Zesty F

**Confusion alert** Larry. sorry I confused you with another member, yes your soapbars are fine buddy, traditionally soap bar pickups are fitted flat in most guitars.

Look guys, that's it, I can see it now. Welcome to the club who knows things about Gibson guitars many don't! Thoughts: Gibson isn't going to sand the bottom of their pickup rings to each unique top carve, however what they could possibly do in the future is CNC their top carves, then their pickup ring moulds could not only have a solid fit (which we would all appreciate) but Gibson could also maintain their current level of mass production and in fact improve it while simultaneously improving quality control. Gibson if you are reading this, as of typing you have recently had to pull a video you made public, you have recently lost your lawsuit in the European courts, I think that when you decide to focus on making fine guitars and earning customers from that instead of trademarking your competition into a monopoly, then, you should check out this thread.

I thought this party had died.. Okay so I don't have the time to respond to you all individually but as OP of this thread I would like to touch base on a few notable points. FIRSTLY @badbluesplayer soapbar pickups are intentionally designed to sit flat, there is nothing wrong with that! and I will further ad that this thread is purely about aesthetic qualities and I'm sure the effect on the electromagnetic field matters very little to pole pieces, I know this because I've played soapbars and they rock. SECONDLY Gibson did not intend for PAFs to sit flat so for PAF users it's different and I would consider yourself lucky. Now. Moving to a new concept, perhaps I've (and we've) been sorely mistaken, I think Gibson PAF pickup rings are actually flat on the top with 90 degree sides and angled only on the bottom in order to help fit the top carve! what do you guys think? I will attach a refined diagram of this concept below..

Very cool vid to see the neck application, have not seen a factory video in such HD before, those bursts with the red mahogany back and sides sure are beautiful! especially with those mirror chrome buckers!

You know maybe I spoke too soon, but here's the deal, how many degrees do neck angles vary? not that many really at least on most current spec Gibson's, therefore if a Les Paul has a neck angle of 4 degrees and the pickup ring angle is 3 that's only 1 degree angle in which case stuff it just break axis and curve that thing sideways to fit, it really is not at all noticeable and for mass production factories it just doesn't matter. If I want there are 3D printing companies but that's just me, maybe Gibson shouldn't do this after all and in fact they do things fair enough, that is my summary for those observing, it's such a small and personal aspect that it's basically in the realm of guitar setup.

Yes.. this reminds me of when I too was at that particular stage, in fact I remember my very first starter pack guitar, I once took it into the shop for a setup and upon receiving it back I had noticed that the bridge saddles weren't "nice and straight" anymore, so I scoffed at the ignorance of the shop and levelled out those things straight away! haha ! I was an idiot I tell you! just typing this makes me cringe!

Hmm.. you are right, but the angle is unspecified and unfortunately they also fit them quite poorly from the factory, the factory fit isn't a huge deal for most players, but I wish they would at least specify the angle, I send an email now as this could possibly lead to a happy ending. I'm not afraid to ask questions you see, I'm not afraid to make myself appear unlearned for the sake of being learned, this will be interesting.

That's cool man, it's about the players really, it's about what we think as a community. If I am that one guy with 3D printed pickup rings and no one else actually seems to know or care then so be it I say! Cheers 🙂

There you go people, perfected hardware for us OCD's! if enough of you people agree with this then let's start a petition or something and present it to Gibson to show what we want in workmanship. This is my first post on this forum, who am I? - It doesn't matter, all that matters is that we all love guitars and can perhaps improve the world. Until then guys interested I recommend checking out 3D printing for your pickup rings, it ain't mould but it can get the look of a moulded ring, I may even go into business myself if I can get a small 3D printer and there was interest, I would love to capitalise off of Gibson. (not really Gibson should just do it/hint) Peace.