romanianreaper
Well-known member
I have a Motor City 2nd Degree Blackbelt I took out of a Les Paul and thought maybe I can put it into an 80s Charvel I just got. It is a hardtail and no Floyd. Would this fit in the bridge?
For humbuckers, will Les Paul sized pickup fit in hardtail guitar bridge position of Charvel?
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Hack
Yes
LP Freak
Well-known member
If you’re referring to string spacing, you’d never hear the difference
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harddriver
Well-known member
I am assuming this pickup is Gibson spaced 50mm since it was in a Les Paul. I agree with LP Freak, the pickup will fit just fine in the Charvel even though the pole pieces may not be lined up like a 53mm spaced pickup but you won't hear a difference.
I run 50mm spaced pickups in all my floyd guitars never had an issue with the pole spacing.
I run 50mm spaced pickups in all my floyd guitars never had an issue with the pole spacing.
cardinal
Well-known member
I'm the only one I've heard with this issue, but I definitely don't like narrow spaced pickups with wide spaced bridges.
I heard the difference on upstrokes on the low E string. Down stroke sounds fine, but upstroke sounds weak and splatty. It's especially bad when down tuned/lower string tension.
I've checked that I'm hearing the pole spacing because I can make the problem go away by forcing that pickup pole under the low E string (by wedging something into the pickup ring).
I heard the difference on upstrokes on the low E string. Down stroke sounds fine, but upstroke sounds weak and splatty. It's especially bad when down tuned/lower string tension.
I've checked that I'm hearing the pole spacing because I can make the problem go away by forcing that pickup pole under the low E string (by wedging something into the pickup ring).
romanianreaper
Well-known member
I'm getting killer tones with the Hot Rails in the bridge today. Pretty shocked how great it is sounding. Not sure if I'm wanting to swap it now lol.
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shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
Prolly.
R
Racerxrated
Well-known member
Is it a Jap Model series, or a USA from 81-85? The Model series had the Jap version of the in house Jackson pups, like the J80/90 etc. The model series route 'might' be a touch smaller than a USA. Any USA 83-85 Charvel that I've owned fit any and every humbucker including a late 79s Shaw DF that came out of a LP custom.
TheBiggestJerk
Well-known member
Bring a chisel for optimal placement and fine adjustments.
Prolly.
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ChurchHill
Well-known member
LOL! Yeah... I've had good luck with the Hot Rails. Honestly, just about every pickup I've had in any of the Model Charvels has sounded pretty good, they're just good sounding guitars in general IMO.
You should be good with being able to fit just about any normal Gibson sized pickup. Some are deeper, like I had to route the bottom of a Jackson to fit in an EMG 85 once, and the mounting rings on the Charvels are larger. Yours has a pickguard, though, so no worries about the mounting rings.
romanianreaper
Well-known member
It's nuts. I ordered a new pickguard for it with a humbucker bridge space but I have been getting some great sounds and not sure i want to screw with it, lol.
I had a Keeley Blues Disorder and Keeley Super Rodent together into my Synergy 20IR with SLO II module and was getting a nice Ratt "You're in Love" tone.
I had a Keeley Blues Disorder and Keeley Super Rodent together into my Synergy 20IR with SLO II module and was getting a nice Ratt "You're in Love" tone.
311boogieman
Well-known member
Now you've got me over-thinking this rabbit hole on one of my guitars.
For the pickup wizards - are the poles supposed to line up with the stings (in theory) because being centered is good -OR- do the pole pieces all work in tandem and it is not as directional as I thought? I have a trembucker pup in a non trem guitar and it sounds absolutely fine but the High E sting is no even close to being over the pole. (maybe opposite of @cardinal 's low E problem)
cardinal
Well-known member
If it sounds fine, then it is fine!
ChurchHill
Well-known member
Well, the polepieces kind of work in tandem. They conduct the magnetism from the magnet to the strings. Bars, like in a SD Hot Rails, do this more evenly than screws or slugs, but even with screws, the magnetism only falls slightly between the polepieces. There would be more of an issue if all the poles were in between the strings instead of being wider than the strings, but unless the string falls outside the outermost pole more than half the width between poles, it's not going to make that much of a difference. If the poles are adjustable, you can compensate somewhat by raising or lowering individual poles along with the entire pickup. Sometimes, that makes a difference in tone and sometimes it's just another rabbit hole.
Put in another way, if it hasn't bothered you because notes are obviously dropping out or some strings are obviously louder or softer than others, it's not a problem. If that is happening, some simple adjustments can help without replacing the whole pickup or changing the bridge spacing.
Bottom line, as @cardinal pointed out above, if it sounds good, it is good!
As an aside, I've had a handful of pickups that I really dialed in with small adjustments to pickup and/or pole height, usually lower output pups. I've had a lot more that nothing made that much of a difference, usually higher output pups. I used to swear by 53mm spacing on bridge pups, but now I think, if all other things remain the same such as wire gauge, number of turns, magnet composition and strength, the difference in the tone as a whole due to the change in spacing makes them too different to be considered the same pickup. For example, a Duncan Distortion does not sound like a Duncan Distortion Trembucker because the coils end up shaped differently or wound differently in order to support the different pole spacing. To me, those are two different pickups. IME, neither experiences dropouts because their poles are differently spaced.
Put in another way, if it hasn't bothered you because notes are obviously dropping out or some strings are obviously louder or softer than others, it's not a problem. If that is happening, some simple adjustments can help without replacing the whole pickup or changing the bridge spacing.
Bottom line, as @cardinal pointed out above, if it sounds good, it is good!
As an aside, I've had a handful of pickups that I really dialed in with small adjustments to pickup and/or pole height, usually lower output pups. I've had a lot more that nothing made that much of a difference, usually higher output pups. I used to swear by 53mm spacing on bridge pups, but now I think, if all other things remain the same such as wire gauge, number of turns, magnet composition and strength, the difference in the tone as a whole due to the change in spacing makes them too different to be considered the same pickup. For example, a Duncan Distortion does not sound like a Duncan Distortion Trembucker because the coils end up shaped differently or wound differently in order to support the different pole spacing. To me, those are two different pickups. IME, neither experiences dropouts because their poles are differently spaced.
M
matttornado
Active member
I had DiMarzio pickup that barely fit in my Les Paul Standard. Very tight. Try it and see.
Fiesta Red
Well-known member
Agreed.
I don't think trembuckers were born until around 1990, so all the stuff before then were standard-spaced pickups.
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