Bridge pickup height adjustment issues G&L SC-3 1989

[DeepSouth]

Hi All,

I'm almost embarassed to post this up but I'm afraid I'm going to have to concede defeat - I'm almost entirely sure I'm doing something incredibly stupid.

I've been trying to setup my G&L SC-3 strat (about a 1989 model) and I'm having real trouble adjusting the bridge pickup to the factory specifications ie. as per the manual.

Basically I've been through all the steps - maybe if I paraphrase what I've done someone will pick the flaw in what I"m doing...

1. Adjusted the bridge to be parallel with the body and to be approximately 3/16" above the level of the body under the correct string tension.
2. The string clearance offered by the nut is within spec and relatively low.
3. The truss rod adjustment is fine and within tolerance.
4. Adjusted the contours of individual string heights beginning with the bass E string which was set to 1/8"
5. Adjusted the micro tilt to .093" using the 6th string at the 22nd fret and .062" for the high E string.
6. Made sure the bridge was still parallel under the correct string tuning - a bit of an iterative process.

OK here is where I am having trouble.

Pickup height.....

I managed to adjust the high E string to .031" and the low E to .062" while the repective strings were fretted at the 22nd fret - but only for the bridge and middle pickups - and even then they won't raise quite high enough - but close enough. I really think these clearances seem gratuitously narrow - but I guess I was just trying to start out to the specs in the manual - which I found online.

The bridge pickup will not even approach anywhere near such a tight tolerance and there is a huge a gap.

Also I noticed the bridge pickup adjusters were stripped and I've had a real crap time trying to restore the threads using epoxy and release agent on the screw - basically the pickup adjuster is totally stuffed now but what I've noticed is that even if it was working perfectly the pickup wouldn't go anywhere near high enough. I think I can fix it up well enough if I have another attempt.

I am not the first owner of this guitar - some goose repainted it a different colour so I wonder now if there is any difference in design between the other two pickups and maybe they were rewired in the wrong positions?

I'm almost positive they are the original pickups because they have that characteristic G&L pole piece adjusment design with the concentric adjustment rings (for want of a better description).

I wonder if I should give up on this set of pickups and just buy some fender texas specials - except I don't know if they will have enough adjusment or whether they are of compatible dimensions - eg. will they fit in the slots and will the adjusment screws line up. Are they going to have enough adjustment in the height from the pickguard dimension?

Just hoping someone out there might be able to help me out - older G&L's aren't that common in Australia where I live - so not that many people are familiar with the guitar.

[Philby]

Hi there. If it's any help, the MFD bridge pickup on my S-500 won't go as high as the spec suggests either. You basically run out of turns on the screw and there is a spring on the underside of the pickup which stops the pickup going any higher. This stressed me out greatly until I realised the MFD pickups sounded better set LOWER than recommended anyway (at least to my ears).

It sounds like you have done everything else correctly.

After living with the MFD pickups for a while, I decided I liked a vintage tone better and put some G&L Legacy pickups in. They wouldn't go to the recommended height either but, like the MFD's, sound better set lower anyway. Any third party stratocaster pickup e.g. Texas Specials should fit in there too if you go that route.

Be sure to post up some pics if you get a chance. We love to drool over G&L's on this forum!

[DeepSouth]

That makes me feel a bit better Philby - real nice of you to reply.

I'm a bit down that my bridge pickup adjustment is cactus and needs a bit of work now to restore the threads. I didn't force the screw so I'm a bit disappointed it's stripped. I've never adjusted the pickups in all the years I've owned it and that would be over 20 years. The guitar would have been about two years old when I bought it - I just wish the previous owner didn't repaint it. You can see the original red colour on the headstock.

I've put a couple of pictures of the guitar below. The lettering is a bit of wank I admit... I'll put it down to being young and foolish - back when I bought it SRV was a bit of hero of mine - still is actually

Maybe someone can tell me if I can replace the stripped pickup with a fender texas special and whether I'll have any trouble with the screw spacing or pickup slot size in the pickguard?

[Ledergeist]

On the 3rd.-style SC-3 I have, the pickups are as low as I can get them. Factory spec is a good baseline, but then find out what kind of set-up you like from there.

Stay Tuned
BW

[Craig]

On the 3rd.-style SC-3 I have, the pickups are as low as I can get them. Factory spec is a good baseline, but then find out what kind of set-up you like from there.

Stay Tuned
BW

+1

Also, you can order current individual S-500 pickups from the G&L On-line store - Pickups

Hope this helps.

[DeepSouth]

I ended up buying some Fender CS Texas Specials. Installing them was slightly interesting so I thought I'd put it on the record for those who have similar ideas ie. installing Fender pickups in their G&L - sacrilege to some I'm quite sure... Probably not quite so sacrilegious in my case because the former owner of my guitar had repainted it rather badly which to me is a far worse crime against a fine guitar. Anyways... I digress...

I did a lot of research to make sure the Fender pickups would fit the pickguard and the height adjustment screws were spaced exactly the same. No problem there. Fender pickups fit the pickguard perfectly. The Texas Specials only have two wires like any ordinary single coil pickup so taking note of the wiring of the existing pickups and simply resoldering the new ones in was real easy. No probs there.

The shock came when I tried to put the pickguard back on. Hmmm damn thing won't align errrr - bugger - I realised the Fender pickups have a trapezoidal protrusion on the base. Basically the stock MFD pickups don't have a baseplate as such and the wires come directly out of the base of the pickup. The Fenders have a protruding baseplate that they tap the coil out to. This baseplate does not fit the route of a G&L SC-3.

I spent today chiselling the extra 4mm trapezoidal section from the pickup route in the body. This was nerve racking and the wood was really hard I might add. Nevertheless with some patience and a very very sharp paring chisel I did a neat job of the pickup holes and the pickups dropped in.

The guitar sounds really AWESOME now. I realise Stevie Ray Vaughan didn't actually use Texas Specials but boy the tone of the guitar sounds like his recordings now through my Hot Rod Deville 2x12 and also sounds fantastic my line 6 HD500 modeller through monitors.

Best mod I've ever done and I was really skeptical that changing the pickups would give me that sort of tone change. I wouldn't recommend trying chiselling the route if you have never done any cabinetry or other woodworking though - that would be asking for trouble.