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Post subject: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:59 am
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I received last week my brand new set of Texas Specials, and installed them on my AMSTD on an also brand new tortoise shell pickguard.
A couple of things that put me into thinking.

1) The provided screws were far bigger in diameter than the holes on the baseplate of the pickup. I was forced to widen the holes with an in-between screw in order to make it easier to force in the bigger screws.
Is this normal?

2) The heads of the screws was not dome-like, like my original fender pickups screws

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but were conical like the picture below

Image

The pickup screw holes of the pickguard are flat so the combination of these screws and the flat pickguard holes results the stick up of the pickup screws. Should I find replacement screws or should I use a dremmel to reform the pickguard screw holes?

3) There was an installation/instructions page included in the box which stated that the neck pickup should have a blue dot and the bridge pickup, a red one. There were none. All my three pickups have the custom shop sticker, the waxed-cloth wiring, the middle one has the yellow lead wire, but no dots were present. Is that ok?

4) So, I took my multimeter and tested each pickup for its resistance. I was surprised that the hotter of the three, was not the bridge but the middle (yellow lead) one.
At the back of the box (which I don't have with me right know,but as much as I remember) it was written that the resistance should be 6.2K - 6.5K - 6.7K for neck-middle-bridge. But the multimeter reading was 6.3 - 6.7 - 6.4 in the same order. The middle pickup thus being the hotter of the three. I know there is an amount of tolerance but I expected at least the differences between the three pickups to be such that there would be a balance between them (less hot to hotter, moving from neck to bridge). Is that normal?

Just for the record, I'm not new in pickup changing and electronics-screwing-around. I have made many pickup changes and mods to my guitars during the years, so please don't give me any "are you sure about which pickup was which" reply :)

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:21 am
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You should have simply used the guitar's original mounting hardware instead. Yes, it would have worked perfectly. And yes, you have to open up the mounting screw holes with new Fender pickups. This is the only way a tight fit of whatever specific mounting screws used can be ensured.

In spite of what their installation paperwork states, those color coded dots are not always present on the bottom of many a Fender pickup set.

With Texas Special pickup sets, the bridge pickup's DC resistance should be right around the 7K range. Even allowing for usual +/- variances, you evidently have two neck pickups with your set.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:27 am
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Martian wrote:
You should have simply used the guitar's original mounting hardware instead.


They (original screws) were sold along with the original pickups in order to finance the buy of the Texas Specials.

Martian wrote:
Even allowing for usual +/- variances, you evidently have two neck pickups with your set.


Should I worry/protest/ask for a refund?

Thank you.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:52 am
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Alex_Under wrote:
...
Should I worry/protest/ask for a refund?

Thank you.


There's a few ways to look at it. That middle pickup with the 6.7K ohm resistance would be your best candidate for being the bridge pickup. Of consideration is the fact that it is made RW/RP to the other two which renders only position #2 of your selector switch being humbucking instead of positions #2 and #4 as would be found with a 'normal' Texas Special Set. So this may or may not be a problem for you. Also, premising that you do use the existing pickup trio like this, you would then have a slightly underpowered Texas Special set. Here too, this may or may not be a bad thing depending on your stylings as you'll literally and uniquely have a "Fat, Fat, 50s" set.

There's nothing to worry about as this set still is of premium quality. Protesting would be futile, regardless of the level. Asking for a refund would be totally up to you for only you would know your level of satisfaction with this set.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:41 am
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Fender's pickup mounting screws are standardized at 8/32 (excepting those intended for the SCN's and possibly the new N3's). Vintage guitars (and re-issues of same) use the counter-sunk oval-head type, while modern instruments feature the round machine-screw head. You should be able to "re-cycle" the screws from your old pickups onto the Texas Specials without difficulty. All new Fender pickups sold as accessory sets need to have threads cut into the bobbin holes. The wax potting there will be a minor impediment to installation but careful reaming with an X-acto knife will speed the process along. Martian's comments and caveats regarding the individual coil impedances should be taken as gospel. Few here know Fender pickups more intimately and his advice is always indispensible.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:38 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
...Martian's comments and caveats regarding the individual coil impedances should be taken as gospel. Few here know Fender pickups more intimately and his advice is always indispensible.

HTH

Arjay


Thank you so much! :oops: :oops: :oops:

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:03 pm
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"2) The heads of the screws was not dome-like, like my original fender pickups screws but were conical like the picture below"

I know at one time I had about a dozen of those packs of countersunk screws laying around here. Only the very oldest vintage Strats use them. I never use the older single ply pickguards so I would never use those stupid screws. And I'm willing to bet that most people who buy Custom Shop pickups don't use them either.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:30 pm
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SMark wrote:
Only the very oldest vintage Strats use them. I never use the older single ply pickguards so I would never use those stupid screws. And I'm willing to bet that most people who buy Custom Shop pickups don't use them either.


All Stratocasters built between 1954 and circa 1971 used the oval-head screws to mount both the pickups and the selector switch to the pickguard. And all contemporary Fender re-issue '50s and '60s models, whether MIA, MIM, or MIJ, still use them.

"Stupid screws"?

That's what Leo Fender specified. And there wasn't anything "stupid" about this gentleman.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:30 pm
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I guess I'll stand corrected on that. And please, my comment obviously has no reflection on Leo. I think you're stretching things just a bit there, my friend. But my frustration regarding these "stupid" screws is aimed more at Fender today. No one is buying these Custom Shop pickups for their pre-1972 Strats. They are buying them either to replace the cheaper pickups in their modern Strats, or to assemble a new pickguard assembly. I must have 3 dozen or so Strat pickguards here, and it appears to me that only 4 of those are accepting these countersunk screws. 2 of these are single ply '57 RI guards, and 2 are '62 RI guards. The rest are not countersunk. It just seems to me that most folks buying these pickups today would likely be unable to use these screws that are being provided.

For me, this just goes right along with my similar gripe about the "Stupid" G-string pole on these Custom Shop pickups. Most folks do not need or want that extra-tall G-string pole. Yet Fender continues to make all their Custom Shop pickups with it.

Sorry... Just my own personal rant I guess.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:43 pm
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SMark wrote:
No one is buying these Custom Shop pickups for their pre-1972 Strats. They are buying them either to replace the cheaper pickups in their modern Strats, or to assemble a new pickguard assembly.


Incredible as it may seem, some folks actually buy the Custom Shop pickups to assemble replica Strats that are more historically-accurate than even Corona turns out......

Image

And we need the vintage-spec hardware and fasteners to accomplish this.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:52 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
SMark wrote:
No one is buying these Custom Shop pickups for their pre-1972 Strats. They are buying them either to replace the cheaper pickups in their modern Strats, or to assemble a new pickguard assembly.


Incredible as it may seem, some folks actually buy the Custom Shop pickups to assemble replica Strats that are more historically-accurate than even Corona turns out......

And we need the vintage-spec hardware and fasteners to accomplish this.

Arjay


Yeah, I'm sure you are right about that. Like I said, I stand corrected. It's more of personal gripe on my part.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:56 pm
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I may be frustrated about my countersunk Texas Special screws, but If I had to choose, I would prefer a pickguard with this kind of holes.
It seems more beautiful to me that the pickup and selector screws don't stick up. And I think it's more practical too. The modern screws look kind of ugly and it was one of the first things I spotted when I unpacked my new MIA.
My previous 1997 MIJ strat had countersunk holes, too.

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:17 am
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Holes can be countersunk by carefully hand-twisting a 9/32" drill bit into an existing non-countersunk hole until the "pocket" is of the necessary depth. I had to do that once when building a '65 replica Strat for a client. The pickguard for that particular year uses the same pickguard-screw pattern as the "modern" Strats with their standard machine-screw holes for the pickups and switch so I merely modified a contemporary Fender pickguard to replicate the mid-60's version. It turned out great and only took about 45 minutes.

SMark is correct about the confusing issues with screws though. The situation is much the same for the myriad of "vintage-style" trem bridges now in use.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:23 am
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I thought of doing that with a dremel. I have all the necessary tools and gear. But these pickguards don't come cheap (at least to me) and I can't afford the possibility of a mishap. :?

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Post subject: Re: Texas Specials installation findings.
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:36 am
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Alex_Under wrote:
But these pickguards don't come cheap (at least to me) and I can't afford the possibility of a mishap.


That's why it's best to do it by hand.

Even with a speed control, a Dremel produces too much torque for the human hand to accurately keep the bit centered in the hole (unless you have the Dremel drill press). And the heat generated by the bit is likely to cause melting issues.

Arjay

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