GK3 does it really allow 400R? Because it doesn't work for me somehow.

Started by BenjaminS, February 17, 2016, 11:00:44 AM

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BenjaminS

I have a GK3 which i want to adjust to 400R (because that's the radius of my guitar) and the Roland manual states that the GK3 can be adjusted to 400R.
But no matter how far I turn the adjustment screw it won't get flatter than the radius of the outside shape of the pickup (which is 12" I belive).

So actually if turning the screw the outside mags should lift a bit to actually make a flater radius than 12" but that's not the case. It works the other around however (so I can adjust it to have more radius => inner mags are lifted more).

Anyone else noticed that? Can someone send me a picture how it's supposed to look at 400R?

BenjaminS

Anyone? I contacted Roland support and they tell me that 400R indeed is possible but I might have a faulty GK3 which I may have to replace. But I checked with 3 different GK3s (including the 12 pole GK3) and no matter how far left I rotate the screw, the outer E poles (high and low) won't raise. So bascially it's locked to it's default 12 inch radius, just like the GK2A (which I also have as a reference).

I'm really wondering why Roland says it can be adjusted to 400R.

mmmmgtr

The screw raises and lowers the middle poles,  not the end poles. It really doesn't do anything to them.  To flatten the radius you need to turn the screw counter-clockwise thus reducing the height of the middle poles. This causes an overall flattening of the pole radius. Then you need to raise the entire pickup on each end to adjust the string to pole distance. This leaves the pickup casing very close to the strings in the middle. The middle poles will be almost flush with the casing while the end poles will stick up above it resulting in a radius flatter than the 12" of the casing. 

admin

More perspective on GK-3 PU internals 

Roland GK pickup disassembled
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=1527.msg8268#msg8268


Mag Hex PU Reference
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=downloads;sa=downfile&id=41


The stock GK-3 has a 12" radius ( = 304.8R)

Its a battle to make it 400R ( = 15.75" Radius) , because the GK-3 PU Radius Adjust Screw has a tendency to lower only the "D" & "G" poles, and leave the "A" & "B" string poles too tall. 

Tony Raven

Hmm. Okay, stop me when I run into a wall, but here's my conjecture, in no solid order...
  • Remove the metal casing entirely.
  • Shape the baseplate to the necessary curvature.
  • Wrap the pickup in a layer of copper tape.
  • Paint as desired.
I haven't disassembled a GK-3, but I did salvage an abused GK-2A. Doing so, I noted that the tabs of the metal shell went into the plastic baseplate. With some careful prying, I separated the "fuzzy" bottom strip from the actual baseplate, which was quite thin & (in hindsight) should have been quite amenable to any playable string radius.

So, my guess for doing similar to a GK-3 would be to carve a thin, hard base to go against the guitar's body, somehow mount the stripped-down (& maybe shielded) pickup body to this at either end, then use the centre screw to "fine tune" the height or simply put some sort of wedge beneath.

Feasible? :-\

Elantric

Sure why not - folks  have done all that and more as described in the links above

and more here

GK-13 Luthier / DIY Info
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=183.0