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Hi, I recently purchased an Epiphone Emperior Regent and something fell out of it while in the process of cleaning it.
I was wiping under and around the floating pickup and heard something hit the floor. When I picked it up, I found that it was a very small rosewood shim. I tried my best to figure out where it came from, but couldn't find a likely place where it should go. I assumed under the pickup, but when I placed it there, it simply fell out, and so I gave up trying.
With that said, here's a picture of the shim sitting on top of the guitar. I removed the floating pickup to see if I couldn't locate any markings where the shim could have originally been placed;
PS. There is what seems like, a small Sharpie mark in the center under the pickup location - I suspect this was done at the factoryLast edited by JohnBee; 07-29-2018 at 07:53 AM.
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07-29-2018 07:36 AM
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Did it fall OUT of the guitar or OFF the guitar? Big difference and I'll assume you mean that it fell off the top surface, not out of the f-hole.
Without seeing the other components such as the bridge, pickguard, and pickup, it's hard to know what this is. Something that keeps the pickup firmly resting on the top - although not typically desirable - might be possible. Also it could be something that was affixed to the bottom side of the pickguard, especially near where it attaches to the neck.
Post pics of the other parts and something may be revealed.
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Hey thanks for the reply. To be honest, I really can't say for sure, as I didn't physically see it fall.
What I do know however, is that it fell out while I was pulling-up on the floating pickup slightly to get the cloth under it. And so I assumed it was related.
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Welcome to the forum.
The original pickup seems to have been removed from its neck bracket.
Do you have any pickup mounted on the pick guard?
They usually come with a neck mounted pickup, not on the pick guard and it seems the previous owner let the bracket there.
The sharpie mark is clearly not from factory and the rosewood shim probably to secure the pickup assembly!Last edited by vinlander; 07-29-2018 at 07:51 AM. Reason: precision
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Since it came out as you were pulling up on the pick up it could be a shim to keep the pup level or positioned in some way? If all is well now I'd toss it in the case and forget it if the mystery is left unsolved.
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Strange thing about the Sharpie mark(no clue if that's what it is), is that it's deep under the finish. And so I'm thinking it was made during the construction - it consists of a small circle.
PS. I removed the floating pickup to try and identify any type of marking or otherwise that could indicate where the spacer might have resided before it fell out.
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It is a Combak Mojo Tuning Dot. Now that your guitar has lost its combak mojo, what are ya gonna do?
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Could you send a picture of the pickup? How is it attached? To the pickguard? If so, that piece could very well be what keeps the pickup itself from hitting the top, though a piece of felt would be more effective. The pickguard too, needs to clear the top and that little piece could very well be off the pickguard. It's hard to tell with the pieces you have in the picture. Look on the bottom of the pick guard for tell tale signs of glue undone. And let me know what kind of pickup that is and how it's attached. If it's a pickguard mount, then that little sawn off U shaped bracket is non functional and could/should be removed in my opinion. It's kind of harmless though but kind of silly at the same time.
Some more pictures would be helpful.
Thanks
David
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Here are a couple more pics.
There were a couple of screws(not shown) that were used to attached the pick-guard. The first is a wood screw with a black plastic spacer, and the second is a nut and bolt assembly used to attach onto the bracket - I forgot to include them in the picture
With that said, I carefully examined the small block using my magnifier and determined that it was not broken, but more accurately cut to size. Though I can't figure out where it could have been placed lol
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My guess is that it is a shim that holds the pickup in place and parallel to the strings. Floating pickups are often floating on an angle and shims are used to level them.
Originally Posted by JohnBee
That my 2 cents.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Yup, that is a replacement for the original. You can remove the vestiges of the old pickup from the neck. I agree with Doublea A that it's a placement spacer. I don't necessarily agree with the idea though, but there it is. Personally, I'd go with a substantial firmly mounted wood pickguard with all attachments solid and no need for a spacer. I don't like anything touching the top and you may very well find that one note that sets the whole shebang resonating, or at the very least is dampened by an object touching. Oh well.
Yeah I think that wood wedges the floater and keeps it from flopping onto the vibrating top. It's there for a purpose.
That's my ignorant opinion anyway.
David
Wait wait... can I see a better picture of the leading edge of that pickup? Is that the broken off surface of the original pickup patched up and mounted micky mouse style on the pickguard? Gosh. Gee wiz. If so, maybe consider a benedetto, armstrong or Gibson JS at some point in the future. VAST improvement over the epi stock.
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I just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions and ideas.
With that said, I just got word back from the original seller, who confirmed that this is indeed a shim used to fine-tune the pick-up position. Mainly the low e-string side and bass response.
On the matter of resonance and interference, I've learned that the sound characteristics of a guitar top decreases significantly as it nears the neck region. And that a shim in this location wouldn't likely change the resonance characteristics of a laminate top. Though this could easily be verified with an oscilloscope and transducers. And so, if anyone's interested, I could setup a quick experiment to challenge this particular topic - who knows, we might just uncover something helpful.
PS. Thanks again for the great feedback, and the warm welcome. I'll most definitely be spending more time here as my adventure continues to unfold.
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Somehow true considering that area is very close to the neck heel block anyway. Originally Posted by JohnBee
We can see it from the pickup hole I routed on my former butchered Regent and also how thick is the laminated top...
I doubt that a shim would be doing much vibration wise at that location
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Same thing happened to me . . . while I was showering . . . something fell off . . . and I'm not sure what it is . . . but it does look vaguely familiar . . .
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That was the jazz residue. It builds up after a few months of #11s and needs to be removed.
Make sure it doesn’t come into contact with the water supply.
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You play jazzguitar often in shower? Many just sing. Originally Posted by DRS
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Is it from that dark area from underneath of that end of a loose tape?
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The same thing happened to me once and I was sure it was a piece of bracing from the sides to the back or the top (not x-braces or parallel braces) and it turns it out it was also a shim that was in there temporarily during a re-fret. That was on a mounted pickup guitar, not a floater.
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Now that was a stupid totally inappropriate thing to say. And it made me LOL. Shame on me, too....... Originally Posted by DRS
In both cases, whatever it is, it probably doesn't matter.
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Totally agree. I had a sliver of unfinished wood fall out of my Cole Clark. Can only assume it had fallen in at the factory, but all is well without it and it now sits in my guitar case as a keepsake Originally Posted by 73Fender
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What amused me was that you said whilst cleaning - yet you appear to have dismantled the entire guitar!
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Someone bought a used archtop guitar and whilst cleaning it a small baggie fell out of the f-hole. He rolled it up and smoked it. And it was some of the finest shit he ever had. The last owner stuck a baggie under the top and forgot about it. I still get a big grin thinking about it today.
An Italian friend had someone send him a daub of hashish hidden behind a large sticker and its backing. Got past USPS. It was good hash, too. Thanks, Fabio.
I am not suggesting that the OP try smoking it but that black blob does look like opium or hashish to me.
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Jazz residue has a similar effect to hashish.
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The dismantling took place after the spacer fell off the guitar Originally Posted by guitar_65riff
What amused me was that you said whilst cleaning - yet you appear to have dismantled the entire guitar!
Though I'm somewhat glad I took it apart, as it gave me the opportunity to get familiar with the guitar.
So far, it looks like it needs some new tuners, top nut, and input jack. Not sure about the controls. The original owner played a few chords while I was there - and it sounded fine
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According to the original owner, the spacer goes toward the low e-string end of the pickup to adjust the height. Originally Posted by Herbie
Is it from that dark area from underneath of that end of a loose tape?
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