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looks amazing!
can't wait to see it finished and hopefully hear it
Marko, after examining the contents of the EMG soapbar pickups, I noticed EMG included the wire and screws, but no springs. Do all pickups require springs?
I thought maybe one box forgot to include springs, but when I checked the second box neither had springs. So then I wondered if soapbar pickups need springs. And then I am now wondering why are there springs on pickups at all?
I wend to the EMG site, and can't find any screws or springs sold separately. Allparts.com sells singlecoil pickup screws with springs, but only screws (no spring) for humbucking pickups.
What's the deal with springs? I assume the springs are to keep the pickup from rubbing against the wood and wearing away at the solder welds or wiring harnesses.
I bought a set of nut files for Bass. A set of 7.
Marko, where can I find the spacing measurements for the cuts to make on the nut? Keep in mind I have a 1.75" Fender style graphite nut for a 5-string.
The springs you are referring to, if I understand correctly, serve only to allow you adjust the height of the pickups relative to the strings. Marko will likely have a good bit more to say on this. Some pickups use springs on the screws. More common, in my experience anyway, is a bit of adhesive-backed foam (e.g. weatherstripping) stuck onto the bottom of the pickup to provide the push that will lift the pickup as you back out the screws.
I have also used closed-cell foam for this purpose. You want a foam that will not compress and lose its ‘memory’ over time. You want something thick enough to lift your pickup to the strings or a bit higher, so that there is some compression holding your pickup in place at the correct height.
Hope that helps, and I'm sure Marko will explain it better and more thoroughly. Cheers. And cool project!
Sid got it in one, I used foam on my bass, its a case of trial and error as to how much. As for the nut, the two outside strings, B and G in this case need 3/16" from the outermost edge of the string to the edge of the nut, once cut, measure the space between and divide by 4 which will give you the remaining 3 positions
Try the nut thing on paper first until you are satisfied
Thanks Sid and Marko. I never thought about using foam. I'll check that out.
No progress this weekend. Getting ready for family visiting next week, so it may be a while before I get back to this.
I need to make a deeper channel in my pickup holes for the pins and wiring harness EMG gave me. If I don't the pickups will stick up to high and touch the strings.
Once I do that, I'll be ready to drill my wiring holes and set the bridge (get pilot holes drilled).
Then if I'm not wrong, it will be time to make my final sanding and time to stain and finish this thing.
Here's a tech problem for you:
A couple years ago my working musician uncle loaned me a bad-ass amp after mine petered out. Today he called and said he needed it back because his own amp quit on him. So I'm packing it out to the truck to drive over to him, and as I'm going down the driveway the fucking carrying handle snapped clean off and I dropped the amp onto the gravel.
The amp still works fine but is now banged up a little. And I don't know what pisses me off more – the fact that the handle broke in the first place, or the fact that after two years, of all the times for it to break, it had to be five minutes after he asked for it back. And knowing my uncle, he's probably sitting there thinking I broke it a long time ago and made that shit up to cover for it. This is my luck!
IamMark - your routes for the pickups should be a good bit deeper than the pickups, including the pins on the back. You will want to be able to adjust pickup height, not have it set by the depth of your routing. The foam/springs fill the extra depth.
Loudlon - bummer!
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