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I’ve seen this quite often and recently worked on Neil Young’s pickup with the same problem. The problem most likely comes from the older shielded hookup cable that is soldered to the controls and ground from the pickup. The inside multi-strand conductor is coated with a rubber based insulation to keep it insulated from the…

I often get pickups like this and it usually occurs when the screws become oxidized, corroded and can easily break when being removed. I would first soak the rest of the screws including the bottom plate mounting screws with a penetrating oil to help lubricate and soften the oxidation. After letting the screws soak for…

I’ve seen this happen on DeArmond pickups before and this is what I found. If the coil being wound did not have a guided traverse control to layer the magnet wire evenly back and forth, the coil would flair or expand the ends of the bobbin. If the bobbin is expanded at the ends, it…

I recently had this problem with a Broadcaster pickup sent to my by long time friend Sid McGinnis who has played guitar on the David Letterman show since 1984. As I examined the pickup there appeared to be no physical evidence of problems from the outside. As I measured the pickup I noticed the DC…

There are a few things I have done to make my covers look vintage. One of the best products I have used is brown paste Kiwi shoe polish. It comes in a little round can and I rub it on with an old cloth rag. Clean out the holes with a Q-tip. It has worked…

You will need to remove some of the plating off the inside of the pickup cover by using an abrasive stone with a Dremel tool. Use a tip made of Green Silicon Carbide because it is good for metal, aluminum, brass and silver. You need to use a soldering iron with enough temperature to allow…

A friend of mine had the same problem and the first thing I did was to remove the metal claw that’s around each pickup. When I removed it you could really hear the difference. The pickups are wound hotter than the traditional Stratocaster so you can get a pretty neat sound out of them. The…

No matter what old pickups you have and if you don’t like the sound, always try and keep the pickup original. I would try find a source to get another pickup that may be broken but could be wound to the sound you are looking for. A good pickup builder usually has supplies to make…

Removing the pickup covers would be difficult and the coils will be inconsistently covered with epoxy. Using a vacuum system will void air pockets inside the pickup and allow the epoxy to seep better into the cavity. If this isn’t done the pickup will have an undesirable look and you can’t do too many things…

There are several fun things you can do to your pickups. You can change the length of your height adjust screws in your traditional style humbucker. The original screws are 5/40 Fillister head machine screws. They are 3/4″ long. if you use 1/2″ long screws the sound will be a little brighter. You could use…