Tokai P90 pickups

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stratman323 said:
I'm beginning to wish I never started this! How the hell do you get the wire from the new neck pickup to feed through that tiny hole all the way to the control cavity?

:evil:

the easiest way is to tape another piece of wire tightly to the end of the PU wire before you pull it out. Then pull it through the cavity as you pull out the old pickup, still letting one end stick out in the control cavity. Then remove the old PU wire, attach the wire of the new PU to it and pull it back all the way ... e voila!

If you already pulled it out you can still use a stiffer piece of wire first and then tie the PU wire to it to pull it through.

Usually it also works without the help of an additional piece of wire ... you just need patience ...
 
Bluefinger said:
If you already pulled it out you can still use a stiffer piece of wire first and then tie the PU wire to it to pull it through.

Usually it also works without the help of an additional piece of wire ... you just need patience ...

I just can't get it to go. It probably doesn't help that it's now wrapped in heatshrink!

I can't even get a thinner bit of wire too feed through though. What a ridiculous way to make a guitar.

:evil:
 
Yes, these wires sometimes get a bit tangled, clogging up the whole route. Maybe you can pull lightly on the remaining wires coming out of the route from the control cavity side in order to straighten them a bit. Or rub down the pickup wire with olive oil to make it slippery.
If it makes you mad, put it aside for a couple of minutes. The most stupid things I have done to my guitars was when I lost my patience and tried to force it.
I'd give you a hand if you were closer but I'm afraid you have to settle for my wise *** advises :-?
 
Have you got the bridge pickup wire in there? That won't make life easy for you. I normally do the neck pickup first.

You could try with a stiff piece of wire like the cloth covered wire you use on Strat pickups with the cloth removed. feed that through first and then tie it to the new pickup wire and use it to pull it through.
 
Done. Boy that was fiddly and infuriating! I promise I won't complain about doing stuff on Strats & Teles in future! Yes I did the neck pickup first.

Just trying it out now. Trouble is the neck pickup seems much louder than the bridge, probably because it's much closer to the strings. Even with the neck pole pieces screwed in, & the bridge ones screwed out, there is still an imbalance, despite the bridge pickup being more powerful. It's daft having a guitar without adjustable height pickups......

:-?
 
stratman323 said:
Done. Boy that was fiddly and infuriating! I promise I won't complain about doing stuff on Strats & Teles in future! Yes I did the neck pickup first.

Just trying it out now. Trouble is the neck pickup seems much louder than the bridge, probably because it's much closer to the strings. Even with the neck pole pieces screwed in, & the bridge ones screwed out, there is still an imbalance, despite the bridge pickup being more powerful. It's daft having a guitar without adjustable height pickups......

:-?

maybe some pickup height adjustment??
Oh please post a sound sample if you can!!!!! :D
 
jprr773 said:
maybe some pickup height adjustment??
Oh please post a sound sample if you can!!!!! :D

How? There is no height adjustment on the pickups, they screw directly into the body.

Sorry, no way of recording, & no interest in spending even more time in front of the PC learning either!
 
stratman323 said:
How? There is no height adjustment on the pickups, they screw directly into the body.

yes there is... and the sponge under the pickup serves as a spring...you can screw it clock-wise to lower it down a little.... just like the typicall telecaster neck pickup screwed to the wood..

stratman323 said:
Sorry, no way of recording, & no interest in spending even more time in front of the PC learning either!

ok.. :cry:
 
There were no bits of sponge on the bottom of the new pickups. Am I supposed to peel the rubbers off the Tokai pickups & glue them onto the new ones? :eek:

Sorry folks, but I can see so many bad bits of design on this guitar.....
 
stratman323 said:
There were no bits of sponge on the bottom of the new pickups. Am I supposed to peel the rubbers off the Tokai pickups & glue them onto the new ones? :eek:

Sorry folks, but I can see so many bad bits of design on this guitar.....

No, don't peel the rubbers off, buy new ones and stick in them the same position as in the Tokai PU....
 
Where from? I've never seen them on sale anywhere. Surely Bareknuckle pickups should come with these?
 
stratman323 said:
Where from? I've never seen them on sale anywhere. Surely Bareknuckle pickups should come with these?

some PU dealers sell them, some luthiers can give you some spare foam, or you can try to get this neopren foam 3mm or 4mm from somewhere else.
Some folks put rubber tubing (like in Fender pickups) on the screws themselves to act as spacers, you can do that as well.
I can mail you some spare tubbing or neopren foam, let me know if it's too difficult for you to get it.
 
I've just ordered some of that Fender pickup tubing, it might be in the mail I haven't opened yet. But shouldn't all P90 pickups come with the foam attached, if it's so important?
 
stratman323 said:
I've just ordered some of that Fender pickup tubing, it might be in the mail I haven't opened yet. But shouldn't all P90 pickups come with the foam attached, if it's so important?

that will do!
I don't thing that's much important, just if you want it to look good.
I've seen some that used wood or cardboard. Others also adjust the pole piece height.
 
Actually I don't see a reason why a pickup manufacturer who charges 100 bucks for a single pickup shouldn't include a piece of foam with it. It doesn't cost him much and can be annoying if you don't have some at home.

Actually I prefer foam over a hose that only goes over the screw. The downside of the hose is that it only supports the pickup im the middle so it might tilt or rattle a little. The foam supports it everywhere and keeps it from moving, tilting and rattling.

OT:
Alex was great yesterday! The whole band actually ... it doesn't get better than this. We talked a little after the show and Tad and Alex signed my Tweed Super. They are really great and humble guys. I also asked him if they are planning to go to the UK because I know a guy who would like to see them. He said that he hasen't been playing there for 20 years because they don't get paid enough there to finance a the trip. I bet that's the reason why others aren't playing there as well :cry:
 
stratman323 said:
jprr773 said:
maybe some pickup height adjustment??
Oh please post a sound sample if you can!!!!! :D

How? There is no height adjustment on the pickups, they screw directly into the body.


Tele neck pickup springs could be the answer Mike :D

Thread the P90 pickup screws through the pickup and then through the new springs before screwing down into the body.

You then should get up and down pickup adjustment

Chris
 
stratman323 said:
jprr773 said:
maybe some pickup height adjustment??
Oh please post a sound sample if you can!!!!! :D

How? There is no height adjustment on the pickups, they screw directly into the body.

Sorry, no way of recording, & no interest in spending even more time in front of the PC learning either!



You raise the pole piece screws. Look at the detail 2,3 and 4 pics:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/images/30U/30U-13471_pickups.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/30U-13471.htm&usg=__hRj4z84A5QI1_DK6nhedEzZ651c=&h=640&w=432&sz=63&hl=en&start=14&um=1&tbnid=Fts8nc7LeaGcLM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1953%2Bgibson%2Bles%2Bpaul%2Bpickups%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4DKUS_enUS264US264%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
 
Marcus - credit me with just a little intelligence, please! I did say:

stratman323 said:
Even with the neck pole pieces screwed in, & the bridge ones screwed out, there is still an imbalance, despite the bridge pickup being more powerful. It's daft having a guitar without adjustable height pickups......

:-?

I don't expect to be credited with any technical ability, but adjusting the pickup screws was the first thing I did - it wasn't enough!

The Fender type rubber hose under the bridge pickup did the trick, the tightness of the cavity means that it doesn't move or tilt. I didn't need any under the neck pickup, it's screwed down as far as it will go, which is where it needs to be.

Thanks to everyone who helped, particularly Bluefinger. That was such an infuriating, fiddly job. :evil:

My first reaction was that the new pickups were a little too dark for my taste, a little too prone to overload the amp. Having messed around with height settings & amp settings yesterday, I think I do like the improvement, they are fatter with more mids, & this is particularly good on the out of phase setting. I need more time to make up my mind, but I think they'll be staying in. Possibly the BKP-91s are not ideal for someone wanting a more correct vintage tone - like Bluefinger, as a good example. I imagine that the BKP-90s would be more appropriate for this.

Bare Knuckles descriptions:

BKP-90 - Alnico II magnets with medium output. The magnets and special windings deliver just the right balance of power and vintage sound - rich and full with trademark smooth mid range.
DC: 7.5k*

BKP-91 - Alnico V magnets with slightly hotter than stock windings. The brighter magnet along with extra windings serve up hot and fat single coil grind - more weight in the mid range with excellent top end detail.
DC: 7.8k*


BKP-92 - Alnico V magnets and overwound with special enamelled wire. Huge full bodied '90 sound - warm, powerful and articulate with no loss of attack or definition. Who needs humbuckers anyway!
DC: 8.6k*


Just need to sort out the tuners now. :wink:
 
Bluefinger said:
Alex was great yesterday! The whole band actually ... it doesn't get better than this. We talked a little after the show and Tad and Alex signed my Tweed Super. They are really great and humble guys. I also asked him if they are planning to go to the UK because I know a guy who would like to see them. He said that he hasen't been playing there for 20 years because they don't get paid enough there to finance a the trip. I bet that's the reason why others aren't playing there as well :cry:

Yeah Alex is a nice guy, I chatted to him when he was last over with Piazza. Amazing to think that was 20 years ago. :eek: I enjoyed the Tad Robinson CD too - have you heard the new one with Raphael Wressnig?

Sadly, what Alex said is what so many other have said. :cry: Pathetic that nobody in Britain can come up with the same sort of money as the guys all around Europe do. Luckily the T-Birds visit fairly regularly, looks like I'll have to be satisfied with just them. Even Anson seems to have given up on us, despite being a regular-ish visitor when Sam was alive.
 
Good news. I'm glad you got this sorted out and that the hoses worked.

Pickups changes are always a PITA. You'll never know what you'll end up with because you make your judgement based only on descriptions. So is the pickup that "sounds" better on the website really the better one or do they just have a better way with words? In the end they are nothing but magnets and wire and there is no reason why a cheap GFS shouldn't fit your needs as well as a handwound boutique PU. All this "mojo", handwound, vintage correct thing is mostly a marketing thing. The most sought after pickups in the world, the PAFs were machine wound with whatever magnet and wire that was available at the time.
I have tried many pickups and the only time I was 100% satisfied on the first try was when I put Lollar Blackfaces in my Strat. I was just lucky ... sometimes you just need to give yourself a little time to get used to the way they behave.

Actually I don't have a clue why I am writing all this but I fellt the urge to rant a little :)
 

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