Pickup Rings

[James_B_K_P]

Not sure if this question is in the right place but here goes. Is there any reason why flat pickup rings on the BKP shop are over twice the price of slanted ones? I was debating which to buy for my new build but this has raised some questions. Are flat just generally better, more people buy them so they knock up the price or is there a genuine difficulty in making them?

[Sancho]

I would just mail BKP and ask them. It's probably a mistake.

[Philly Q]

Flat pickup rings are much harder to get hold of, for some reason - the vast majority of manufacturers use slanted ones (PRS are a notable exception, on their trem models).

If you order flat rings from Allparts they're actually slanted rings which have been converted to flat!  So extra work has gone into them, which may explain the price difference.

Is the higher price justified?  Probably not, but like anything it's a case of how much are you prepared to pay to get the right item?

[James_B_K_P]

Flat pickup rings are much harder to get hold of, for some reason - the vast majority of manufacturers use slanted ones (PRS are a notable exception, on their trem models).

Ah ok, I think this makes a bit more sense now. Am I right in thinking flat rings are for guitars with trems then?

[dingleberry]

All depends on the neck/body angle

[Philly Q]

Yeah, exactly that, it depends on the neck to body angle.

On most Gibsons, hardtail PRS models and similar guitars the neck is pitched back a few degrees so the strings are nowhere near parallel with the top of the body.  Then you need slanted rings so the pickups can sit parallel to the strings.

On most Fenders, tremolo PRS models and pretty much anything with a bolt-on neck, the neck isn't pitched back at all so the strings are parallel with the top of the body (in practice there's a slight angle, otherwise the strings would be buzzing like crazy!).  That's when you'd need flat rings, although in practice many guitars of this type have scratchplates or pickups screwed directly to the body.

If the guitar has a Floyd Rose style trem, because it's taller than a Fender (or PRS) trem it usually needs to be recessed into the body to keep the strings low.  The alternative, again, would be to have the neck slightly angled back so the strings sit higher at the bridge.

[WezV]

get some angled ones and flatten them off.

stick some sandpaper to your kitchen work surface and sand the bottom until its what you want.  you may want to change the direction every so often so you dont end up sanding one area too much.  but it should only take a minute or two.


not sure why the flat ones cost more, the shop doesnt seem to want to work for me at the moment - are they metal rather than plastic?  I checked allparts and their flat ones are all metal

[Philly Q]

Allparts do have a plastic set:

http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/pickups-pickup-parts/pickup-covers-surrounds/pickup-ringssurrounds/humbucking-pickup-ring-not-slanted-flat-underside-plastic-p-3571.html


But having bought them before, they're actually slanted ones modified in the way you described!  And, like the BKP ones, they do cost more!

Sanding the bottom (oo-er...) does work very well, I've done it to make medium-height rings and to slightly change the angles (I'm fussy about these things - that's one of the many reasons why I never get any projects completed!)