Pickup Refurb

tachycardia23 · June 2018

I've got a SD Screamin' Demon that I got off FB (not cheap either

) which has a few issues.

- One of the 2 mounting screw holes on the baseplate has been enlarged somewhat. Meaning I can't mount it.

- The cable has been spliced...and is still too short for my purposes. I was thinking of changing the whole cable but...

- One of the 4 baseplate screws is rounded off

What can I do with it!? Does anyone refurbish pickups?

Funkfingers · June 2018

The pickup could be made serviceable but only as a direct mount. Changing the cable is doable but tricky for the inexperienced. The stripped brass bobbin fastening screw can probably be removed and replaced with a new one.

Seymour Duncan do not sell separate replacement baseplates TO ANYBODY. You have to ship your pickup back to them. From the UK, this is not economically viable.

Other high quality baseplates are available but these will not have the magic logo etched into them.

tachycardia23 · June 2018

Thanks again @Funkfingers. I am wondering whether it's worth throwing good money after bad here.

Sending it off to anyone would push me into the realms of a new SD...

I've messaged the guy I bought it from anyways, so I'll see what he says.

Funkfingers · June 2018

If the pickup's imperfections were accurately described and/or illustrated in the seller's advertisement, you cannot really complain.

The Screaming' Demon humbucker is intended for the bridge position on a Stratocaster-derived guitar design. It is entirely reasonable for the original output cable to have been cut down to approximately six inches long. i.e. Just long enough to reach the selector switch in a Stratocaster.

I am aware that a few hardcore nutters on the Seymour Duncan User Group forum advocated using the Screaming' Demon as a neck position pickup.

WezV · June 2018

pickup feet can be repaired. New wires can be added. Removing that stripped screw may be tricky

guitarmangler · June 2018

Can you not weld/solder/superglue a nut on the bottom of the enlarged holes ? That way at least you'll be able to mount it.

tachycardia23 · June 2018

Thanks for your replies guys. I could do these things but I am remembering that I'm both a bit of a perfectionist and a bit crap at these sorts of things.

I've sent the pickup back to the seller now as the issues were not described in the advert. Hopefully I can get something else less frustrating.

FelineGuitars · June 2018

Well the SD is a 42.5 gauge wire with an A5 magnet , so it's not too different to a BKP Cold Sweat neck pickup (which sounds awesome) albeit with a double screw row, and with high carbon hex screws in one coil , so it could work as a hot neck pickup.

tachycardia23 · June 2018

Great suggestion... I am resisting the temptation to buy very shiny things. Daily, in fact.

Funkfingers · June 2018

FelineGuitars said:

the SD is a 42.5 gauge wire

Useful information. Thank you.

guitarmangler said:

Can you not weld/solder/superglue a nut on the bottom of the enlarged holes ? That way at least you'll be able to mount it.

I have seen this bodge on a few pre-owned pickups. I would resent finding a repair of this kind on a pickup for which I had paid good money.

Welding? A bit drastic, methinks. It would need to be TIG or MIG. MMA would probably burn through the baseplate lug and shower sparks all over the bobbins.

One other trick worth considering would be those adapters that TV Jones now supplies to make it possible to fit Universal Mount 'Trons into conventional screw/spring/ring hardware.

WezV · June 2018

It may be a bodge, but I have had new mini hums from lollar that had squares of NS baseplate soldered to the feet to give smaller holes.

it works and it’s solid

i recently repaired some patent numbers. A larger screw had been used to mount them to a strat, simply forced into the smaller hole. I squashed it all flat again and ran solder in the damaged threads before recutting. Worked really well

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