Keystone neck pickup fitment

[milocj]

I picked up a set of the Keystone pups based on all the good reviews and I plan on putting them into a partscaster I'm working on. No holes have been drilled at this point other than the string-thou holes and I planned on vintage specs.

My question concerns the neck pickup fit and whether it can be done by mounting it to the body instead of through the pickguard. A dry fit makes it seem like the potted in wires coming out the back of the pup won't allow the pickup to sit deeply enough into the cavity to work, whether body mounted or pickguard mounted. I don't have a guard with pickup mounting screws drilled into it to try fitting it that way. Does the pickup cavity need a small counterbore drilled beneath the wires in some Tele bodies?

Has anybody had this issue with the Keystone neck pup or do you know what the standard depth of the neck pickup route should be on a Tele? I suppose the body I bought could be slightly out of spec, but real Fender pickguards, control plates, and the bridge all seem to fit/align perfectly so I suspect the body is pretty much '50s spec. I could tear apart my other Tele, though I'm hoping that somebody else knows the answers.

[boris bubbanov]

Now, I'm gonna talk about the "non-deluxe" version because that's what I've fooled with.

Each Keystone T neck pup has fitted well, either pickguard or body mounted, no interference issues underneath at all.

Either your rout is not deep enough, or you're proposing to mount the pickup too low. And I've set mine so low, the top was level with the pickguard so that is very low.

The thing I most noticed (other than no cover, which one expects) is the form of the pickup is larger than an ordinary T pickup and fits through the pickguard neck pup opening with only the tiniest room to spare.

[milocj]

That's the version I have. A dry fit showed it way proud of the pickguard, though I was also afraid to bend the wires exiting the back of the epoxy too much at this point in time.

I guess I'll have to pull a pickguard off of one of my other Teles and see if I can stick a six inch steel rule between the pup and rout to measure the depth. No issues with the bridge pup, though the form barely comes through the bridge plate, just like you mentioned the neck pickup is with the guard.

[musicalmartin]

The Chrome Keystone are deeper than a standard tele neck pickup .more like a Texas Special .I had a similar problem with a parts caster and fitted a pickguard mount instead .It pulled it up just enough to make it adjustable .

[milocj]

Well, I left my steel rule at work and only had a few minutes with a tape to take some quick measurements. I have the black Keystones with exposed poles and the neck pup measures just shy of 13/16" not counting the small bit of wire that remains stiff before being able to bend them into the wiring hole to the control cavity. All of my other neck pups are in guitars right now, but from the above post it sounds like this is a bit taller than most, but not all, Tele neck pups and would work in a standard cavity.

My bridge pup cavity eyeballs at about 3/4" deep using the tape measure, and the neck pup cavity and neck pocket both seem to be about 5/8" deep. Does that sound about right for a Fender spec body or are the bridge and neck pickup cavities usually the same depth?

I'm sure that my other Teles probably have the neck pup about 3/16" proud of the pickguard, but those still have a little room for springs and the wires underneath and can be lowered close to flush.

If I need to deepen the cavity I would prefer to do it before I paint the body, though I may break down and just swap the Keystones into the Highway One for the time being and I can take measurements from that body while I have things apart.

Thanks a bunch for the info already provided.

[nadzab]

Had no problems with this one, MIM Standard, pickup mounted to the body.

[milocj]

Nice looking guitar. Did you use springs underneath or tubing? I can't imagine there being enough room to get tubing to compress beneath the pup on the body I have these slated for.

I did find T Downs' Tele blueprint and my pockets match the dimensions on his "vintage" blueprint so I guess I'll be alright if I carefully work the pickup leads into as sharp a bend as possible to get me a touch more room.

Either that, or the newer bodies have a little bit deeper neck cavity than a '50s spec. I'll probably pop the Highway One open out if curiosity next time I change strings since that will probably be before I get the finish on this body.

Thanks again.

[nadzab]

Originally Posted by milocj

Nice looking guitar. Did you use springs underneath or tubing? I can't imagine there being enough room to get tubing to compress beneath the pup on the body I have these slated for.

I did find T Downs' Tele blueprint and my pockets match the dimensions on his "vintage" blueprint so I guess I'll be alright if I carefully work the pickup leads into as sharp a bend as possible to get me a touch more room.

Either that, or the newer bodies have a little bit deeper neck cavity than a '50s spec. I'll probably pop the Highway One open out if curiosity next time I change strings since that will probably be before I get the finish on this body.

Thanks again.

Thanks - I don't remember whether I used springs - I seem to recall using a small block of foam under the flatwork on this one.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by nadzab

Thanks - I don't remember whether I used springs - I seem to recall using a small block of foam under the flatwork on this one.

Bill has suggested I not do that.

I'd tried foam, then screwed the pickup into the body and got squeal. I was twisting the flatwork, creating voids at the ends between the base and the rest of the pickup. I reaffixed the pickup using tubing beneath the mount points and all was cured.

[milocj]

Do you remember off hand what size screws are used for body mounting the neck pup? I don't have any spares and it comes with screws that thread into the pickup for pickguard mounting. If I remember correctly I had to find a "real" hardware store last time and couldn't get them at HD or Lowe's.

[nadzab]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Bill has suggested I not do that.

I'd tried foam, then screwed the pickup into the body and got squeal. I was twisting the flatwork, creating voids at the ends between the base and the rest of the pickup. I reaffixed the pickup using tubing beneath the mount points and all was cured.

Hmmm, no squealing, so maybe I'm thinking of another guitar...a P-Bass I used to have, perhaps? I would pop the pickguard off to check, but I've got some double-sided tape under there to prevent warping and would rather not mess with it unless absolutely necessary.

Originally Posted by milocj

Do you remember off hand what size screws are used for body mounting the neck pup? I don't have any spares and it comes with screws that thread into the pickup for pickguard mounting. If I remember correctly I had to find a "real" hardware store last time and couldn't get them at HD or Lowe's.

These should work, see part no. 3358:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware...ht_Screws.html