angled pickup rings

[CJ]

do they make these? its for a gibson flying V. I think this has been talked about before, but just double checking. I'd just like to get my pickups parallel to the strings without having to wedge anything underneath the pickups or anything.

[Twinfan]

You could just remove the pickups and bend the base plate part where the screw goes in?  That'll angle your pickups for free  ;)

[WezV]

like these:
http://www.allparts.uk.com/catalogue/product_info.php?cPath=91014&products_id=11744

???????????

[Philly Q]

Using angled pickup rings on top of the scratchplate improves things, but not 100% because the springs are still pushing against the horizontal underside of the scratchplate.  

To get it totally right, you'd need to cut holes in the scratchplate so the springs are only touching the underside of the angled mounting rings.  But I guess you don't want to trash the scratchplate.  :?

[CJ]

like these:
http://www.allparts.uk.com/catalogue/product_info.php?cPath=91014&products_id=11744

???????????

now how am i supposed to tell the angle on those? should i just assume they're the right angle?

and philly, without actually having my guitar here or taking my guitar apart, i'm having a tough time picturing this... if the pickup ring is flat, shouldn't the pickup sit flat? i don't know i'm tired and not thinking right...

it sounds like my options are cutting my pickguard, or bending my pickups? neither of them sound too good...


EDIT: my les paul has slightly angled pickup rings andthe pickups are sitting parallel to the strings. now they're not going through a pickguard, but i'd imagine the screws would just have to pass through the pickguard holes at an angle...?

[Philly Q]

OK, I'm overcomplicating things but here goes with a very long-winded description:

On your Les Paul, the mounting ring is angled, the screw-heads sit against the (angled) top of the ring and the springs push against the (angled) bottom of the ring.  There's nothing pushing in any other direction, so the pickup happily sits parallel with the angle of the ring - and therefore parallel with the strings.

On a V, the (angled) mounting ring is sitting on top of a (horizontal) scratchplate - so, as before, the screw-headss sit against the (angled) top of the ring.  BUT, the springs push against the (NON-angled) bottom of the scratchplate.  So, if the springs are under a lot of pressure, they're trying to push themselves into a straight line - which pushes the pickup back parallel with the scratchplate, rather than parallel with the strings. Which is the problem you had in the first place.

As I said before, you can get round this by cutting the scratchplate so the springs are no longer touching it.  Then everything depends only on the angle of the mounting rings.  Just like the LP.

OR, you could use very short springs so they don't get compressed much - in that case, the screw-heads sitting on the angled pickup rings will give you the angle you want, and the springs will just bend/flex a little and won't have enough strength to change the pickup angle.  Only slight problem then is, the pickups won't be sitting very solidly, they'll wobble a bit if you rest your hand on them.

I said it'd be long-winded.  

(I had the exact opposite problem with my own V.  It has a late-70s-style neck which isn't tilted back - it's parallel with the body.  So I wanted the pickups to sit parallel with the scratchplate - but they'd used angled pickup rings.  I replaced them with non-angled ones.)

[WezV]

like these:
http://www.allparts.uk.com/catalogue/product_info.php?cPath=91014&products_id=11744

???????????

now how am i supposed to tell the angle on those? should i just assume they're the right angle?

they are the slanted variety - they dont come in specific angles but they are only made of plastic and can be modified easily - or amde from scratch!!

One isssue with pickups slanting comes from the route/hole in the guitar body.  For angled pickups you really need to angle the route, with a flat fronted guitar like a v i dont think gibson bother doing that.  If the route is slightly oversized it isnt needed as much anyway

[hunter]

hmmm so subtle ... didn't EVH nail that pickup in his frankenstrat? Just wondering if the angle makes such a big .... Heritage guitars have 2 screws aside, to adjust the angle I think ...

[Philly Q]

Just wondering if the angle makes such a big .... Heritage guitars have 2 screws aside, to adjust the angle I think ...

I don't think it makes a very big difference sound-wise, but on a V or SG the front of the pickup can be almost touching the strings while the back is about 4mm away - it's not ideal, and apart from anything else it looks wrong.

Heritage use (or used to use?) Schaller pickups, which have 3 mounting screw holes on each side so you can use them with conventional mounting rings or Schaller's own rings.  They seem to work best with two screws on one side (to set the angle and stabilise the pickup) and one screw on the other.

[CJ]

OR, you could use very short springs so they don't get compressed much - in that case, the screw-heads sitting on the angled pickup rings will give you the angle you want, and the springs will just bend/flex a little and won't have enough strength to change the pickup angle.  Only slight problem then is, the pickups won't be sitting very solidly, they'll wobble a bit if you rest your hand on them.

i'd say this'll be my best bet for now. i might as well atleast try. As for the routing holes or whatever, they seemed to be decently oversized, but what do i know.

and hunter, philly is exactly right in the reason i want the angled rings. I really don't have a clue, someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems logical to me that if the pickup is sitting parallel to the strings rather than one side 1 mm away and the other 4-5 mm away, i should be able to get the pickup closer and effectively a hotter and better sound.

[Philly Q]

i'd say this'll be my best bet for now. i might as well atleast try. As for the routing holes or whatever, they seemed to be decently oversized, but what do i know.

Yes, it's definitely worth a try - you don't have to screw the mounting rings onto the scratchplate, so there's no permanent damage.  And the body cavities in a V should leave plenty of room for the pickups to be angled a bit.

I did have another thought - you could try Fender-style rubber tubing instead of metal springs.  It doesn't "fight" as much as springs, and you could even cut one end of each piece of tubing at the same angle as the mounting ring, so it sits correctly under the scratchplate.

[CJ]

how flexible are the pickup feet? could i somewhat easily bend them to a correct angle, or would this end up being something more permanent?

[Philly Q]

It's easy to straighten the pickups' feet or legs if they're a bit too close together or too far apart, but that's just gently bending a piece of metal less than 1mm thick in a direction it doesn't mind going.

Twisting the half-inch wide feet or legs so they're at a different angle than the pickup's baseplate is an entirely different thing.  The metal is really quite brittle.  It's not something I'd try on my own pickups.

[WezV]

now. i might as well atleast try. As for the routing holes or whatever, they seemed to be decently oversized, but what do i know.

just to clarify i wasnt suggesting you should make bigger holes in the guitar, that is a bit overkill for what you would gain - i was saying that the problem sometimes arises because of those holes.

If they are the correct size then sometimes the pickup has very little room to move and will not be able to tilt enough to get the angle you need.  Really when the guitar is made the holes should be routed in relationship to the string angle rather than in relationship to the face of the guitar... anyway, thats just why the problem exists and not a way to fix it!!

If you do have enough room to tilt it to the angle you want then i would take a lot of carefull measurements of the pickup in its ideal position and make a little bock of wood to go between the feet and the ring on either side that firmly held everything were you wanted it.

... or add something underneath thats holds it all exactly where you want it - many ways to skin a cat

[CJ]

now. i might as well atleast try. As for the routing holes or whatever, they seemed to be decently oversized, but what do i know.

just to clarify i wasnt suggesting you should make bigger holes in the guitar, that is a bit overkill for what you would gain - i was saying that the problem sometimes arises because of those holes.

If they are the correct size then sometimes the pickup has very little room to move and will not be able to tilt enough to get the angle you need.  Really when the guitar is made the holes should be routed in relationship to the string angle rather than in relationship to the face of the guitar... anyway, thats just why the problem exists and not a way to fix it!!

If you do have enough room to tilt it to the angle you want then i would take a lot of carefull measurements of the pickup in its ideal position and make a little bock of wood to go between the feet and the ring on either side that firmly held everything were you wanted it.

... or add something underneath thats holds it all exactly where you want it - many ways to skin a cat

well i know the holes are big enough, i can push the pickups into the position i want them while they're sitting in the pickguard. I was considering what you said abou the block of would, but could that also end up bending the pickup feet over the long run? and to clarify, would i drill the screws through each piece of wood, or were you talking about a different spot?