L-5 Wes Montgomery pickup

[Fluorite]

Hi,

have you ever seen a L5 Wes pickup mounted oblique as This (see attach)! Gibson support said this is normal, and

sound is to me normal. Variations in production?

Thank you all.

Carmelo

[CR9]

Any humbuckers style pickup with the 2 adjustment screws and springs can do that. I can make all my humbucker pickups do that, but I would rather have them flat. Some like it that way as it is a quick way to make the poles closer or farther away from the strings. All you have to do is lightly push down on the high edge to get it back in position. If a light push doesn't do it, there may be something binding it from freely moving. If it is not moving, take it back to the dealer. Not a production problem or change.

[Fluorite]

Thank you very much. I tried to move the humbucker but it seems fixed and doesn't move

in that way. Do you think that my dealer can provide to fix this inconvenient?

Carmelo

[CR9]

Yes the dealer should be able to easily fix it. It should not have left a dealer in that condition. Basically it it will just be remove the trim ring mounting screws and lift the pickup and ring up a little, straighten out the pickup and them screw it back down. It may only take a few minutes unless something major is holding the pickup in that position. (not likely) Most likely it should be covered by warranty.

[Fluorite]

Thank you

From support europe I received this answer "The angle of the pickups that you describe is in fact normal; they are mounted oblique indeed."

But what do you think about that? Can I obtain a flat pickup?

 

Carmelo

[L5Larry]

This pickup angle is NOT RIGHT, the pickup should AT LEAST be parallel to it's mounting ring.

 

One of two things is happening here, either the pickup wire is pulling the bottom of the pickup towards the rear, OR the pickup ring was mounted too far forward and the pickup is being pushed back by the front edge of the hole. Removing the pickup in it's mounting ring will tell the tale.

 

This is definitely a "defect in materials and workmanship" and should be addressed at no charge by and authorized Gibson representative.

 

To answer your question "can I obtain a flat pickup?"...Yes, you can, and you should. Gibson seldom takes the time to contour their pickups rings to sit parallel to the string path, but the pickup should at least sit squarely in it's mounting ring.

 

Any Gibson employee or representative that looks at your photograph and says that is normal and proper should be ashamed of themselves.

[Fluorite]

Thank you all for sharing you knowledge, I did it myself and as removed the trim ring mounting screws, the pickup became parallel. Just five minutes and all went the right

Carmelo

[CR9]

This is definitely a "defect in materials and workmanship" and should be addressed at no charge by and authorized Gibson representative.

 

I agree that it should be fixed at no charge and it is a simple fix as Fluorite has said. I do not agree that it is a "defect in materials and workmanship". It is a variation in setup. This could have very easily happened at the dealer after it left Gibson I have seen it happen at the Guitar Centers in Crestwood, Bridgeton, and even Nashville with kids messing with the guitars and then hanging them back on the wall. The pickup is designed to move in the mount but it should not be left at that angle. Any good guitar store employee should have seen that and corrected it. Then again, it may have happened after it left the store. It can't be blamed on manufacturing as the dealer is also responsible for checking the product before handing it over to the customer.

 

Any Gibson employee or representative that looks at your photograph and says that is normal and proper should be ashamed of themselves.

I agree. I hope someone doesn't think that I said it was normal or proper, just that it can easily happen and can easily be corrected. I can see where someone would say that it is normal meaning that it can easily be moved into that position by normal movement. I can't understand anyone saying that is the proper position for the pickup although I do know a person that has foam wedged under his pickups to keep them at that angle. The magnetic pull of the strings on each half of the humbucker is changed and will result in a different tone. He has found that he likes that tone and now that is the "normal" angle for him.