switching pickup cases?

[IconBasser]

I want to install J's in my bass (which has Soaps), and I was wondering how (if its even possible) to use the cases from the soap bars and just switch out the "guts"

[JustOpenYourMind]

In short, no.

The plastic housing around the coils of the pick-ups is just big enough for it to fit thightly around the err coil. you can't put different types of pick-ups in different cases.

Do you know they make single coil soap bars ? They are bassicly jazz pick-ups.

[Liko]

It depends on the pickup and manufacturer. Stock Fender J pickups have a loose cover that you can simply lift off after unscrewing the pickup. Many other Jazz pickups, especially stacked models, are potted with epoxy or hot glue by simply filling the cover with the pickup in it. The upside is that the pickup coils will practically never loosen and go microphonic; the bad news is that the covers are practically impossible to remove without destroying the pickup.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by IconBasser

I want to install J's in my bass (which has Soaps), and I was wondering how (if its even possible) to use the cases from the soap bars and just switch out the "guts"

sure it's possible...

first...you must be able to remove the covers from both sets of pickups...
secondly...the dimensions of the Jazz pickups must not be larger in any dimension than that of your soaps...width, length, and depth

then you need to make up some flatware pieces which will hold your Jazz pickups in the covers....(flatware material available from Stew Mac).

finally, after fitting my pickups, I'd probably "pot" the whole thing in wax to help hold the assembly together...

suggestion, instead of wasting a set of pickups, why don't you just get some properly sized covers, send them and the jazz pickups to a pickup rewinder, or even a respected hobbyist that you may know...and have him fit the pickups into the covers for you....

[IconBasser]

interesting...


hmm.. so where would I find said "single coil soaps"

[JustOpenYourMind]

Emg makes one:

http://www.emginc.com/displayproduct...&catalogid=114

but i'm sure if you search a little you'll find a lot of makers and different models.