wrench87 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 i found out from gibson that my 2007 61 reissue should have black plastic pick up rings, instaed of the gold metal ones that are on the guitar. the gold metal ones are flat, i noticed in the different parts listings that they have flat ones and ones that are slanted wich is the correct one for the 61 reissue?. also what is the correct way to install new pick up rings, do you have to change the strings or can you reuse them and do you have to remove them to change them out?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbomb76 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 You can actually buy a packaged set of rings I believe from Gibson, OR you can just go pick a set of AllParts ones or something up at your local shop that'll work as good. Just make sure you get FLAT-BOTTOMED ones and not curved-bottom (Les Paul) ones. They should both be slanted, but the neck-position ring will be about half the height of the bridge-position one. Flat ones works "okay" but I prefer to keep the pickups angled with the strings for most efficient "picking-up". You can save your current strings if you have enough windings on the pegs and are careful (and make sure to cover the "work area" on top of your guitar with a towel or something if you're gonna' be laying the pickups on it, and you will most likely be doing just that while you perform "surgery"). You'll have to unscrew the mounting screws, and then remove the screws that hold the pickup on the ring. Then put the new ring and spring in place, screw it back together and re-mount them on the guitar. Done deal. H-Bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Second question first. You will need to get the strings out of your way to replace the pickup rings. The easiest way to do this is to loosen them from the tuning machines only to the point you can slide the stopbar tailpiece off it's studs. Then set the stop bar, with the strings still attached, aside to get to your work area. The bridge is also now loose and can fall off, so carefully remove it and set it aside taking note of which way it faces. Also at this point it would be good idea to use a little masking tape to tape the bridge adjusting wheels and stopbar studs in place so you don't lose your current adjustments. When your project is completed, carefully remove the tape, reistall the bridge, slide the stopbar back in place and wind your string back to pitch. As for the pickup rings, slanted or flat, that will depend on your individual guitar. I do not have an SG handy to look at, but the theory is to have your pickups parrallel to the strings in the direction of the string path. Due to the neck-set, the angle at which the neck meets the body, Les Pauls and archtops require slanted rings. From looking at the '61 SG pictures on the main Gibson website, my suspicion is that your SG will also require slanted rings in two different heights, taller for the bridge pickup and shorter for the neck pickup. Since all of this is really only an aestetic issue, take some measurements of what you think would look best, high side & low side at each pickup location, and try to find rings that match closest. My local "big box" guitar megastore carries a selection of genuine Gibson parts such as this, maybe a store near you does also. Go through their entire stock to find the ones which most closely fit your measurements. After you find your parts, it's just a matter of removing the four screws that hold each ring to the body, carefully and gently lifting the pickup assembly out of the body (don't kink or break the wires), then remove the adjustments screws and springs that fasten the pickup to the ring. Be careful not to let the springs go flying across the room, there a ***** to find (I know that from experience), and the springs are hardest to control when putting the screws back in. The other warning (from experience) is when re-screwing the assembly back down to the top of the guitar, DO NOT overtighten the four little screws the go through the corners of the plastic rings, you run the risk of cracking the plastic. One other piece of advise. When ever I do any work to the top of a guitar I always protect the wood and finish by laying towels over everything but the immediate work area (kind of like a surgeon uses those green sheet thingies). That way your have some protection from flying or dropped tools and parts. It also gives you a protected area to lay the pickups since the wires do not have much slack in them. I hope this helps, good luck. PS: hbomb just beat me to the punch. I guess I type too slow, and ramble too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MI_Canuck Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 slanted is what you want... here's a place you can get them from... http://guitarpartsresource.com/covers_genuinegibsonrings.htm ... genuine Gibson, in black, one for neck, one for bridge (they are different thicknesses... are are both slanted... as for the strings, you might be able to reuse them, assuming you can loosen them enough... but if you have to loose them to the point where they have to come out of the machine head, they'll have a kink in them and be harder to wind back in... my vote is just put new strings on it... if you bought the guitar and haven't changed strings yet, you may as well anyways... fresh strings are always nice... liven things up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench87 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 i found the pick up rings at a local guitar center, i purchased the gibson ones for 6.99 each. i think it looks a lot better with the black rings, i checked the bottom of the pickups and they are the 57 classics with a date of few days later that the guitar was made and it had the patent applied for sticker that gibson said it should. i did end up breaking one of the strings, but i have a question i noticed when removing the screws to the pick ups that the neck pick up had longer springs then the bridge pick up is this the correct way? i just want to check before i change the strings. any information would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 yes neck PU takes the longer springs. It sits deeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 i dont think my 61 ri has longer springs at the neck could be wrong though give us some guitar pictures!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MI_Canuck Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 yes! pics where you're done! it should look really sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench87 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 here is a picture with the new black rings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench87 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 here is another view, on the springs the neck springs were alot longer then the screws, and the bridge springs were like 1/2 the length of the screws is this normal?. http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/stella63/th_61reissuewithnewblackrings.jpg what am i doing wrong the pictures are not showing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MI_Canuck Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 here is a picture with the new black rings fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MI_Canuck Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 here is another view' date=' on the springs the neck springs were alot longer then the screws, and the bridge springs were like 1/2 the length of the screws is this normal?. [img']http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/stella63/61reissuewithnewblackrings.jpg[/img] looks WAY better now!! sweet! what am i doing wrong the pictures are not showing? you forgot the "/" in the [/img] tag following the url (note the slash).... precedes the url (note - NO slash) also... when you cut and paste the picture url... do it from the fullsize pic' date=' not the thumbnail... that, or remove the "th_" portion after pasting it here in the forum... ie. this: http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/stella63/th_61reissuewithnewblackrings.jpg gives a small picture while this: http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/stella63/61reissuewithnewblackrings.jpg gives the full size picture cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MI_Canuck Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 and i must say, since your GOTW 61 Reissue has the yellowed aged-look neck binding, and the yellow aged toggle switch cap, the gold does certainly look better imo combined with those aged features... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbomb76 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Much better! H-Bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 that thing is smokin'!!!!! and i agree, the aged stuff (binding = toggle cap) look really good on the black on gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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