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Post subject: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:19 pm
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Hi,

I've just installed a new pick guard and custom shop 69 pickups. Very happy with the whole sound, but noticed that on the neck pickup, my base E string is completely to the right of the base pole piece as you look down on it. The A and D are just over the pole piece, but close to the edge, the G,B and E not dead center, but close enough.

Excuse the diagram, but this is what I'm talking about:

Base E String: I
Pickup Poles:O O O O O O

The other two pups are fine, and the sound is ok. The pick guard is flush with the heel of the neck. Is this going to cause me problems? Can I ignore it: Should I switch back to my old pick guard?

thanks,
Hammer


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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:16 pm
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There have always been pole-piece/string alignment issues with pickups (regardless of manufacturer or type). It's possible that your Strat might need a slight alignment tweak to the neck itself to true its "sit" within the neck pocket, relative to the guitar's body. Try loosening the neck plate screws and gently pulling the neck laterally until you see the low E string move closer to its intended pole piece on the bridge pickup. There is generally sufficient "play" within a neck pocket to compensate for anomalies such as this. You may need to re-intonate the guitar once you've re-tightened the neck-plate screws.

And remember......gently.

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:39 pm
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Thanks for the reply Arjay,

Neck play isn't going to do it, the only movement available in the neck pocket is the other way. The string alignment on the neck is perfect anyway, so I'd be reluctant to start messing with it even if it could be moved in the right direction!

cheers,

Hammer


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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:33 pm
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Hammer2009 wrote:
Thanks for the reply Arjay,

Neck play isn't going to do it, the only movement available in the neck pocket is the other way. The string alignment on the neck is perfect anyway, so I'd be reluctant to start messing with it even if it could be moved in the right direction!


I can appreciate that. Any possibility of "persuading" the pickup or even the entire pickguard assembly to move slightly via some hand-massaging?

Barring some theological miracle, that's really the only way I know to "move Mohammed closer to the mountain".

BTW, is the replacement pickguard a genuine Fender part?

Regards,
Roger

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:58 am
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No, there's hardly any movement in the pick guard at all, it sits quite snugly between the neck and the bridge, and the pickups underneath seem to hold it in place.

It's an aftermarket pick guard so it had occurred to me that it might be a template issue, but when i held it up to a proper Fender one all the holes matched up fine. It seems odd as the three treble side strings, while slightly off centre, are pretty much right. It's really only the E and A that are off at the side. String spacing seems fine, neck alignment seems fine. It really has got me puzzled. Its like I managed to stretch one end of the pickup when switching them out or something!

I can deal with the aesthetic of it, as it doesn't look like I'm going to get the strings any more in line, but I am wondering what kind of impact, if any, this will have on tone and the pickup response. If its none, or negligible, I'll just forget about it, but that's outside of my realm of knowledge (it's a small realm!).

Anyway, thanks again for your input,

cheers,
Hammer


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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:19 pm
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You may need to re-install your original pickguard in that case.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: CS 69's and new pick guard
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:05 am
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I tried the old pick guard again, and while not as extreme, the string is still well over to to one side of the pole. There's only around 1mm or less in the difference, it just seems i didn't really notice it before. From the best I can see from online searching about, the functional area around a pole piece is quite a bit larger than the pole itself, so as far as i can work out, it's not going to make any noticeable difference to tone or volume. Here's hoping, but I can't say I've noticed any difference in sound.

Thanks again for your input, and if anyone else has experience or an opinion on this, I'd love to hear it!

cheers,
Hammer


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