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[Alkaline]

Righto, i'm in the middle of working on my custom tele and i'm installing a Seymour Duncan Hotrails Bridge pickup. When i slotted it into the bridge it seemed like a fairly tight fit. I thought, fair enough, til i looked at it and it appears to have ripped the black insulating material covering the coil. So now the coil is actually touching the bridge plate :S

What are my options? Is this situation going to cause unwanted hum, possible electric shocks etc or am i worrying over nothing.

post pictures and we'll be able to see. If you've shorted a ground connection to the bridge you may get ground loops (hum) if you already have the bridge grounded. if you have connected the live side of the pickup to the bridge and it is earthed you won't get any signal through. If you havn't connected the bridge to earth and the live side is connected to the bridge then that's bad...

However, i'm not sure what you mean by insulating material. i have a strat style hot rail, but it's a different shape than the tele bridge ones. A picture is best.

[Alkaline]

Originally Posted by lime ruined my life

post pictures and we'll be able to see. If you've shorted a ground connection to the bridge you may get ground loops (hum) if you already have the bridge grounded. if you have connected the live side of the pickup to the bridge and it is earthed you won't get any signal through. If you havn't connected the bridge to earth and the live side is connected to the bridge then that's bad...

However, i'm not sure what you mean by insulating material. i have a strat style hot rail, but it's a different shape than the tele bridge ones. A picture is best.

I can't post a picture just now but what i mean by insulating material is the black webbed material that is wrapped around the copper coil of the pick-up.

this is the tele bridge humbucker:


the black material is split and the bare copper coil is actually touching the metal of the bridge can (i assume you know what a tele bridge is like).

Its not wired yet, i'm still working on the body, i just thought i'd load it into the bridge just now.

[britheguy]

Try contacting Andy at 'Wizard Pickups' He's a nice guy and will give you good advice.

[GraemeC]

The tape is there to protect the windings...my first concern would be that I had damaged the wire...
Its not a good idea for the windings to be touching any metal part of the guitar...although electric shock is unlikely.

G...

[skuzzlebutt]

Originally Posted by Alkaline

I can't post a picture just now but what i mean by insulating material is the black webbed material that is wrapped around the copper coil of the pick-up.

the black material is split and the bare copper coil is actually touching the metal of the bridge can (i assume you know what a tele bridge is like).

Its not wired yet, i'm still working on the body, i just thought i'd load it into the bridge just now.

if any part of the coil is short to the bridge, which is usually grounded, you are going to have a very fine stealth cool rails pick up... inasmuch as you will hear fuck all.... you wont damage anything by trying them as the currents induced in a pick up are fuck all... although i guess if some part of the bridge is making contact to your coils the vibes associated with playing the guitar might break the coil and you end up with a cool rails pu with an open circuit...

as for electric shock, although not entirely impossible is unlikely, and would certainly rely on a fault else where in the amp/ guitar/hook up... the fact that the pick up is shorted to the bridge isnt going to make a whole lot of difference as a live bridge in a fault condition would probably kill you first...

judging by the pu, the pu is a bonifide tele bridge pick up....why isnt it fitting would seem to be the important issue here?

i trust the above is of some help, but it is hard to appreciate exactly what the situation without a pic....

[Doc Ascension]

electric shock shouldn't be possible... but you may have damaged the coils which will possibly have ruined the pickup... those things are delicate :S

[Jeid]

This may seem like a silly question, but when affixing the pickup to the bridge, you didn't tighten one screw more before tightening the othersWhich would possibly put the pickup in at a tight angle hence the coil touching.)

[Alkaline]

Originally Posted by Doc Ascension

electric shock shouldn't be possible... but you may have damaged the coils which will possibly have ruined the pickup... those things are delicate :S

If so i'm sending the thing straight back to seymour duncan, thats the second telecaster bridge its been attempted through. The first it wouldn't go through at all, the second was tight as fuck. Granted they're not 'fender' telecaster bridges but it ain't just fender who make telecasters and the pickup doesn't claim to be fender specific :S

I don't think the coil is damaged, the material just seems to be ruffled against it.

[Alkaline]

Originally Posted by Eriatarka

This may seem like a silly question, but when affixing the pickup to the bridge, you didn't tighten one screw more before tightening the othersWhich would possibly put the pickup in at a tight angle hence the coil touching.)

Nope. made sure i gave each an equal amount of slack. I'm at a loss here