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I am really annoyed. I ordered a pair of GFS ProTube pickups in black to use in my Cyclone repair, and the first thing I made sure of was whether or not the mounting screws fit into the pickup's base.

On both pickups, the screws would not fit through, so I emailed Dave at GFS and asked if I could get some screws that absolutely, for sure for the ProTubes.

I received the replacement screws today, and once again, it is the same exact issue. The screws will go in for a few rotations, and then they get stuck right there.

I'm thinking they messed up the threading on the pickup base, but I really do not want to go through the trouble of having to send my pickups back, and probably get some from the same fucked up batch.

This was more of a mini-rant than anything, but any advice would be great.

You sure that you can't ease the screws in? Sometimes the pickup screw hole will have some wax or whatever in there.

He's right, that's the thing with those GFS lipsticks. The bevel top screws for vintage style strat pickups wouldn't fit in one I had either. Try humbucker screws, though they'll look funny in the countersunk pickguard holes. I've just got the strat screws wedged in my lipstick now as far as they'll go, and if you tilt the guitar upside down the whole pickup/screw shebang can slide around, plus you can't really adjust the height. Very annoying.

There are different sizes of screw for every pickup though. The screws in the Jag-Stang humbucker won't fit a Dimarzio for example, as I found recently putting a Super Distortion in my JS.

Is that what's stopping it? I noticed some wax the first time, but I didn't know it would cause such a problem. I would definitely try a bit harder, but I fear something will strip or break, or something.

And I was just gonna go to the hardware store and try every screw that looks like it could fit.

I had the exact same experience as you, it weren't no wax. Strat screws wouldn't fit, but I didn't have smaller ones, so I just jammed 'em in there as best I could and never got around to fixing it.

Your hardware store idea is probably best as you could find a narrow enough countersink screw that'll look nice and flush on the pickguard.

So the screws they have for the ProTubes just plain don't work for shit, huh? That's a big strike against GFS. You'd think they would bother to check if the screws fit first.

If they're a decently sized screw, you're not going to break it by jamming it in a bit. It's worth trying.

If it's the size of a P90 screw, though, don't try that.

Honestly, I'm going to need pliers to get this damn thing to go through. I'll go to the hardware store first, and if that doesn't work, use brute force.

I wouldn't force it I'd just file out the hole slightly to accommodate the larger thread size of the screw. JUST DON'T GO TOO BIG OR YOU'LL HAVE THE OPPOSITE ISSUE.

Accidental Caps, but kinda relevant & necessary.

Yo, exact same experience here. They sent me new screws which did fit.

Yeah, I got sent new screws too, but they didn't fit. They were the exact same screws that came in the first place.

If you bork the hole too large, you can always use a hex nut on the bottom of the screw up against the underside of the baseplate. You could actually just do that with a screw that's too small already, but since you have to buy the right nut you may as well just find a screw that fits so that height-adjustment is smooth and hassle-free for life.

write to them again until they get it right. Refer them to this thread as it shows there is a consistent quality control problem with the lippies, but also it shows that there is public awareness of this now....and they should, you know, sort that out.

Dave wrote:Wright to them again until they get it right. refer them to this thread as it shows there is a consitent quality control problem with the lippies, but also it shows that there is public awareness of this now....and they should, you know, sort that out.

That sounds like a good idea. I'll do it.

Also command them to ignore my worse than usual amount of proof reading in my post. 'Wright'... seriously?

Okay, I've finally got the screws to fit, but I've run into another problem; they're too long. I put one in the neck position of my Squier Cyclone, but the screws are too long and pop up way above the pickguard.

wat do

Nevermind, I just used a screwdriver to make a couple of holes where the screws dug in. Fits perfectly now.