Gaaah! My pickups don’t fit!

[aussieowner]

Just tried my Railhammer pickups in my Jazzmaster pickguard. The pickup openings are basically exactly the same size as the covers. There are no specifications given for the pickup openings. The pickups measure 1.5” by 2.75”, while the openings measure 1.495” by 2.775”. The length is OK, but the width is just a fraction of an inch too small. I measured my Starla pickups, and they are also 1.5” by 2.75”.

I’m bummed, not sure what to do about it. I thought pickup covers were pretty standard?

 

[PhilHill]

Some 220 or 320 grit sandpaper and a small wood block should solve the problem, if you want to keep the pick-guard. Or possibly a fine grade file.

 

[aussieowner]

Some 220 or 320 grit sandpaper and a small wood block should solve the problem, if you want to keep the pick-guard. Or possibly a fine grade file.

As far as I can find out, 1.5 x 2.75 is standard for HB pickup covers. Not sure why they didn't get it right. I can probably fix it, but I really should't have to. Minor nit, but I want it to look clean when I'm done.

 

[PhilHill]

Some 220 or 320 grit sandpaper and a small wood block should solve the problem, if you want to keep the pick-guard. Or possibly a fine grade file.

As far as I can find out, 1.5 x 2.75 is standard for HB pickup covers. Not sure why they didn't get it right. I can probably fix it, but I really should't have to. Minor nit, but I want it to look clean when I'm done.

I can understand that. The finer grade paper should give a clean look when your done, just keep the surface of it square to the pickguard and go slow. check for size frequently so you don't go too far. Hope it works out well for you.  :icon_thumright:

 

[aussieowner]

Some 220 or 320 grit sandpaper and a small wood block should solve the problem, if you want to keep the pick-guard. Or possibly a fine grade file.

As far as I can find out, 1.5 x 2.75 is standard for HB pickup covers. Not sure why they didn't get it right. I can probably fix it, but I really should't have to. Minor nit, but I want it to look clean when I'm done.

I can understand that. The finer grade paper should give a clean look when your done, just keep the surface of it square to the pickguard and go slow. check for size frequently so you don't go too far. Hope it works out well for you.  :icon_thumright:

I did email customer service. Not that I'm going to return this for something fixable, but they might want to check their CNC setup. Something is not quite right, and I'm sure they don't want a bunch of annoyed customers.

 

[Verne Bunsen]

I’d be interested to know what they have to say. Might be something that always runs large and just isn’t disclosed? Reminds me of a Seymour Duncan humbucker in a Tele bridge pickup form factor, either the Hot Stack or the Hot rails, can’t remember which. It is just ever so slightly too big to fit most Tele bridges without some caressing. They didn’t fit 15 years ago, still don’t fit today. Obnoxious, but not unprecedented.

 

[PhilHill]

I’d be interested to know what they have to say. Might be something that always runs large and just isn’t disclosed? Reminds me of a Seymour Duncan humbucker in a Tele bridge pickup form factor, either the Hot Stack or the Hot rails, can’t remember which. It is just ever so slightly too big to fit most Tele bridges without some caressing. They didn’t fit 15 years ago, still don’t fit today. Obnoxious, but not unprecedented.

That's what I've always loved about Fender. Some of their Tele bridges won't allow the Tex Mex bridge pickup to fit easily. And these aren't the MiJ ones, but the MiM and American made. I have a feeling that it fit fine until the plating was put on, I've seen a number of manufacturers forget that plating, like painting, makes holes smaller.    :doh:

 

[aussieowner]

I’d be interested to know what they have to say. Might be something that always runs large and just isn’t disclosed? Reminds me of a Seymour Duncan humbucker in a Tele bridge pickup form factor, either the Hot Stack or the Hot rails, can’t remember which. It is just ever so slightly too big to fit most Tele bridges without some caressing. They didn’t fit 15 years ago, still don’t fit today. Obnoxious, but not unprecedented.

I looked up the dimensions of a HB cover, and everything I found said 1.5” x 2.75”. I measured several covered HBs in my guitars, and they all measure within a few thousandths of the nominal dimensions. The long dimension makes sense, there’s about .012” on each end which allows for tolerance stackup, and enough clearance to allow adjustment of the pickup. Based on that, I’m guessing that the narrow side should be 1.525” or so, rather than the 1.495” I measured.

 

[Rick]

I put rail hammers into my jazz master and love them.  Didn’t have a problem fitting them into the pick guard.  Did have a problem putting a trembucker into a humbucker route and with some sanding came out great.  Must be a new issue.
Which rail hammers did you get?

 

[Rick]

Here s my build thread https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=30424.msg437683#msg437683

 

[aussieowner]

I put rail hammers into my jazz master and love them.  Didn’t have a problem fitting them into the pick guard.  Did have a problem putting a trembucker into a humbucker route and with some sanding came out great.  Must be a new issue.
Which rail hammers did you get?

I have a set of Gnarly 90s, and a Hyper Vintage bridge pickup. I’m probably going to use the HV bridge and Gnarly 90 neck.

I think Warmoth just messed up on the pickup rout. I’m considering my options on fixing it. I think I know what I’m going to do, but I’d like to hear from Warmoth first.

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've had this happen a few times and the answer is always just to take some sandpaper to the route. Warmoth seems to play it safe and cut pickup and controls holes a hair on the small side, since it's better to get a small hole you can easily enlarge than a large hole you can't make smaller neatly.

Reminds me of a Seymour Duncan humbucker in a Tele bridge pickup form factor, either the Hot Stack or the Hot rails, can’t remember which.

Hot Rails. It's a squarer overall shape and the extra corners clash with any 'vintage' bridge cutout, though the modern bridges Fender use on some of their MIA models can take a Hot Rails just fine. IIRC Wilkinson bridges can also take it, regardless of bridge styling.
The Hot Stack is no different in outline to any regular Tele bridge pickup, it's just a tiny bit taller than original 50s Tele pickups so it does need the 70s-onwards deeper bridge routing.