Anyone familiar with Carson Electric Guitars?

[Fretworn]

Hi Zandit, a cheats way is to cut up some high density foam to place under the PUP so that it acts with a bit of a spring action and maybe then you don't need the traditional springs. That is what came with the Custom John Bensons that went in the EX-5 and no springs were used at all.

This what '80s Kramers did. You have to replace the foam after 10-15 years as it starts to powderise. But it would probably be your best bet.

[Zandit75]

Thanks Waz. I should have mentioned I had the humbucker sorted, and yes, you picked the right screws, but thanks to the photo being so blurry, you can't tell that they are in fact brand new screws. They look like crap because I checked them in the humbucker tabs to ensure they fit, and one side is perfect, the other jams up and has stripped the threads on the screws, luckily I have a couple more, but I may have to re-tap the dodgy side. The guys in the workshop may have something that I can use.

As for the single cavities, there is not enough room to slide the springs down the side, and because I have undercut the side of the cavities to take the single Pups I got off you, it is a really tight squeeze. The original pups were screwed into the timber, so there are already some holes in place, and they match the replacements. I think I will try a dab of superglue to hold the springs in place.

As for the foam suggestion, where would you suggest getting some from?

[wazkelly]

Hi buddy, if you haven't already seen it there is a demo video done with Adam installing a neck PUP in a Tele where he just screws it straight into the timber and from memory no springs were used. Surprised me a bit as there is still a lot of space underneath the PUP.

For the foam have a look at some of the stuff things come packaged in as I salvaged some from a box that might have had a flash metal key ring in it. It needs to be smooth like a yoga mat and not open pores like a sponge. Just remembered we have a couple of high density mats used for a single bed mattress when camping that would do the trick. Not many come in black and mostly blue but if cut right it should not be visible from above. If all else fails stores like Clark Rubber should have something. It just needs to be very rigid with a little bit of give. If too soft you may as well not bother with it.

Edit: I have a confession to make....on the EX-1 where the Humbuckers are top loaded they are screwed direct into the timber without any springs. First attempt had them anchored about 6mm too low and recently cut some inserts out of 6mm ply, painted matt black, and dropped them in the bottom and re-screwed the PUPs down through the inserted timber which brought the height back up where they needed to be. It still allows me to have a very small amount of adjustment but most of the time once you have got them to desired height they rarely get touched again.

[Simon Barden]

If you are making more guitars like this, then I suggest you do a search for adhesive backed neoprene foam sheets. I managed to pick up a collection of sheet sizes in the UK, and they've come in vary handy. You don't want too large a sheet of each size as you won't get through it, but I've used a mixture of sizes for propping up soapbar P90s so they are level with the guitar top and sticking underneath pickups as springs or to reduce vibrations. I had a quick look on the Aus eBay site and quickly found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/neoprene-s...4AAOSwcLxYKo~r , though there are probably other suppliers. You can probably compress the neoprene foam by 1/3 to 1/2, so it gives you some latitude in the thickness you pick, but it is wise to have a selection of sizes in case you need to step down or up a thickness.

[Simon Barden]

Often Tele pickups come with lengths of rubber tubing rather than springs (a lot easier to fit IMO). Maybe Adam had some of the tubing already pushed around the neck pickup screws? That's another option for the two single coil mounts. If you can get hold of some tubing, it's easy to cut it to the desired length.

[Simon Barden]

For the tubing look for "Latex rubber surgical tubing". Whilst searching, I've just ending up buying a 1m length of 3mm ID x 6mm OD tube, which is about the right size for all but the largest pickup screws. Cost me £3.50 (around $5.80) including 'free' postage on eBay. But you'll need to be able to cut it square, otherwise your pickups will want to tilt.

[Simon Barden]

But be prepared for any search involving the words 'latex rubber' to come up with some weird and very uncomfortable looking outfits.

[adam]

Confession: I had no clue what I was doing when those videos were made in 2012. People still find them useful but they are in urgent need of updating.

[Zandit75]

Confession: I had no clue what I was doing when those videos were made in 2012. People still find them useful but they are in urgent need of updating.

Haha, Note to self: Don't watch that particular video!!!

[wazkelly]

Even a small bit of timber shaped to the correct size and thickness that won't be seen from above should help. The tube idea Simon mentioned has merit but reckon you may still need something under their belly to keep them sitting square and upright.