert.

[johnallg]

I guess I can't prove that somebody didn't remove the pickup from the mounting plate and drill a different mounting hole in it until I go the next step, but it looks like I have some extra work to do. The holes in the mounting plate are on center so it's the pickup itself that is crooked.



Did the factory actually just run a self-tapping screw through the pre-drilled mounting plate and drive it into the pickup bobbin without having pilot holes in the bobbin itself? What risk do I run of ruining the pickup if I have to drill a new hole into the bobbin when I try to straighten this? I could also just skip the insert and leave everything as it is right now. I've survived without one and only rarely accidentally hook my pinky into the bezel when I use a pick and anchoring my pinky is a habit I try to break except for the fact that it's ingrained from playing guitar and is sometimes helpful (for me) on the six-string.

Dang, someone had to be drunk or really hung over the day that pickup was assembled. If you hit the new hole in the center of the coil, you will not be in the copper winding area. Dang.

[rockinrayduke]

Because it's not the only one?

Thank you. My point exactly.

[milo]

Well,
She's looking a bit better now





Thanks for the tips. Now onto the 350

[cjj]

So, what did you end up having to do?

[milo]

I had to loosen the other mounting screw that was centered and rotate the pickup on the plate to square it up. Then I tightened down the good screw to keep everything in place. I wasn't sure if I could actually drill a new hole because about 25% of the original threaded hole was still visible through the pickup mounting plate, but I gave it a shot. The drill bit kept finding the edge of the old hole and trying to work it's way off center so I figured I would end up with the pickup crooked again. Somehow there must have been enough misalignment between the hole in the mounting plate, the larger hole in the magnet, and the offset hole that had been egged out a bit to allow the screw thread to catch and cut some new threads into the bobbin.

I'm sure that it's a touch cross-threaded since it has to be using part of the original tapped hole, but everything is lined up and tightens well enough to hold it in place.

[cjj]

Luckily, there's not a lot of force trying to push the pickup around on the mounting plate, so perhaps it will stay put...

[ken_j]

I had to loosen the other mounting screw that was centered and rotate the pickup on the plate to square it up. Then I tightened down the good screw to keep everything in place. I wasn't sure if I could actually drill a new hole because about 25% of the original threaded hole was still visible through the pickup mounting plate, but I gave it a shot. The drill bit kept finding the edge of the old hole and trying to work it's way off center so I figured I would end up with the pickup crooked again. Somehow there must have been enough misalignment between the hole in the mounting plate, the larger hole in the magnet, and the offset hole that had been egged out a bit to allow the screw thread to catch and cut some new threads into the bobbin.

I'm sure that it's a touch cross-threaded since it has to be using part of the original tapped hole, but everything is lined up and tightens well enough to hold it in place.

At this point I would consider just elongating the hole in the mounting plate. This way you could tighten both screws and eliminate any possible mechanical feedback. Also it would eliminate any chance of damaging the bobbin.

[DJJazzV]

Well,
She's looking a bit better now





Thanks for the tips. Now onto the 350

Awesome 4003S. Looks to be in great shape too.