Screw specs for dot studio?

[jlg]

Folks, I bought a used Dot Studio, and it looks like they must have had a different set of pickups, and reinstalled the epi pups before they sold it to the music shop where I bought it. (the bridge pups had a couple of sets of holes in the face for where the pup mounting ring screws in, and the screws are a) not matched to each other and not black.

 

Does anyone know the exact size mounting ring screws, for all of the pups, and also the exact pup adjustment screws for each?

 

 

Here are some views of the pup routings and the neck join -- not sure all is kosher here -- looks like maybe additional routing was done (maybe to fit whatever other pups were in this).

If anyone has any images of their dot studio pup routings or neck join, I'd like to check them out.

 

Neck joint and pup cavity (looks like a pretty BIG gap at the end of the tenon there, and the chip at the left mounting hole has been fixed -- I found the chip in the case!)

 

Brdige mount - note the "extra" circular routing cavities at the bottom, and of course the "extra" holes for mouting the pup bezel:

 

 

 

Still sounds/plays great, which is most important to me, but I'd like it be a bit more "correct".

 

Thx!

[TWANG]

I can match it up to mine.. same color, too, by the way. neat, aint they?

hit that sucker with some lemon oil while it's apart.. it'll drive you mad how good it looks with just a little glow on it.

 

I have too much to do to pull the pups out of mine for a few days, but I can match the screws up ok.

Mine has gfs pups, and chrome screws, but I'd guess he used the same size.

I've got screws here.. but not black, I should order some of those.

 

he went with black bridge and chrome saddles?

I went with chrome bridge and graph tech saddles.

Swapped the tail to chrome, too.

 

TWANG

[jlg]

The saddles are actually black, just the tops are a bit worn.

Yeah, I did polish it up a bit -- it is a pretty little thing!

 

Do you know where/how to order the correct screws??

 

The screws he used are not matched really at all -- two different sizes each for both pups!, and I had to file down the pup adjustment screw -- had a ridge which scrapped my hand when playing!

 

I may just bag it and go crazy -- do cream pup rings, and maybe some sort of custom wood pickguard (not sure if I want that on this though!)

[generation zero]

Not being a Dot owner, I can't say for sure... but the "extra" routing in the bridge hole is pretty common, most of my Epi Les Pauls have had that to some degree. It's done to allow for the legs of the pickup, where there's not reason to remove the entire cavity to that depth, so they leave a little more wood where they can. Or, more likely, is it's 6 seconds they can spend routing the next guitar in the production line, LOL... but I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it's for retaining as much tone wood as possible.

 

As for the screws being two different sizes for each pickup... it's fairly common for the two "front" screws to be shorter than the two "rear" screws in the pickup ring. This, I would assume, is because of the taper of the ring itself. It is thinner on the side closer to the neck, so the screws do not need to be as long to achieve the same penetration. Look at the replacement Gibson pickup rings next time you're in a Guitar Center, they ship from the factory with two each of two different length screws. Not something to worry about, as long as the heads are the same.

 

Regarding the "extra" holes, most likely the original owner had a replacement pickup that came pre-mounted in its' own pickup mounting ring. Most aftermarket ones don't line up perfect with the Epi ones... the Gibson ones, for instance, are a bit smaller, so the holes would be closer in to the pickup cavity for one of those. I think some pickups, like GFS models, come pre-mounted in rings, and it is possible that he would have just been lazy and made new holes rather than swapping out and using the original one. Not a serious concern, IMO. With the pickup in place, you'll never see it, but if it really bugs you, some toothpicks and woodglue will fill the holes right up.

 

Can't really say much on the pickup height adjustment screw, it's possible either that it was a defective screw originally, but more likely that somebody boogered it up with a screwdriver that wasn't the right size. If it's an Epi pickup, take the screw out and go to any local hardware store. The threads will be metric, match it up with a screw with the same thread count and length, buy four of those, and replace them all so they match. If it's a USA made replacement, i.e. Duncan or Dimarzio, the threads will be SAE. I wish I knew the exact measurements off the top of my head, but I don't. Either way, just take the screw out and have someone at a hardware store help you match it up. Same for the other mounting screws, really... if those don't all match, just take them out, go to a hardware store, and buy 8 of a similar size that do. Keep in mind, if the holes aren't all the same depth, the screw might bottom out and you will need to pre-drill the hole deeper to accept the new screw... or just buy a few extras, so that once you force the screw all the way in, you can take it out and put one in with a fresh head on it, because forcing it will undoubtably mess up the head of the screw on a screw that small. (Not the advised method, but it works... I've done it a few times. There is a chance of breaking the screw off in the hole though, so pre-drilling is far smarter, should you run into that problem.)

 

 

 

Oh, and by the way, resize those pics... nobody wants to use your pickup cavities as desktop wallpaper, LOL!!!

[jlg]

Thanks -- sorry about the pic size (I'll fix that in a minute) -- I just did a quick upload from the camera!

 

As for the screws, not many places around here have black enamel screws that would match up -- I was hoping there was someplace on-line to buy the factory replacements for them.

 

Yeah, I did figure the size from front to back of the bezel to be different lengths, but these screws don't even match each other -- different head size/type for some, etc.. At least I know they are metric now -- thanks, that certainly helps. The pups are the standard HB6n/HotHB8B pups. I'm thinking I will do the toothpick trick and re-drill -- the bridge pup holes are way off where they need to be -- pulls the bezel over too much (you can see the routed cavity a bit under the bezel due to this.

 

Also, does anyone know where to get replacement pickup rings?

Would these work??

 

flat bottom rings

 

or would these be more appropriate :

curve bottom rings

 

They seem to be a bit flatter than curved on the Dot Studio, but I'm just not sure.