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Let’s talk about direct mounting guitar pickups!

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ThisIsHuhWow404

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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?
 
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.
 
Hodgo said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Last edited:
ThisIsHuhWow404 said:
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
Click to expand...
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
 
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.

supertruper1988

Post in thread 'threaded inserts'

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.
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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.
 
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.
 
I agree, use the foam to keep the pickup from leaning. Nice and stable.

It doesn’t have to be any special foam, the stuff that comes with many pickups / pedals / etc is just fine.
 
I attach the foam to the body for the simple reasons that a lot of pickups have labels on the baseplate which adhesive would destroy if you ever want to sell the pickups. I've scored a few used pickups at a discounted price because of that :cool: Or I've seen baseplates get permanently corroded from adhesive. I don't know of any disadvantage to attaching the foam to the body.

Before attaching it, spot place it with masking tape folded over on itself with the protective tape still on. Then press the humbucker in to see how the polepieces and leads fit. if possible, do it with the outer strings on to get an idea how high or low the pickup sits and if its properly parallel to the strings or leaning the wrong way...

I'm real particular about pickup height. The length of the screws needed depends a lot on the guitar - how deep the pickup rout is relative to how tall the pickup is and the string height off the body. A guitar with the humbucker feet routed deeper than the main cavity will requires longer screws to grab the wood when the pickup is at the proper height.

This is one of the tricky parts using inserts. They're usually about 3/16" tall which doesn't give much range of adjustment. If the main humbucker or feet routs are too deep and screws are too short you can't raise the pickup high enough without it coming loose.

Strat single coils usually come with 6-32 machines screws and springs or surgical tubing to mount from a pickguard. These are larger threads than a humbucker screw. The same principle applies to direct mounting these. As Hodgo said pickguard screws will work. They're 1/2" long #4 sheet metal screws. I haven't done this in a while but I think last time I ended up getting 3/4" long screws from home depot to get the pickup closer to the strings.
 
So if I understand threaded insets properly, I need the ones that are the same size as the pickup height screws (which in the case of SD is #3 48 1")?

So I would need four 3-48 threaded inserts, I mark where the height adjustment hole is on the pickups feet in the pickup cavity on the body, drill a hole there, install the threaded insert, and then I’m good?
 
And while I’m here does brass vs stainless steel for threaded inserts make a difference? Not so much for obsessive "tone" stuff but for electronics/shielding/noise stuff?
 
If you read the thread I linked you see that I used screws that are smaller than the screws on the pickups to allow the threads in the pickups to be undamaged
 
I just ordered this from McMaster Carr for my Meadowhawk build:

1) Black-Oxide 18-8 Stainless Steel Pan Head Phillips Screws, 2-56 Thread, 1/2" Long, Packs of 100
2) Brass Flanged Screw-to-Expand Inserts for Plastic, 2-56 Thread Size, Packs of 50

If you would like I can mail you a few to play with, I do not need 50 inserts and 100 screws.
 
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