Pickup rings on pickguarded guitars. Post pics.

[plon]

Thinking about doing this with my SoCal. Does anyone else do this? Any pics? I've seen Dave Murray's old Strat with rings but not many others. With the angled back neck pocket on my Charvel, the bridge pup sits up ridiculously high and I think a ring would tone it down a bit. Plus I'm going to paint the headstock black with gold logo.

Did a mockup on the Generator. Looks kinda cool.

[Hellbat]

I imagine to mount them properly you'd need to go nut-washer-bolt versus screws since I'd worry about screws stripping out of the pickguard plastic.

If it doesn't work out, you are only out the price of a new pickguard.

[DonP]

I imagine to mount them properly you'd need to go nut-washer-bolt versus screws since I'd worry about screws stripping out of the pickguard plastic.

If it doesn't work out, you are only out the price of a new pickguard.

I bought a homemade Dave Murray pickguard that had screws in it and it was fine. But those screws get in the way of the body as they poke out. I took them out.

I believe Dave Murray's doesn't use any screws - just the pickup mounting screws hold them in. That's how my guard is now, and it works.


I've thought of this on an SG Standard - I don't like how the rear pickup pokes out of the pickguard so high.

Other than than, I don't own many pickguard loaded pickup guitars.

[Axewielder]

My '86 strathead came with one on the bridge pup, which looks stock to me. It was hanging loose when I got it, but I secured it with four pickup ring screws directly into the pickguard (oddly the four holes were already drilled).

[MikeStrat]

It actually looks better than I expected.

[Axewielder]

My theory is that a lot of these early ones were really just modded S-S-S pickguards, and the rings were added to hide messy Dremeled humbucker cutouts. In any event, you don't see this much anymore.

[j2379]

the rings may also be on older guitars to get the pickup high enough to the strings with a floyd mod. i just finished one of my only pickguard'd guitars. I have the bridge hum up as high as it will go and its almost not high enough. im sure cutting the PG a bit and adding a pickup bezel would raise it up a 1/4" or so easy.

[DonP]

My theory is that a lot of these early ones were really just modded S-S-S pickguards, and the rings were added to hide messy Dremeled humbucker cutouts. In any event, you don't see this much anymore.

I'm sure that was the case with Dave Murray's.

Today people can order a pickguard with humbucker cutouts so it doesn't look trashy.

[BigE13]

I like the look but why not just do the headstock and leave the pickguard original?

[straycat]

Looks old school so go with it.

[MetalMedal II]

I added rings to my socal after I shimmed the neck to add even more angle. It worked fine. I didn't use any screws for the rings as the pickup height screws keep the rings from moving anyway. The only other mod I had to do was to trim away some of the thin brass on the underside of the bridge Tonezone pickup as it was preventing the pickup from being raised thru the pickup hole in the pickguard.

[plon]

I think I'll try it with just the height screw holding it for now and see how I like it.

[Grawnday]

[Grawnday]

Above is my USA Socal with a Warmoth Pickguard. Below is with pickup rings sitting on top of the pickguard just for a reference. I'll probably keep this like it is and eventually get a H-S-H pickguard with more of a Dave Murray treatment.

[Steel City Psycho]

Above is my USA Socal with a Warmoth Pickguard. Below is with pickup rings sitting on top of the pickguard just for a reference. I'll probably keep this like it is and eventually get a H-S-H pickguard with more of a Dave Murray treatment.

Nice

I have the H-S-H pickguard and chrome rings. Going to turn my black 2010 American Standard into a Dave Murray tribute strat. There are a lot of specs of an actual Dave Murray strat I do not like, so I'm going to go that route instead. All I need to do is decide on what pickups I want to put in, right now leaning to an actual Cream Super Distortion/36th Anniversary, but have no idea what single coil or white Blackouts.

As for the OP, I like the pickup rings on a pickguard look.