Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

These should be easy ones . . . what are the four outer screws used for on high gain pickups? Are the center screws screwed into the wood itself or do they sit in some sort of bracket?

Hello Justin; the corner screws are at least the mounting screws, and I don't know if they anchor into the wood or if there is a metal part that they screw into. The center screws raise or lower the pickup inside the cover, on either side respectively. I'm guessing that some or all of the screws attach the cover to the pickup. I'm sure that someone else who knows more about this will inform us here. Best.

well here it is;

the corner screws mount the pickup cover to the aluminum bottom with a nut on the bottom.This is a sandwiching method.
The center screws are the ones that mount the pickup into the guitar.
These are sheet metal type screws,NOT wood scews.

NO ONE in the guitar industry uses wood screws.They are soft and have poor holding power.

Sheet metal screws are the standard.

All the screws are plated ,and have the same sized head ,that is why the confusion.

In a bass or guitar where the pickup is mounted to a pickguard,these sheet metal screws are replaced with a machine screw ,and the cover / assembly is tapped and threaded to allow the use of this screw.

center 2 : straight into the wood - pu height adjustement
corner 4 : fixes the chrome cover on the pu assembly (beware of the bottom side of these : if your need to put your pu very low with the foam pad completely squashed, the bottom of these screws could dig a little bit into the wood also)
axel

Well gang, I got the height adjustment part right. That'll teach me. Thanks, Mark. Best to all.