ctgm95 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi, I just bought a Gibson SG Standard today. I removed the plastic on the pickguard and noticed there was still some plastic stuck underneath 2 of the pickup adjustment screws. Stupid me, took the screws all the way to remove the plastic. Now, that I have the screws back in, I notice that the pickups are loose and move around now. I have discovered that two of the pickup springs have fallen into the cavity under the pickguard. What is the easiest way to retrieve these and put them back in agin? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJScott Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi, I just bought a Gibson SG Standard today. I removed the plastic on the pickguard and noticed there was still some plastic stuck underneath 2 of the pickup adjustment screws. Stupid me, took the screws all the way to remove the plastic. Now, that I have the screws back in, I notice that the pickups are loose and move around now. I have discovered that two of the pickup springs have fallen into the cavity under the pickguard. What is the easiest way to retrieve these and put them back in agin? Thanks! Strings off, PUPs out and re-thread the screws. ONLY way to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctgm95 Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Strings off, PUPs out and re-thread the screws. ONLY way to do it. Ok, so I will need to take the pickguard off, which means removing the bridge. Does it just slide off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Ok, so I will need to take the pickguard off, which means removing the bridge. Does it just slide off? Yes. The bridge height adjustment wheels will have to come off too. You might want to take note of the how high each one of these sit off of the pickgaurd, as this will of course determine the height of each side of the bridge and how high the strings sit above the fretboard. I'm not sure how familiar you are with guitars, and you may know this already, but this is know as "Action". If the action is too low, the strings may vibrate against the fretboard while playing and note sustain will suffer. It's also possible that some notes at certain frets may not ring at all if the action is extremely low. If the action is too high, then fretting notes may be more difficult than necessary. If after you retrieve the springs and reassemble the pickgaurd, wheels, bridge, the tail piece, and re-string, you find that either of those is the case, you can use the wheels to adjust the bridge up or down. You will have to loosen the strings a bit to take the tension off, make the adjustment, then re-tune. Also, when you start the whole process, remember that the strings are the only things holding the tailpiece on, and when they are loosened enough, the tailpiece will come off it's posts, so hold onto it so you don't possibly damage the finish on the guitar. If you can't seem to get the guitar's action back to where it was, or to something you can live with, you might want to have someone do a set-up on the guitar. Although string action is a personal preference, there are certain measurements that are standard in a set-up. Most people find that factory set-ups are usually a little high as far as action goes, and most off the rack guitars could benefit from a set-up. After a set-up, you can decide if these measurements work for you. Hope this helps. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctgm95 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Yes. The bridge height adjustment wheels will have to come off too. You might want to take note of the how high each one of these sit off of the pickgaurd, as this will of course determine the height of each side of the bridge and how high the strings sit above the fretboard. I'm not sure how familiar you are with guitars, and you may know this already, but this is know as "Action". If the action is too low, the strings may vibrate against the fretboard while playing and note sustain will suffer. It's also possible that some notes at certain frets may not ring at all if the action is extremely low. If the action is too high, then fretting notes may be more difficult than necessary. If after you retrieve the springs and reassemble the pickgaurd, wheels, bridge, the tail piece, and re-string, you find that either of those is the case, you can use the wheels to adjust the bridge up or down. You will have to loosen the strings a bit to take the tension off, make the adjustment, then re-tune. Also, when you start the whole process, remember that the strings are the only things holding the tailpiece on, and when they are loosened enough, the tailpiece will come off it's posts, so hold onto it so you don't possibly damage the finish on the guitar. If you can't seem to get the guitar's action back to where it was, or to something you can live with, you might want to have someone do a set-up on the guitar. Although string action is a personal preference, there are certain measurements that are standard in a set-up. Most people find that factory set-ups are usually a little high as far as action goes, and most off the rack guitars could benefit from a set-up. After a set-up, you can decide if these measurements work for you. Hope this helps. Good luck. Ok, so if I measure how high the bridge is, then set it to the same height when I put it back together, I should be good? And also, you say to be careful not to let the tailpiece or bridge fall off, but they are on pegs right? So as long as the guitar is on a flat horizontal surface, they should stay put even when I have the strings off? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 the tail piece can and will fall off no matter how flat the guitar is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ok, so if I measure how high the bridge is, then set it to the same height when I put it back together, I should be good? And also, you say to be careful not to let the tailpiece or bridge fall off, but they are on pegs right? So as long as the guitar is on a flat horizontal surface, they should stay put even when I have the strings off? Thanks again! Yes, that should get you close to where it was. Also, what bonfire said: "the tail piece can and will fall off no matter how flat the guitar is" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin4195 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The guy who gave the detailed explanation is right, but if you don't trust yourself to do it, get a pro. it won't cost your more than 50 bucks, but probable only 20 or 3 if he doesn't do it for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 if you decide to do it yourself, I highly advise taking the time to either buy, or check out (library) some guitar service/repair books and do a little studying on the subject 1st. the step by step instructions you got here are good, but pictures also help,a LOT ! and definitely measure your string height (both E-strings) before you start, and you'll know how high to set your bridge after re-assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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