NUGD Newark St. Aristocrat Goldtop

[matsickma]

Did you check to see if the "ears" of the Franz pup isn't "bent back" resulting in the pickup riding higher than it should?
M

 

[davismanLV]

I'm sorry. What does NUGD mean?

 

[Default]

New Used Guitar Day.

 

[davismanLV]

Thanks. Must be something I drank.....

 

[29er]

Did you check to see if the "ears" of the Franz pup isn't "bent back" resulting in the pickup riding higher than it should?
M

There are no ears on these pickups.

 

[GAD]

I'm sorry. What does NUGD mean?

Don't feel bad - I had no idea either.

 

[SFIV1967]

There are no ears on these pickups.

You are right, I think what M was saying is that it is known that owners of Franz pickups bent the bottom plate down to increase the height. So maybe a previous owner could have bent that portion...

And it is way easier to bent down with the Franz pickup dog ear version having that middle screw slot on the bottom plate:

But since you already had the pickups out of the guitar it is visible that the bottom metal plate is flat, so nothing is bent:

Ralf

 

[freddyfingers]

Congrats on the Guitar!

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Oh, I though it was "New Ugly Guitar day"!

 

[davismanLV]

Oh, I though it was "New Ugly Guitar day"!

I thought that too!! But then that seemed unlikely unless accompanied by Beautiful Feet.

 

[matsickma]

Thanks SFIV1967,

Yep. That was my thought.
I have a black NS model and the threaded portion of the bridge "base" stud doesn't have threads that go low enough so I will need to remove the height adjusting "nut" and put in fixed spacers. I may run into the same problem of pickup body rout limiting how low the pickup can be lowered.
M

 

[29er]

Here is the result of my little wood working project with my M-75. I removed @ 2mm of paint & wood with a sharp chisel and followed up with some sandpaper to knock off the rough edges. I can report that no gold paint was harmed in the process, at least to the top! I did not need to use a mallet, just slow & careful handwork with the chisel. I am a happy camper.

 

[Stefan Eff]

Here is the result of my little wood working project with my M-75. I removed @ 2mm of paint & wood with a sharp chisel and followed up with some sandpaper to knock off the rough edges. I can report that no gold paint was harmed in the process, at least to the top! I did not need to use a mallet, just slow & careful handwork with the chisel. I am a happy camper.

Hey,

how much is removed? You‘ve „scratched“ the wood away? How long did it took you to lower the pkup? Thanks!

 

[29er]

I removed @ 2mm of wood with a very sharp chisel. I worked slowly and carefully but it only took about an hour to complete. After I finished I used sandpaper to take away the roughness of the chisel marks. All said and done, I could probably remove a bit more than I did but I purposely stopped when I did with the thought that I can go back later if needed.

 

[Stefan Eff]

I removed @ 2mm of wood with a very sharp chisel. I worked slowly and carefully but it only took about an hour to complete. After I finished I used sandpaper to take away the roughness of the chisel marks. All said and done, I could probably remove a bit more than I did but I purposely stopped when I did with the thought that I can go back later if needed.

Thanks!
2 mms aren‘t enough?
Did you‘ve recognized any tonal influence?

I guess I‘ll have to do the same. My pick contacts the bridge pkup frequently, string height could be deeper and last not least I‘d bet the pkup sounds better ~ 2 mms lower.

 

[29er]

To my ears the bridge pickup is still hotter due to it's being closer (still) to the strings. It's not a huge difference but if I were a gigging player I may not be 100% happy and would probably go back in and remove more wood. I'm still trying to decide if I'll keep the guitar. It's an awesome instrument but I find it a bit too small sitting on my lap. I need a hollow body Starfire!

 

[Stefan Eff]

I don‘t know why they set the bridge pickup that high. It doesn’t make any sense.

 

[matsickma]

Maybe you could try swapping the pickups to put the hotter bridge pickup in the neck position and neck in the bridge. The difference in the number of windings on the pickups may be enough to balance the levels out.
M

 

[Stefan Eff]

Maybe you could try swapping the pickups to put the hotter bridge pickup in the neck position and neck in the bridge. The difference in the number of windings on the pickups may be enough to balance the levels out.
M

aren’t they the same?

 

[29er]

Maybe you could try swapping the pickups to put the hotter bridge pickup in the neck position and neck in the bridge. The difference in the number of windings on the pickups may be enough to balance the levels out.
M

Bad choice of words on my part. I don't think the bridge pickup is hotter, it just sits closer to the strings on this guitar than what I've seen on any other electric I've owned, hence the stronger signal to the amp. The design with this Aristocrat just doesn't allow for pickup height adjustment which, of course is why I performed the surgery on the body.