white cover on gk pickup on a roland ready strat

Started by dayn, February 22, 2010, 10:47:55 AM

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dayn

In other words, are they modular? I would like to swap out the black internal gk-2a on one guitar with the white internal gk-2a from my Fender Roland Ready Strat.

Elantric

#1
they are electrically compatible - but different physical shape and each use a different mounting scheme - you will require some pickguard work

referencing our schematics thread here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=73.0

We see the Roland Ready Strat Service Manual
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=73.0;attach=6977

and see that the white Gk pickup with white cover is Fender Part Number # 0047921000 (Pickup Ass'y Roland,)

Call Fender Customer service in Arizona
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/contact-consumer-relations/
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Attn: Consumer Relations Dept.
17600 N. Perimeter Drive, Suite 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Telephone: (480) 596-7195
Fax: (480) 367-5262
E-mail: consumerrelations@fender.com

Call and ask them to sell you a replacement part  -  Fender Part Number # 0047921000 (Pickup Ass'y Roland,)

dayn

Thanks for the reply. The shape and mounting won't be a problem.

Are they modular, as in the pickup just unplugs from a preamp board. or are they soldered on with 6 wires?

(I haven't seen the inside of either to see how they attach to the preamp board)

dayn

I looked at the Roland manuals for internal GK kits and I think I answered my own question.

That is, if the white internal GK pickup mounts to the preamp board int he same way as the kit does (8-pin connector).

Elantric

#4
QuoteAre they modular, as in the pickup just unplugs from a preamp board.


Correct!


I have a custom Strat with Roland GK-2A Internal KIT. But I ordered from Fender a Roland Ready Hex Pickup with white cover.  It plugged straight in to the GK-2A internal KIT.


Fender Customer service in Arizona
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Attn: Consumer Relations Dept.
17600 N. Perimeter Drive, Suite 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Telephone: (480) 596-7195
Fax: (480) 367-5262
E-mail: consumerrelations@fender.com

dayn

How much did Fender charge for the white Roland pickup?

Bender

Wow, you can order that direct from Fender?  I'm in the process of putting together the spec of a custom-built strat and would definitely prefer a white one.

admin

#7
I had to order the PU with white cover.

I got mine in 1998, and paid $75.

Just call Fender Parts and order the hex PU to the Roland Ready Strat.

Its Actually a Roland Part - and connects directly to the GK-2A / GK-3A internal PC board.


Fender Customer service in Arizona
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Attn: Consumer Relations Dept.
17600 N. Perimeter Drive, Suite 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Telephone: (480) 596-7195
Fax: (480) 367-5262
E-mail: consumerrelations@fender.com

Bender

Whoa! Thanks, never thought of that.  I much prefer a white one, even if it costs me $75 extra.

admin

me too.

You might have to rattle a few cages at Fender and be patient, - typically an Authorized Fender Repair Facility can order this for you. It will be lower cost the higher up the food chain you can go!
Contact Fender in  Scottsdale, Arizona!

dayn


Elantric

I ordered mine from Fender.

Call Scottsdale, and tell them you need a Gk pickup with cover from the Roland ready Strat

dayn


Bryan Michael

I am modding my Fender RR strat with a new pickguard and I would like to change the pickup color to BLACK on the pickups, this is easy with the single coils, but the fender "encapsulated" Roland pickup is WHITE.  Can I just PAINT this thing and then add a light matte finish clear coat (so it won't wear off) ?  Will this affect the pickup in any way?  I can't imagine it would make much difference!?


paults

I have a couple of black pickups that I have not installed ( from your choice of the GK2 or GK3 kits). I would trade one of them for your white pickup.

I also have the black S1 and S2 push buttons. 

Paul


musicman65

How about painting a GK3 White? The internal GK kit is black and looks terrible on a white pickups on white pickguard configuration.

Bd in tn
.

Bryan Michael

Quote from:  paults on August 11, 2010, 08:27:01 AM
I have a couple of black pickups that I have not installed ( from your choice of the GK2 or GK3 kits). I would trade one of them for your white pickup.

I also have the black S1 and S2 push buttons. 

Paul



That's funny Paul, because I see you are in the REGANOMICS and I TOO am here in Columbus!
I used to play in Milkbone Eddie and then in The RadioHounds back in the 90's (bassist), but had "retired" in 2001. So maybe we should hook up and see what works.  I think I would be interested in the GK3 kit piece simply for the added adjustability of the pickup.  My only PROBLEM is that I have the RR pickguard with the slot for the covered Fender pickup- would the GK  pickup cover that slot?  I just got a custom mint green pickguard made for me by CHandler too so I need to be able to make that work... ?

Send me a PM- I live in Grandview/Arlington area
THANKS! 
B

Bryan Michael

Thanks again to Paul for calling me and offering to let me swap out for one of the GK's he has.  Very nice!

That said, let me tell all of you that swapping pickguards on a Roland Ready strat is not as easy as it seems.

First of all, the tolerances on the backside of the pickguard are very small indeed!  It's very difficult to just lift the thing up to see all of the wires, leave alone get in there to change anything.  Secondly, the A/B switches are screwed into two spacing blocks that are GLUED to the pickguard top and are HELL to take off!  I had to flex the pickguard back and forth until the glued parts "loosened" and then I could pry them off. 

In the meantime, the wires from the GK kit are HAIR THIN and they easily snapped off of the switches with the slightest movement.  In fact, one of them was barely soldered onto the switch to begin with!  It was hanging by a hair strand.  and lastly, there was one wire (black) that was already broken off of the synth volume control as soon as I lifted the pickguard off.  AGain, it looked as if it were barely hanging on with a poorly executed cold solder joint. 

IMO, it is a wonder that my RR strat functioned at all when it was in it's original state. So I gently took up the plastic cover off of the Fender GK pickup (it just snapped off quite easily and was easy to put back on, it's very thin and I was glad to see that it was a cover that could be easily taken on and off.)

I painted it with several coats of FLAT BLACK model paint and then three coats of matte "dull coat" which is a type of clear coat.  I thought I was done as it looked PERFECT.  BUT unfortunately....tragedy struck.  More later as I am on vacation.

gumbo

...hmmm...

...waiting to hear the outcome on this one as I'm about to do the same thing when the new tort pickguard goes on my RR..

..what went wrong???       :o
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

maxdaddy

Applying a tiny layer of paint to the pickup shouldn't make any difference at all. Just think of all of the pickups that have been designed and built over the years with plastic or metal pickup covers that don't even expose the pole-pieces.

I had to apply a piece of tape onto my GK3 because the adjuster screw must have stripped out underneath because the pole-pieces kept working their way loose and magnetically "sticking" to the strings. That makes an AWFUL sound, I assure you.

My solution was to apply a piece of tape (electrical/duct type of thing) over the top of the pickup, including the pole-pieces to hold everything in place. The pickup works fine, just as it did before except no flopping around pole-pieces. I'll post a picture if anybody's interested, but it looks just like you would imagine a narrow piece of tape stuck onto a GK3 would look.

I can't possibly see how a microscopic layer of paint is going to hurt the behavior of the pickup. If it concerns you to have paint on the pole-pieces, just scrape the paint off of them after it dries. 

good luck
dave

erikbojerik

Being a luthier and huge VG-99 fan, I am of course now planning on a GK internal kit install into a custom guitar I will build this year - buckeye burl top with birdseye maple neck.  It will have no other pickups to mar the appearance of the top, only the GK internal.

Problem is, I don't want a big black pickup to distract from the top wood - so I would like to obtain the white plastic pickup cover used on Fender GK-equipped Strats - then paint it to match the top wood.  Problem is, neither Roland nor Fender offer these for sale.

Other than buying a GK Strat or its body, anyone know how to obtain one of these pickup covers?

Elantric

#21
QuoteI would like to obtain the white plastic pickup cover used on Fender GK-equipped Strats -

I got mine thru fender parts department  -  but I had to order the whole PU - there is a Fender part number for the Hex PU to a Roland Ready Strat - Today you might have to order it thru a Fender Warranty Repair Center.

I put it on my Franken Strat (a.k.a "the sum total of the doctors mistakes")



(people ask - thats Robin Trower's signature )

(Wait  - this might belong in the "Our Failure" Thread





erikbojerik

Yes, a Fender Custom Shop guy told me they order them for warranty work.  I have a stock MIM Strat so I'll ping them to see if I can order one on that basis.

stupendousman

#23
All I see for sale online have the black GK's.

Is there any way to get white, or is that the exclusive of the Roland-Ready Strats?

drjoness2001

The Roland-Ready uses a white plastic cover over the black pickup.

This plastic cover negatively impacts the ability of the GK-3 to track.

Wayne