Let’s talk about direct mounting guitar pickups!

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

Regarding Humbuckers:

I’ve seen the video with Aaron from April of 2020. Since that was a whole half decade ago, I was wondering if there have been any updates regarding materials and technology available for this.

The idea of drilling the screw holes in the pickups to make them bigger makes me a bit queasy and unnerved. Has anyone come out with screws for this purpose yet? Like screws that can just go into the pickup and pilot holes?

I’ve looked at some other videos of direct mounting, and some other methods are even more complicated than what Aaron does with the Telecaster screws. Like a guy who uses a drill and a file to strip the threads off the screws that come with the pickups. So, I’m a bit concerned at actually needing to do this. As of right now I’m in the mindset of "Just buckle up and do what Aaron does" but if there’s anything simpler I’d be happy.

Another point of contention I see is the foam. It seems half of people put the adhesive side on the back of the pickup while the other half puts the adhesive on the guitar body. Does it really make much of a difference? Are there pros and cons for each? The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is "put the adhesive side on the piece you’re less likely to try to sell second hand later" which I imagine for most people would be the body.

Regarding single coils:

How do you mount a Strat pickup to a read routed body? I haven’t looked into this at all. Is it as simple as using the materials that come with the pickup itself? The same screws and springs/silicon tube cushion things? Are other materials necessary?

 

[Hodgo]

The alternative is threaded inserts or if you want to go really crazy something like the FU-Tone PMS.

I prefer the foam on the body side. For single coils, I just used pickguard screws and foam.

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

The alternative is threaded inserts or if you want to go really crazy something like the FU-Tone PMS.

I prefer the foam on the body side. For single coils, I just used pickguard screws and foam.

I had seen the PMS mentioned elsewhere. Is it compatible with the direct mount routes that Warmoth provides? Looks like it’s intended for routes that were intended for rings.

 

[Hodgo]

I had seen the PMS mentioned elsewhere. Is it compatible with the direct mount routes that Warmoth provides? Looks like it’s intended for routes that were intended for rings

It’s flat on the bottom so it will fit, but you’ll be hogging out the sides like a typical ring mount anyway to give the screw more travel, making it effectively worthless for a direct mount rout. You can achieve basically the same thing with a spare HB baseplate if you have ring mount routs.

If you must keep the baseplate intact, say out of fear of metal dust shorting the coils (probably won’t happen with a wax potted HB) or resale value, you need something even smaller than the 3-48 thread machine screw and a matching insert.

These would probably work with a corresponding screw: https://www.mcmaster.com/product/92395A111

 

[supertruper1988]

Here is what I have used in the past for this. I used #2 screws through the humbuckers so I dont have to drill them out.

Post in thread 'threaded inserts'

Mar 7, 2024

Yeah I have done it. Works like a charm.

I used these inserts (https://www.mcmaster.com/94615A111/) for humbuckers with these screws (https://www.mcmaster.com/90272A084/) no need to drill the mounting holes on the pickups.

For single coils I used these inserts (https://www.mcmaster.com/94615A211/) and these screws (https://www.mcmaster.com/90272A114/) I wanted the larger head to make sure it wouldnt slip through the holes in the covers.

I also use varying thicknesses of neoprene weather striping instead of springs or rubber tubing.

• supertruper1988

• 

 

[NedRyerson]

I've drilled out the screw holes in the ears of HBs. It's not hard to do (a cheap Ryobi common household black drill bit did the job just fine), and while that commits those pickups to being wood-mounted for the rest of their lives, I don't look at parts for the sake of reselling. Once that variable is removed from the equation, a lot of stress goes away, actually

I'm transferring a pair of HBs that were wood-mounted to another wood-mount project. Even had coil splitting wired up on both, so that's coming along in the transfer. Was rather proud of that, so no sense in letting it go to waste!

I also don't use adhesive backed foam. The pressure applied by the pickups makes it unnecessary.

Overall, I kept the process as simple as possible.

 

[supertruper1988]

I wish I stuck with pickups enough that I didnt have to worry about that. I buy used pickups when I can and I direct mount most of my guitars but the option to flip the pickups to get some new tones is too easy and practical or me to drill the mounting tabs if I can avoid it.