Tight

It's not until the recent volume pot replacement of my Ibanez SV5470 that I discovered these rusty/ corroded screws. Still wondering how they deteriorated this bad since the probability of moisture entering those small cavities are remote. Whatever. These were replaced.

This is the cavity view of the said Ibanez SV5470. It's definitely a tight space in there housing 2 control pots, a very big capacitor an a 5-way selector switch. Note that the volume pot there is a push-pull coil split feature which is a little long but it would definitely fit if you designate it at the volume position. I'm saying this because there are techs out there claiming such pots won't ever fit into the shallow cavity of an S-Series guitar. Of course, if you bought the longer shaft version, it won't fit for sure. Stick to the standard version. 

Screw it

Screw A is Ibanez's default pickup mounting screw. Screw B was included in the DiMarzio package. If it's a situation involving a mounting bracket, the difference in length wouldn't be an issue because the pickup is 'floating' in the cavity, there is more than enough clearance to accommodate that extra length. But the situation here is that of a direct mount pickup, meaning, B's extra length would mean it'll go through the body & puncture its rear. If only the manufacturers would observe some standardization.

Screws issue... or is it? (RG3XXV)

In the midst of replacing my RG3XXV's default 5-way selector with a 3-way version, there was a problem screwing the new unit to the guitar. Upon probing into the rear cavity, it's discovered that the body surface at that area wasn't leveled accordingly; so one of the screws could very well fit into the cavity & into the switch's housing but the other couldn't due to excess wood there. The default selector screws were long enough so there wasn't such an issue until this mod took place. Beez had some replacement screws lying around so the matter was settled in no time.

Applause: Duncan's sealed pack

I recently bought Seymour Duncan's humbucker & would like to applaud the manufacturer for keeping the pickup height adjustment screws & springs in a sealed sachet. I've come across rusty units before & had to buy replacements so this is a thoughtful move by the manufacturer.

Wax on!

I have this habit of re-waxing the threads of screws before re-using them. When we do this, the screws move more easily into the cavity & the threads would not gouge out too much wood along the way. This means the screw cavities last longer without having to refill them due to excessive expansion when we repeatedly remove/ insert screws.

Screws, knobs...

My RG1550, nothing new...

New are the knobs & pickguard screws:

• Locking knobs: As depicted above, I prefer these knobs for security; they won't come undone & promote better grip
• Flathead screws: For a flushed feel, no protrusions. The old ones were rusty so I replaced the whole set

The Seymour Duncan pickups in this guitar:

• Neck: Full Shred
• Mid: Classic Stack
• Bridge: Screamin' Demon trembucker