Suggestions for removing PUP w/double stick tape-CLOSE-DONE!

[Al Vesel]

Would anyone have any suggestions for me??

I received a pedal steel, and I want to change out the pickup. There is really not much room around the pickup to work with. It is a tight fit, with no mounting bolts. It seems to me that the pickup is just being held on with double stick tape. The pickup is just a little bit smaller than the mouting area where it sits. So therefore I really don't have much room to get at it.

I tried to pull on it upward to release the double stick tape. It is stronger than I thought. I have just enough room to get a small bladed screwdriver on one side. I tried to pry it up, but it's stubborn.
I don't want to pry up too hard for fear of breaking something.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A SUGGESTION HOW TO LOOSEN UP THE PICK UP SO I CAN JUST PULL UP AND TAKE IT OUT?

Do i dare use a hair dryer? Will that soften up the double stick tape and make it easier for t he pickup to release from the double stick tape?

Any suggestions on how to get the pickup out would be greatly appreciated.

TXS

Al Vesel
alvesel@mchsi.com (email address)
phone: 218-254-2082

[Jason Hull]

Are you sure it's not screwed down, maybe from the bottom? If it really is just taped in, then you could try the hair dryer, but if the fit is really tight you might not be able to get enough hot air to the tape. You should be using a spring hook, or similar bent tool, to grab the pickup from the bottom, rather than prying it from the side. You could even drill a small hole under the pickup and push it out. There is a way to get it out, so don't damage your instrument trying. If you can't do it yourself, find a luthier.

[Gianni Gori]

DON'T use any hair dryer or anything hot on the pickup!!! You risk causing the wax to melt!
Pickup coils are often sealed with wax, in order to prevent it to be "microphonic". Hot air may damage the pickup without really softening the tape...

If you have enough room for inserting a small screwdriver between the pickup and its routing, you may get or make a tool with an "L" shape and insert it on its narrow side and then rotate it inserting the blade under the pickup, then use it as a lever to raise the pickup carefully.

An old small screwdriver warmed "to red" on a flame for a few (even on your kitchen stove) and then bent with clamp or plier may work for this purpose....

[Andrew Noecker]

Try sliding some dental floss under the pickup and "sawing" off the double stick, or simply lifting up.

[Gianni Gori]

Great idea!
Actually I'm not sure the dental floss will be coarse enough to saw the double stick tape or strong enough to lift the pickup...
But something like THIS will surely work! Or even a thin wound old string.

[Bob Tuttle]

Al, What kind of steel is this pickup on?

[Lee Baucum]

I have heard of people using clear silicone sealant to attach a pickup to the top of the guitar. It may be tough to break that bond.

[Chuck Snider]

If you have any small Allen wrenches that are "L" shaped, you might try placing the short end of the "L" into the gap beside the pickup, and then turning it 90 degrees so that the short end of the wrench is rotated underneath the pickup. Then you might be able to use it to lift it off. To avoid scratching or marring the surface, you might want to mask off the surface around the opening where the pickup sits. Not sure I would want to use that abrasive cord from Stewart-McDonald as it might remove some areas you didn't want removed.

Good luck,

-Chuck

[Gianni Gori]

I had thought about allen wrenches as well. A bent screwdriver surely offers a better grip, in case the tapes is really sticky...

About the abrasive cord, it all depends on how freely you can move in the narrow space you have. The masking tape will surely help.

[mike nolan]

Al,
Some old MSA guitars mounted the pickup with screws from the underside.... maybe others did this as well. Check that first.

[Jerry Roller]

Al, like I already told you I think the pickup is held in you "BMI" with Velcro. My advise is to stick duct tape to the side of the pickup near one end and pull it loose with the duct tape. I have used this method with scotch tape to pull dents out of speaker aluminum cone covers and I believe the duct tape will grip tight enough to pull the pickup out.
Jerry

[Al Vesel]

Jerry,
I posted this before I emailed you. Anyway, I talked to the guy who thinks he installed it over 20 years ago and he said he never would have used velcro. he said it would be double stick tape, Jerry.

So I will think on all of your suggestions. I am sure I will figure it out. I just didn't want to mess up the pup.

TXS everyone,

Al

[Al Vesel]

Bob, You can close this one!!!

I got er' done!! I did pour a lot of goo be gone around it and let it sit for around 1/2 hour. Then I used a .012 steel string and somehow worked it under the pickup and kept sawing. I didn't want to go all the way for fear of cutting the lead wire. So I sawed about 3/4 of the way with the guitar string and then I taped the end of a 1-1/4" putty knife to protect the chrome housing and pried upp the pickup very very carefully. Still looks great.

TXS to all that helped and for all the good tips.

Al

[Jerry Roller]

Way to go Al, great!
Jerry