Since I have a new guitar to play now, my old Epi SG Special has sort of become my project guitar. I recently purchased some humbucker covers to go over the pickups, and the guy at the store said all I had to do was pop them on. However, reading some past posts on here, most people say you need to solder the covers to the pickup. So my questions are: Is it absolutely necessary to solder the covers on? If so, why? (so they dont fall off, noise quality, etc.) and if I have to solder, what should I do? (I have no equipment to speak of). I should also mention that these babies are on there snug, and I don't see how I could get them off even if I wanted to. Don't know if that helps.
Secondly, this thing just doesn't want to stay in tune. I was thinking about putting grovers on, which is what I have on my les paul and I love em. Would this help the problem and if so, would they fit?
Lastly, the strings are way too high off the fretboard IMO. The 6th string is 3mm above the 12th fret and the 1st string is 2.5mm above the 12th fret, so basically everything needs to come down 1mm. However, my tailpiece is flush to the body of the guitar so raising it won't help and the only other solutions I can think of would be to lower the bridge or recut the nut, which are both procedure that I *think* would be out of my league...sorry no pics for this.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Just a guess: As the pickup covers help shield against noise, soldering them to the pickup might be necessary to properly ground them. If you don't, you might get noise anyway, or worse - a shock. You'll need a soldering iron ... but if they are already securely snug, you might just try some copper tape.
Assuming your strings aren't brand new and are already stretched out, locking tuners might help your tuning problem. But first make sure the existing tuners aren't loose, by tightening all the screws and nuts. Then go to forum member Nils' site and use the string locking method to restring the guitar (see option #3 here: http://home.nycap.rr.com/nils/GuitarStringing.htm ). If that doesn't work, upgrade the tuners.
To lower the action (string height) you'll need to lower the bridge. Do NOT cut into the nut on your own - that change will be irreversible.
Also on Nils site is a complete walkthrough for adjusting string height and other aspects of a set up: http://home.nycap.rr.com/nils/BasicGuitarSetup.htm
Or, you could take the guitar to a technician and have all this done for you.
Best of luck!
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
The tuners are crap, I know that, I just wanted to know if I could put grovers on there without having to drill new holes and such.
That website is awesome. I've heard of the locking stringing technique before, but I've never seen it displayed so well visually, I gotta try that the next time I restring, I've been doing it the "clean" looking way for awhile. Can't believe I never came across that site on google.
As for the soldering, I had a fear that was going to be the response. I have no experience whatsoever with it and havent been able to get a good grasp of how to do it no matter how many instructions I read or videos I watch. I'm more of a "monkey see, monkey do" kind of person. :D I would take it to a guitar tech, but I don't know of a reputable one around here, gotta do some research I suppose...but what's this copper tape you speak of :lol:
Thanks for the advice, definately appreciated!
Self-adhesive copper tape:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Supplies:_Shielding/Conductive_Copper_Tape.html
One problem you'll have with new tuners, besides the shaft diameter fitting the headstock, is covering the existing screw holes which are set at a diagonal. Here are some to look at, but unfortunately the only ones that look like a direct match are the el-cheapo "economy" tuners:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead.html
These would look nice on an SG though:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead/Gotoh_Vintage_Keystone-style_Tuners.html
:)
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
These would look nice on an SG though:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead/Gotoh_Vintage_Keystone-style_Tuners.html
:)
MMMMMMM, i was considering those too, then it would be red, white, and black *drool*
So if I were to use the copper tape, would I just put a piece on length wise, with part of it going up the chrome, covering the gap and then onto the backside of the 'bucker?
Thanks for all the help BTW :D
So if I were to use the copper tape, would I just put a piece on length wise, with part of it going up the chrome, covering the gap and then onto the backside of the 'bucker?
Yeah, that's how I'd do it. Well, actually I'd solder it or find someone with a soldering kit and ask them to do it (this would be a very quick and easy job.) But if those options weren't available to me, and the cover already had a snug fit, then yeah. :wink:
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
The copper tape will be a much easier solution - soldering is good for the electrical connection, but trying to heat something as big as the pickup cover so that the solder will melt on it and bond to it would be a challenge. The watchout is that you need to get bare copper onto both parts, and I'm sure that the adhesive on the tape is probably *not* conductive.
For another application where an electrical connection was needed but soldering was not possible, I have used silver epoxy. Mixes just like your regular epoxy, but has a silver component so that the joint is conductive when the epoxy has cured. Unfortunately, I can't be as helpful as slejhamer in providing a source for this product, but I know that 3M makes a silver epoxy. In the end, this will be as solid a connection as a solder joint (if not more, maybe?), and just as conductive.
I've tuned action before, and raising/lowering the saddles is actually not that hard. But after adjusting height, then you have to adjust scale length. Most production bridges (esp. NON-tremolo) have saddles which are height and length adjustable on a string-by-string basis. After getting the height you want, use 12th fret fretted note and 12th fret harmonic to adjust length. Adjust until both the fretted note and the harmonic are exactly the same.
