Advice Needed: Loose Neck Pickup on SL2H

[zyx345]

The neck pick up on my SL2H is loose. It can easily be moved up and down with the guitar in playing position. The bridge pick up does not do this and is tight in its housing.

Any advice on how I could stabilize it? New springs? You can see from the pic below how much space there is in between the pick up rings from the neck pick up as compared to the bridge pick up.

[tonemonster]

describe how it moves up and down? you mean side to side in toward each mounting screw? or up and down as in to and away from the strings??

[zyx345]

describe how it moves up and down? you mean side to side in toward each mounting screw? or up and down as in to and away from the strings??

Thanks. By up and down I am referring to "side to side in toward each mounting screw."

[tonemonster]

I will go check mine and see how they move.

[tonemonster]

I checked my SL2H's and all of them are the same way. the neck pickup moved around a bit in there, but the bridge pickup is solid.

[zyx345]

I checked my SL2H's and all of them are the same way. the neck pickup moved around a bit in there, but the bridge pickup is solid.

Thanks. At least I now know that its normal.

[warlok]

The bridge pup is F spaced, the neck is not. See in your pic how the bridge pole pieces line up with the strings but the neck pup doesn't? Bridge pup is wider for that reason. And is normal BTW..

[wilkinsi]

You could always replace the neck pup with an F-spaced one :idea:

[Newc]

The bridge pup is F spaced, the neck is not. See in your pic how the bridge pole pieces line up with the strings but the neck pup doesn't? Bridge pup is wider for that reason. And is normal BTW..

Ok, that had nothing to do with the issue, but alrighty then.

You could always replace the neck pup with an F-spaced one :idea:

Ummm, no. F-spacing is only for the bridge. Standard-spacing at the neck works for everything (well, except maybe a Nightswan or the middle of a 3-pickup LPC).

As for what you can do about it.

1. Nothing because it's not really an issue, unless you notice a marked change in output (i.e. the low E doesn't project as well because the pole is not lined up, which is not going to happen).
2. Stick a piece of foam under the pickup so it doesn't slide around. Note this will probably cause the pickup to lift closer to the strings unless you've got a really compressed/tight-fitting spring on the mounting screws.
3. Change it over to direct-mounted. This might require you to fill the holes under the pickup feet so they have something to screw into. This will also mean you have to ream out the mounting holes in the pickup feet when the direct-mount screws go through, making it nearly impossible to revert to ring-mounted unless you want to dick around with a small washer. You can keep the ring on their to keep the visual match between the two pickups. It looks odd to have one ringed pickup and one un-ringed.
4. Bend the pickup legs sideways a bit so that when it shifts, the poles are lined up under the strings. Just don't bend too far.


Regarding the gap in the rings, since the bridge pickup is trem-spaced, it is wider. A wider pickup requires a wider ring. However, to maintain symmetry, they used the same type of ring for the neck, which is of course narrow. You can put on a standard-spaced ring, but it will be visibly different from the bridge ring AND may not even fit because the screw holes in the body are wider apart.

[DalyTek]

The pickups don't fit the guitar.
What you do is take them out and send them to me.
I'll send you several no-name pickups and you can put them in there until you find a good fit.

[wilkinsi]

Ummm, no. F-spacing is only for the bridge.

I was joking

[warlok]

Ok, that had nothing to do with the issue, but alrighty then.


Regarding the gap in the rings, since the bridge pickup is trem-spaced, it is wider. A wider pickup requires a wider ring. However, to maintain symmetry, they used the same type of ring for the neck, which is of course narrow. You can put on a standard-spaced ring, but it will be visibly different from the bridge ring AND may not even fit because the screw holes in the body are wider apart.

Exactly how is this different than what I said :think:? The bridge pup is wider so has more room to move in the ring... I guess Newc said it ... better.... or something..

[Carbuff]

If it really bothers you you might be able to jam some foam under the pup to keep it steady. Its probsbly loose because the pup is adjusted low and the springs are not putting much tension on the pup to hold it steady. Try adjusting the pup higher, temporarily, and see if it gets better. If so, maybe you could find some stiffer springs or stretch out the ones you have.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Ummm, no. F-spacing is only for the bridge. Standard-spacing at the neck works for everything (well, except maybe a Nightswan or the middle of a 3-pickup LPC).

F-spacing is fine for neck and bridge. I've use F-spaced sets in guitars with Floyds and the neck poles are no more misaligned with an F-spaced pickup than they are with a standard-spaced pickup, just the other direction (too wide rather than too narrow.)

Trembucker (which is wider than F-spaced) is only for the bridge. I guess you could use it in the neck position but it would look silly.

Anyway as to the original question what you need to do, if anything, is get some longer/stiffer springs, or use a piece of tubing as a spacer to get the spring under more tension, if you don't like it moving around. But, it doesn't really hurt anything.

[warlok]

Starting new thread as to not hijack..