Trouble changing pickups in JP6, Gibson 496R will not fit

[markhatlan]

I am not satisfied with the stock pickups in my JP6, so I've been changing them. I love the Gibson 496R in the neck position from my other guitar, but when trying to get it into the JP6 neck cavity it won't fit. See pic with the Gibson on the right and the stock JP6 neck pickup on the left.

Has anyone else figured out how to work around in this situation? Or know of one and can share a link.

thanks!
mark

 

[GWDavis28]

I would think that the length on the screws from the windings would also cause it to not fit. Even if you were to rebend the mounting tabs and drill new holes. Seems like a lot of work. There are plenty of people who swap out the JP pups, most don't have much trouble from what they've posted.

Using the Gibson's don't looks like it'll work easily without a whole lot of work. You could route under the current mounting foot area to get the pickup to the desired height. Though as I said you'd need to route for the windings screws as well. If you never plan on selling it, that'll work. If you think you might part within in the future, an unmarred JP will sell better.

Good luck, Glenn |B)

 

[markhatlan]

Thanks Glenn.

Yes you're right, I didn't think about the winding screws yet. So I decided to not to route out the cavity, for now. Another reason was that immediately underneath the neck pickup there is wiring that is very taught going up to the piezo switch. Having this wiring pressed underneath the neck pickup doesn't seem well planned to me. As it cannot be bent out of the way or moved, and would really need to be dealt by re-wiring the piezo switch in addition to any routing.

So I'll use another pickup for now, and at some point sell this JP6 for another that doesn't have the piezo so I can route out all I need.

It does make me wonder why pickups are not more standardized regarding to depth and anchor shapes (some are triangle and some are round). And why screw them into the body? Why not have a locking pin system that doesn't mess up the wood after 20 changes. But that's another topic.

Thanks again Glenn.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

Can you swap the Gibson pickup bobbins/windings onto the DiMarzio baseplate? Maybe cut the Gibson screws shorter? That might be easier than routing.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Unless you are Sure you never want to move that guitar on, I would definitely avoid routing into the body. The pickup baseplate may also not fit correctly.

IMHO your best option would be to contact Dimarzio to see what they have that is closest to the 496R, and get that.

 

[DrKev]

A good engineer (or a luthier with the right tools) can shorten the legs, shape the foot to match the DiMarzios, drill and tap a new screw hole, and shorten all the screws. And a good luthier can route the guitar to make the existing pickup fit. Either way, if the cost involved to have the job done right doesn't float your boat (and there is no 100% guarantee that you'll like that pickup in the JP) you'll need to look at another brand. Personally, I wouldn't physically alter the guitar but don't let that stop you if you really want.

 

[pureanalog]

isn't the 496 non f-spaced?

 

[tbonesullivan]

isn't the 496 non f-spaced?

It's going in the neck position, so that doesn't matter. Only the bridge pickups need the F-spacing.

 

[markhatlan]

Thanks for all of that everyone. I have a Gravity Storm (Dimarzio) that I also like, that's going in instead of the 496. I do plan on selling my JP6 since I want one without the piezo, and hopefully MM will come out with some new colors .