ray 34 pickup cover swap?

[raynoslo]

I recently bought a ray 34 because I used to play stingrays, but I couldn't afford one this time around. I love it except for the new pickup design. My thumb placement tends to feel lost while playing. Can the new style pickup cover be swapped out for the old design? I found a replacement cover on ebay for ten bucks. Has any one tried this? Will it fit the new style pickup?

 

[Bobster]

The bass is routed for the new style (one big tab on the low side). You would need to alter the pickguard for sure, and possibly the body route to make it fit.

Bob

 

[raynoslo]

I assumed they shared the same profile, or enough to where there would be a slight gap in the pickguard. I just don't have an old one to compare it too. I don't think I would want to rout the body out to make it fit. Surely I'm not the only finger player that has asked about this, but I can't find anything after multiple searches.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I found a replacement cover on ebay for ten bucks.

$10?

Should be $2:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It should work as long as the rest of the pickup is the same size. Then you will have a slight gap in the pickguard on one side. The bobbins come out the cover fairly easy, at least on the vintage pickups. I haven't tried to remove them from the newer covers.

 

[raynoslo]

I just found a blue print of the mm pickup made by seymore Duncan. The screw pattern measures the same as my pickup. I'm gonna order the new cover and attempt to retrofit it. Has anyone taken one apart? Is it glued together? I would hate to destroy it trying to attempt this.

 

[raynoslo]

$10?

Should be $2:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Thanks, the one on ebay was for a two pack w/ free shipping. This still looks better.

 

[iunno]

It would probably be difficult to swap the coils out, I swapped out the leads for a 4 wire cable, and even that was a pain in the ass. They're all hot glued in there, but it might be possible to get them out.

 

[raynoslo]

Well, I did it. I'll show what I found for anyone that wants to attempt this.


This is what I saw when I flipped it over. Notice all of the hot glue.

Here's a close up.
Remove this foam thing. It's got a couple springs imbedded in it. It has a sticky substance and came off like a piece of tape.

Remove the middle screws from each coil assembly, or whatever they're called. These screws mount these assemblies to the cover.

I used a hair dryer to soften the hot glue and cut it out of there. Caution: be careful during the removal of the glue. There are small wires connecting both assemblies that are embedded in the glue. This process took a good hour and required a steady hand.

Here's a pic of the original cover. Notice the screw mounts for the coil assemblies.

Here's a pic of the old style cover. I bought a two pack off of ebay for $10 shipped.


I will probably hot glue the assemblies to the cover in the future. They seem to require a solid mounting to the cover due to the foam/ spring assembly, unlike the old style spring system. I need to find a new pickguard due to the gap next to the pickup. I've looked at some on the internet and I'm not sure if an ernie ball stingray pickguard will work. Some state that they won't fit the ray 34. Maybe the screw holes don't line up or something. I'll roll the dice and find a cheap one and see what happens. I may have to rout out my own somehow. I'll keep ya posted after I try it.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Some state that they won't fit the ray 34. Maybe the screw holes don't line up or something.

Maybe because of the different pickup? The new style pickup wont fit in the old style pick guard.