Vigier... changing pickups...Arrrrrgh

delorean

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has changed a humbucker in a Vigier Excalibur before.  I’m having a hard time getting this done – rejected by 2 of my local techs because the Vigier has 3 screws for each humbucker. 

 

They say it’ll be a nightmare to try and drill an extra hole in one of the pickup legs.

 

Has anyone done this with a degree  of success?  I’ve just got myself a sexy Bareknuckle Holy Diver and I’m itching to get it fitted

John_A

I havent done it, like my Vigier the way it is but as you say you would either need to drill and tap new mounting holes in the pickup base plate, or drill a new hole in the scratchplate.  Neither would be a big job

guitarmangler

John_A said:

I havent done it, like my Vigier the way it is but as you say you would either need to drill and tap new mounting holes in the pickup base plate, or drill a new hole in the scratchplate.  Neither would be a big job

I’d either add another hole to the pick guard or get another pick guard made ( if you were worried about re sale in the future). 

Three-ColourSunburst

I was intrigued by what the problem was here, and looking at some pictures it does seem that there might not be much metal either side of the existing mounting hole on the lug to drill two more that lined up with those in the pick guard. Drilling a third hole in the pick guard to line up with the one on the mounting lug would seem to be an even worse idea.

Might it not instead be possible to make up a small adapter plate? This could be fitted to the lug of the new pickup with a single screw from below, with two holes being drilled in the top of the plate to take the twin mounting screws. There would be limited adjustment but, by using mounting screws of just the right length, this might not be a problem.

Just an idea!

ICBM

Looking at pics of the Vigier and a Bareknuckle pickup, it looks to me like the pickup's baseplate is wide enough to have the two extra holes drilled in it - the Vigier screw spacing is quite close together. Drilling and tapping two small screw holes is not a big job.

DefaultM

At least you've got a list of techs that are crap now. 

delorean

Thanks guys,

I opened her up when I got home last night and took a good look at the currently installed pickup.  It has a small metal plate with 2 holes for those screws.  This plate is screwed to one of the pickup legs.

I can remove the plate and attach it to the new pickup, and use the holes in the plate to line where to drill the holes in the bareknuckle.

My next question is a little embarrassing… I’ve never tapped a hole (fnar fnar) in my life – is it easy?  I’m cack-handed with practical stuff, but if it’s a simple job that I can do with my old black & decker and a regular drill bit then I’ll have a go.  

Or should I just get a tech to do it…?

Cheers!

Three-ColourSunburst

delorean said:

I opened her up when I got home last night and took a good look at the currently installed pickup.  It has a small metal plate with 2 holes for those screws.  This plate is screwed to one of the pickup legs.

Ha! That did seem to be the most obvious way of doing it!

As to tapping the hole, you will need a sharp bit and take care to keep things square, but a suitable hole (if needed) can easily be drilled by hand. That said you will still need to use a drill bit of the right size for the intended thread, which is likely to be a non-standard size, plus a tap to cut the threads. Here is a table of standard tap drill sizes.

http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tables/metrictapdrill.htm

John_A

You need one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pcs-HSS-Right-Hand-Tap-NO-3-48-Threading-Tools/302785529797?epid=1567338564&hash=item467f6c87c5:g:-qEAAOSw-7RVG~z6:rk:9:pf:0

Best done by hand

Three-ColourSunburst

John_A said:

You need one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pcs-HSS-Right-Hand-Tap-NO-3-48-Threading-Tools/302785529797?epid=1567338564&hash=item467f6c87c5:g:-qEAAOSw-7RVG~z6:rk:9:pf:0

Best done by hand

But wouldn't a Vigier be likely to use metric threads? If the original screws are metric and an imperial tap is used, then new screws will also have to be obtained.  (If only the whole word had adopted the metric standard - how much simpler things would be!)

ICBM

Three-ColourSunburst said:

But wouldn't a Vigier be likely to use metric threads?

Given that they're made in France, I would be very surprised if they weren't M2.5 or M3.

John_A

ICBM said:

Three-ColourSunburst said:

But wouldn't a Vigier be likely to use metric threads?

Given that they're made in France, I would be very surprised if they weren't M2.5 or M3.

Pretty sure not, they come standard with Dimarzio pickups, 

Good point though, if you have them out try the BK screws which are imperial