Is this vintage pickup f**ked?

[zenmindbeginner]

One of my oldest Dimarzio pickups has been modified and I am curious if there is any way to get it to fit in a Hamer. I was perplexed by the mounting feet, the ridiculous soldering of some adapter threads and the enlarged screw holes.

Steve Blucher identified it as a 1975 PAF: "Our bases in 1975 did not say “Made in USA”. The person who added the threaded adaptors also rounded the feet. This looks like authentic 1975 production with modified feet."

The fucker clocks in at 8.88 ohms (perfect for the bridge) and I have an early eighties zebra PAF for the neck that it is dying to be paired with...

Can the solder be removed and a smaller threaded adapter installed? I don't want to use giant screws...

Has anyone ran into a problem like this before and found a solution?

[Jeff R]

I had a pickup that had been drilled out for direct mounting and wanted to put it in another guitar with a traditional mounting ring. I cut four little tiny squares out of a spare truss rod cover I had in my junk box, drilled little pilot holes in the pieces, and then used the pickup mounting screws to cut thread in the little plastic pieces. Then I mounted the pickup using a little plastic piece on the top and bottom of each ear. Dunno if that's the "right" way to do it, but it took me about 10 minutes, it worked and it held.

If the mounting screw holes on the old bottom plate match up to a current Dimarzio, you may consider robbing/scavenging a bottom plate off a current one, or contacting Dimarzio for a replacement?

[murkat]

easy fix.

need another base plate, transfer bobbins, mag, etc. to the donor plate.

done.

Lots of techs here can do fr you if you dont want to.

[BCR Greg]

I may have another plate about.

Send it to me and I'll convert it over.

[zenmindbeginner]

That is a super awesome offer Greg! Do you per chance have an old Dimarzio backplate that reads "Dimarzio Pickups" only? The backplate is what gives this pickup it's authenticity...

I might be pissing up a rope looking for a period correct backplate, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask.

I had a pickup that had been drilled out for direct mounting and wanted to put it in another guitar with a traditional mounting ring. I cut four little tiny squares out of a spare truss rod cover I had in my junk box, drilled little pilot holes in the pieces, and then used the pickup mounting screws to cut thread in the little plastic pieces. Then I mounted the pickup using a little plastic piece on the top and bottom of each ear. Dunno if that's the "right" way to do it, but it took me about 10 minutes, it worked and it held.

That is some awesome MacGyver style shit Jeff, but I am sure that it would take me much more than ten minutes! lol! Definitely a last resort, but the damn feet are also a smidge too wide to fit in the cavity by 7 or so millimeters too. I'm gonna have to take your advice and get a new backing plate I think...

need another base plate, transfer bobbins, mag, etc. to the donor plate.

done.

That's a what I'm a gonna do Murkat, thanx for the prompt advice!

[gorch]

...

Can the solder be removed and a smaller threaded adapter installed? I don't want to use giant screws...

Has anyone ran into a problem like this before and found a solution?

Any good solder man has got his desolder pump at hand to cleanly remove solder from crappy solder joints. So, take your pump and desolder the large adapter. Then, take a threaded adapter of your choice and solder it at the respective positions. Make sure the surrounding area is heated up before doing the final solder job. This will have the solder become more liquid and result to a better joint.

This is an excellent exercise to become a perfect solder man.

[BadgerDave]

Another option:

Desolder the ugly adapters, clean and straighten the tabs and grind off enough of the outside edges to fit in your cavity (or remove wood if you prefer).

You can then direct mount the pickup to the body by using small wood screws, washers and springs (or foam) similar to the way P-90 soapbars are mounted. For easy pickup height adjustment, just drill out the adjustment screw holes on the pickup mounting ring slightly so you can slip the tip of a small screwdriver through.

As a bonus, Eddie Van Halen would tell you that this results in more sustain and better tone.

It seems easier than finding a period correct baseplate and remounting the coils, plus it preserves the originality of the pickup.

[MCChris]

Another option:

Desolder the ugly adapters, clean and straighten the tabs and grind off enough of the outside edges to fit in your cavity (or remove wood if you prefer).

You can then direct mount the pickup to the body by using small wood screws, washers and springs (or foam) similar to the way P-90 soapbars are mounted. For easy pickup height adjustment, just drill out the adjustment screw holes on the pickup mounting ring slightly so you can slip the tip of a small screwdriver through.

As a bonus, Eddie Van Halen would tell you that this results in more sustain and better tone.

It seems easier than finding a period correct baseplate and remounting the coils, plus it preserves the originality of the pickup.

The Maestro did this when he installed the unbeknownst-to-me modified Rios I bought off the Gear Page in my PRS. A very clever solution!

[edgar_allan_poe]

The Maestro did this when he installed the unbeknownst-to-me modified Rios I bought off the Gear Page in my PRS. A very clever solution!

Alex Gregory does your repair work?

[Jason01]

What kind of a ballpark figure would it take to have a baseplate swapped? I've got a duncan jb that has a similar mod job and I figured it was wrecked.