P Bass pickup covers will not fit in pickguard

[Teleblaster]

Hello

quick intro for those who are interested: My first electric was actually a bass many years ago. I played for a while but eventually became more serious about electric guitars and let my bass sit in the closet. Now, with a renewed interest in basses I was surprised to find that my $200 frankenstein p/j bass has a rather valuable Tele Bass neck from the late 60s on it. Rather than put more wear on that neck, I've decided to assemble a P Bass from parts and it is posing some unexpected problems.

Now for the question:

I have an older (probably early-mid 90s) Warmoth neck with a rather beautiful rosewood (possibly kingswood?) board, MIM Standard (probably early 00s) fender body, Gotoh 201 Bridge, and some '09 Klein 60s overwound pickups.

Problem #1: The pickup covers do not fit in either of my supposedly Fender pickguards. Is this a common problem? Should I just sand the guard's pickup holes out a bit or find new pickup covers.

Problem #2: What do you use to attach the brass shield to the pickup cavity? Super glue, wood glue, tape etc??

Is there anything else I should do during assembly?

Thanks a lot

[Pilgrim]

Do you mean the screw holes don't match the cover in width? If so, either squeeze them or flatten them slightly.

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Do you mean the screw holes don't match the cover in width? If so, either squeeze them or flatten them slightly.

+1
Sometimes the pickup covers will get a little flattened in shipping, a little careful bending will get them lined up right. Just be careful. I had to do this recently when installing a pup cover on my Squier VM Jazz bass. It wasn't a problem with screwholes not lining up, I hadn't drilled those in yet, but the cover was too flat and it was touching the strings. A little judicious bending and it fit perfectly.
As to the brass shield - If you're talking about the little cutout shield shaped and sized like the pickup, you don't really need those.

[johnk_10]

the brass shield under the pickup is not glued in. it's held in place by the pressure of the pickup on the weatherstrip foam under it.

[Teleblaster]

I appreciate the responses but I do not think you're quite getting my problem.

It isn't the screw holes. It is the entire cover. It will not fit through my pickguard. Specifically, the area of the pickguard that is routed out for the pickups to go through once the bass is completely assembled.

I imagine that I could just sand the pickguard's pickup route out a little bit but I would rather just buy new covers that fit if this is not a normal problem.

joshnk_10, that is good info. Thanks

[202dy]

Originally Posted by Teleblaster

I appreciate the responses but I do not think you're quite getting my problem.

It isn't the screw holes. It is the entire cover. It will not fit through my pickguard. Specifically, the area of the pickguard that is routed out for the pickups to go through once the bass is completely assembled.

I imagine that I could just sand the pickguard's pickup route out a little bit but I would rather just buy new covers that fit if this is not a normal problem.

joshnk_10, that is good info. Thanks

Pickup covers as in little plastic boxes used to protect fragile coils, not pickup cover as in pretty but more or less useless piece of chrome hardware.

One question: Have you measured the width of the pickup covers and the hole dimensions? How much is the difference.

Common problem? Common enough, if enough guitars go across the bench. The Klein covers may be a tad large. Seems unlikely, but it happens. The supposedly (could they be non-Fender?) Fender pickguards would be sized to take a normal Fender sized pickup cover. Reason doesn't really matter.

Solutions are to enlarge the pickup hole in the existing pickguard or purchase a new guard and modify that. Thinning the sides of the pickup cover won't give much purchase.

[TheFantod]

I had a similar problem with a "cheapo" pickguard for my P-bass. The screw holes all lined up, but the cutouts for the pickups were about 1/8" too small. You get what you pay for, right?

Whipped out the box cutter, dremel tool & some sand paper, and after about 30 minutes of trial & error, got it to fit nicely.

Just go slow, take off a little bit at a time, and don't get careless. On my P-bass, you can't even tell the pickguard went through surgery unless you look really close.

[Bassamatic]

I have had to use a large flat file to enlarge the pup holes in a pick guard. They are not always perfect.

Also - if you are going to use the brass shield plate please note that it must he grounded to have any effect. A wire soldered to the plate and to your main ground point.

[Pilgrim]

Yup...flat file to expand the holes, round file for the corners. Patience is needed to avoid messing it up. I also use masking tape on the PG to define a line for the filing - so I can file up to the edge of the tape, not beyond.

[C.Linton]

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Yup...flat file to expand the holes, round file for the corners. Patience is needed to avoid messing it up. I also use masking tape on the PG to define a line for the filing - so I can file up to the edge of the tape, not beyond.

+1

I do my final touch-up with emery boards.

[Teleblaster]

Thanks guys

yeah, I have some experience with guitars. I've put together a bunch of teles and strats at this point but I was surprised by this bass. Supposedly the pickguards are both genuine fender but then again, neither one lines up with the screw holes. It is definitely a MIM body.

Do you think there is a chance a set of fender pickup covers will fit through? If so, I may order some as they're cheap. Otherwise a little modifying of the pickguard is no big deal on the one that isn't anodized gold.