Help! Name of This Pickup Part?

Aug 26, 2010
31
28
4,571
4252C38A-A456-46BA-9507-F08D547B2A43.jpeg
hey! I was wondering if anyone knows the name of the part that is circled in the picture that helps adjust humbucker pickup height. And, if so, does anyone know where to purchase them?
I have a Yamaha SA70 and the pickups are missing this piece. Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pbassmanca
Don't know what Yamaha calls it but I would call it a "height adjustment bracket". Doubt you'll find any but easily made from 1/16" brass sheet with extruded holes for the screws to thread into. The key would be having the height screws and PU to know the mounting hole centers/size and depth for the height section. Wouldn't be cheap from a machine or sheet metal shop but somebody that's handy with hand tools could make a pair in less than 30 min. May not be beautiful but they would work.
 
6C22B9AE-A298-47E9-B505-68ABD818C321.jpeg
E23E0CA1-FC9A-4A2F-A463-16213ED2C6E2.jpeg
Also, there are other ways to adjust the height that might be cheaper. You are attaching the pickup to a faceplate or directly to the body?
Here is the full picture. Although these are not my PUs, it is the exact same situation with vintage Yamaha PUs. The top PU is what it should look like. The bottom PU is what mine currently looks like without the brackets. I’m rather new to this type of thing, so I’m not sure the best way to describe it or mount it. The pickups attach directly to the body of the guitar with rings. Hopefully the picture of the SA70 helps.
 
View attachment 3036735 View attachment 3036732
Here is the full picture. Although these are not my PUs, it is the exact same situation with vintage Yamaha PUs. The top PU is what it should look like. The bottom PU is what mine currently looks like without the brackets. I’m rather new to this type of thing, so I’m not sure the best way to describe it or mount it. The pickups attach directly to the body of the guitar with rings. Hopefully the picture of the SA70 helps.
If the mounting screw holds the pickup to the pickup ring, then all you need is a spring between the mounting plate and the pickup. When you tighten the screw, it compresses the spring and raises the pickup height. When you loosen it the spring will lower the pickup height.
Build20.jpg

In your case, it looks like the pickup wouldn't mount to what you have since I don't see anything that could take a screw.

The two things I might consider are gluing a nut that fits the mounting screw to the back of the pickup or screwing the mounting screw into the body with the springs between the pickup and body or with foam in the space between the body and pickup. Note: hollowbodybmay preclude screwing into the body.
 
Last edited:
If it’s of any help I have an Ibanez artist that has the pickups installed with a chopped up pickup ring holding the bass side of each pickup because they’re standard one screw where the rings on the artist are two screws on the bass side and I didn’t want to put a hole in them... it’s kinda hokey but it’s been a problem free kinda hokey since 1997...
 
Here's a thought. I can't see how the pickup and baseplate are attached in your picture but maybe you can get a speed nut in the thread size for the pickup screw and use them and springs to mount the pickup like a conventional humbucker.

#8-32 Plain Steel Type U Speed Nut (2 per Pack)-800058 - The Home Depot

Note: this one may or may not be the right thread size. You will have to figure that out. Should be a hardware store thing though.
 
Glue an aluminum nut that matches the diameter and pitch of your pickup height adjustment screw to the bottom of the pickup in lieu of that bracket. You just need something threaded attached to the bottom of the pickup that the adjustment screw can go through to raise and lower the pickup.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 96tbird