Installing Seymour Duncan into Axis

[kimonostereo]

Hi folks,

Sorry if this has been covered before. Just thought i'd throw this out there: Have any of you changed your pickups in your Axis to a Seymour Duncan? If so, did you modify the pickup ears?

Just curious if anyone has done it already and knew of an easy way aside from using a dremel. Perhaps the plate that holds the coil could be swapped from a dimarzio and installed on a duncan to make it easier?

Any ideas?

 

[kimonostereo]

No one?

I guess the answer is just to modify the baseplate!

 

[nobozos]

Hey, I think your best bet is to contact Customer Service, and see what they recommend. Not only do you have to clip the dog ears to fit the route, but the leg height could also be an issue, as the pickup is not height adjustable.

 

[kimonostereo]

Thanks! Maybe i'll just pull out the pickup to see if the height is the same before I do anything else! That will save me some pain in case they aren't the same height. I didn't think about that!

 

[threeminutesboy]

I did it

you need to cut the Seymour Duncan legs (sorry don't know the name in english) in order to fit the Di Marzio Space it's a bit painful but if you are patient it will work out fine.

 

[nobozos]

I'm kind of curious as to why you are switching out the pickups to Duncans?

I mean, the Axis pickups sound great. I know it's one of those individual preference things, but it seems like it would be easier to buy an EQ pedal to achieve the tone you prefer.

 

[kimonostereo]

I got an EVH Frankenstein pickup and I wanted to hear the sonic differences between the two pickups.

Don't plan on leaving it in there permanently unless it blows me away. I just don't have any other guitar that I think it would sound good in. I'm not about to rewire my Luke or route a humbucker hole into another instrument just to test it out.

 

[nobozos]

I got an EVH Frankenstein pickup and I wanted to hear the sonic differences between the two pickups.

Don't plan on leaving it in there permanently unless it blows me away. I just don't have any other guitar that I think it would sound good in. I'm not about to rewire my Luke or route a humbucker hole into another instrument just to test it out.

Let me save you some time on this one. You will not like the way that it sounds in the Axis. It will not do well in a Basswood/Maple guitar. That particular pickup will work best in a solid Ash guitar, or mabye Alder.

I would try it in a "more traditional" shaped body with a pickguard, but mount it directly to the body cavity.

This will save you a tremendous amount of energy and aggrevation.

 

[kimonostereo]

So you have this pickup and have tried it in an axis already and found that it doesn't sound good?

 

[Astrofreq]

Sell me your Axis pickups if you end up not needing them. Seriously.

 

[nobozos]

Not an Axis, but I've heard one in a very similar guitar from another manufacturer. I then heard the same pickup in a MexiStrat. Sounded much better.

 

[boogieslide]

Caught this thread and thought I would add some comments based on my experience.

I know a lot of folks love the stock pups, but I personally feel like they don't have the clarity and individual note punch I am looking for and what I feel they lack just can't be compensated for with EQ on the amp or a pedal (tried that). That said, dropping in other pickups in the Axis is not easy.
Here are some things to consider:
-The bridge is F-Spaced and the neck is not
-The height of the base plate is important since the pups mount directly and can not be adjusted. You could swap base plates (not easy and a bit messy with the wax), but also consider the length of the pole pieces as they may be too long as well. I had the pickup I wanted to try remounted to a short leg base plate. The poles were just a tad too long and I had to raise them from flush with the bobbin to keep the pup from being slanted.
-Assuming you have the proper base plate height, the feet need to be the triangular shape to fit into the cavity. I cut mine to fit.
-Pickup and pot wiring all gets connected to a small circuit board that is part of the pickup toggle switch. It can be worked with, but it took me by surprised when I opened it up to do my wiring.

Like anything else...it can be done, but these are some things to consider and be prepared for if you wish to replace the pups in an Axis.

 

[kimonostereo]

I think the only problem I'd have installing the pickups would be the pole piece height. Right now they extend slightly below the base plate. the base plates are just about the same height so that's not a problem.

For what it's worth, I'll just wait till I get my AL and put it in there.

 

[d-bone]

I had an SD JB in the bride of an Axis before. A regular JB not the trembucker.
All I needed to do was to trim the 'ears' of the SD, make them a little rounder like the Dimarzio. I also made bigger holes for the screws. I used small springs between the pickup and the wood so I could adjust the height of the pickup.

 

[kimonostereo]

How'd it sound?

I've modified the pickup ears before but I didn't want to risk modding the pole piece screws at all. I guess I could use foam or springs to raise it up just a tad for clearance.

 

[d-bone]

The pole piece screws was short enough on my SD so I didn't need to cut them. But I have cut them on and older SD with longer pole pices screws and it worked out fine.

SD JB in the bridge will sound a little tighter, brighter and more wet. The difference is not night and day. If your used to SD it will feel right.

 

[applemacintosh]

Out of interest are EMGs any more fiddly to fit - for the same reasons mentioned with SD's?

 

[kimonostereo]

Out of interest are EMGs any more fiddly to fit - for the same reasons mentioned with SD's?

If you're installing them into a Luke, then the only thing you'd need to do is bore out the screw holes on the ears so you can use the original screws that come with the Luke.

If you are installing into an axis, you'll need to modify the pickup ears AND bore out the screw holes.

 

[applemacintosh]

Hmm, Thanks for the info - I do have a long term plan to install EMGs into an ASS... Has anyone actually done it? Would be cool to see pics of ASS's with EMGs...

 

[kimonostereo]

Hmm, Thanks for the info - I do have a long term plan to install EMGs into an ASS... Has anyone actually done it? Would be cool to see pics of ASS's with EMGs...

There's one in the For Sale section. Looks sharp!