Can P90 mounting screws interfere with the pickup?

harry

Junior Member
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I'm putting P90 into my guitar. I have a mounting plate in the bottom of the cavity so I want to use machine screws. The problem is that the screw that I have has not a flat head. It is almost impossible to find a flat head #3-48 1" screw in my corner of Europe.

Are there any technical problems with mounting screws that are higher than the pole piece? Will it interfere with the magnets and the function of the pickup? Is it a problem if the mounting screw touches the pole piece?


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Dang, I just ordered 4 mounting plates after reading the post, I wood mounted ( is there any other options) my soapbar p90 and ended up with the same high screws as described, I haven't noticed a problem but I mean which side of the wood screw do you cut, the sharp point? Then you don't have a wood screw. Screwing all the way down goes through the back, I know I know, go to the hardware store and get a shorter screws.
 
Nope, no difference. In the USA, if local hardware or homedepot doesn't have it, I'd head over to amazon. If they don't have it maybe Granger? But it won't make a difference to your sound.
 
Ease the pickup cover top with drill bit by hand ever so slightly to accommodate the screws you have.
 
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Nope, no difference. In the USA, if local hardware or homedepot doesn't have it, I'd head over to amazon. If they don't have it maybe Granger? But it won't make a difference to your sound.
Thanks! The problem is that it costs $20-$30 to ship 4 screws to my part of Europe. So if it does not make any difference, I'll skip it.

One other thing that I noticed. Is that the mounting screws on a soapbar P90 is not grounded? Should they? Is it not recommended to ground the mounting plate in the bottom of the cavity?

It's one similar to this. https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-h...lates/deluxe-mini-humbucker-mounting-bracket/
 
The mounting screws are steel so they affect the magnetic field of the pickup. Having the screw stick up closer to the strings is going to change the sound a little. You will probably find a guitar supply shop will stock them as they are also used for mounting humbuckers, and I think the length is the same. You could also check the price to order 3-48 mounting screws from Stewmac, but their international postage takes a few weeks.

Another option is to use stainless steel screws which are non-magnetic! However I'm not sure what size to use - M3 size is probably too big.
 
Try one of the suppliers at the links you will find below e.g. Warwick may have something and there are others to check out.

 
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