SGFanboy42 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Hey everyone, So having just completed my SG kit for the most part I've decided that I want to build a Les Paul Kit for my next build. The only problem is that I'm not a fan of the input jack being on the side and want to relocate it to the top. The thing I'm worried about is that since I want to stain the guitar I don't know how visible the difference between the body and plug would be. On top of this no custom kit maker can make a body with this mod, I'm admittedly a little off put about that.... Does anyone have any tips for plugging holes? I was thinking of either drilling the new hole with some kind of bit that leaves a core that I can just glue in, or finding a mahogany wood dowel and cutting that down to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Just now, SGFanboy42 said: I don't know how visible the difference between the body and plug would be. Hint: Look at S-type guitars of the colour you're planning. There's plenty of images available. 1 minute ago, SGFanboy42 said: Does anyone have any tips for plugging holes? Make it visible! I mean, get a plug drill of the right size and a piece of nicely contrasting wood and make the plug as a decorative item. You may even cover the entire rim with plugs, or just a few like one on the mirroring side, maybe ones for the strap buttons. Unless you're going to paint the guitar hiding the plugs as if they don't exist is a very difficult dark art. If you pay attention to the grain direction of the plug it may look even more like a planned. I can think about a few ghetto mods as well, such as a cork or a beer bottle cap, or a cabinet door knob. Or something with your logo. Actually, if you plan to become a professional builder that would be a unique trade mark for you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: Hint: Look at S-type guitars of the colour you're planning. There's plenty of images available. Make it visible! I mean, get a plug drill of the right size and a piece of nicely contrasting wood and make the plug as a decorative item. You may even cover the entire rim with plugs, or just a few like one on the mirroring side, maybe ones for the strap buttons. Unless you're going to paint the guitar hiding the plugs as if they don't exist is a very difficult dark art. If you pay attention to the grain direction of the plug it may look even more like a planned. I can think about a few ghetto mods as well, such as a cork or a beer bottle cap, or a cabinet door knob. Or something with your logo. Actually, if you plan to become a professional builder that would be a unique trade mark for you! Thanks I didn't think about doing this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 AFA jack... I'd go look at ibanez. Not sure it would look great to have a strat style jack on a gibson. nor would it look great to have an sg style... IMO. afa edge... that's a great suggestion from bizman, you could also consider doing an edge banding like they do on the gretsch, or possibly just doing a jack in both places. just some alternative thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, mistermikev said: Not sure it would look great to have a strat style jack on a gibson. Actually, now that I think about it I really just need the jack out of the way. I could move the jack further back or even onto the back of the guitar. I could only use 90 degree plugs if I drill it onto the back but I like those plugs anyway. IMO though an SG style output jack would look kind of like a solidbody ES. I'm not a fan of Strat jacks either, I just like a small hole on the front. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 if you are like me... then the issue is you hold the guitar like a classical... between the legs... for that reason lots of jacks get in my way... for a lp type guitar... I just use a 90 degree jack on the cable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, mistermikev said: then the issue is you hold the guitar like a classical... between the legs It's not exactly classical, I prop the guitars lower bout on my lap, it brings the neck up so my wrist is straight. So yeah, on most guitars the jack is right where my knee rests. I just had an idea: what if I drilled out the control cavity cover and mounted the jack there? I have a Les Paul Style guitar and if I were to drill the hole just off center and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, SGFanboy42 said: It's not exactly classical, I prop the guitars lower bout on my lap, it brings the neck up so my wrist is straight. So yeah, on most guitars the jack is right where my knee rests. I just had an idea: what if I drilled out the control cavity cover and mounted the jack there? I have a Les Paul Style guitar and if I were to drill the hole just off center and back. could totally work. If I was going to do that... then I would DEF go for the strat jack. just cut a hole and voilla. you would have to check it to ensure it didn't bump into anything on the inside, and if you take off your rear cover youd either have to be able to remove the wires on the jack quickly (could be done with simple auto industry quick connectors) or otherwise leave them connected. could be done... and it'd be kinda cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 I had to re-read your original post... So you've built an SG where the jack is on the top aligned with the neck pickup pots, and now you're planning something similar to an LP build. Did I get that right? Having the plug protruding in the back sounds like potential issues to me, even the 90 deg one might get caught in your belt or zipper while gigging and fall off. Supposing my El-Pish has the cavity roughly in the ballpark, a jack might fit between the bridge pickup pots, especially the tube style one. An option might be a T-type cup plate for the jack, either press fit or screw fastened. That would require only drilling a fitting hole on the front and a hole for the wires through the control cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 7 hours ago, Bizman62 said: So you've built an SG where the jack is on the top aligned with the neck pickup pots, and now you're planning something similar to an LP build. So I built the SG from a kit which I chose because the jack placement on the guitar doesn't interfere with my playing style. I've been attracted to a Les Paul style kit and now that I've gotten my feet wet with precision drilling I want to build kits and mod them to my playing style rather than having to mod my playing style around them. 7 hours ago, Bizman62 said: T-type cup plate for the jack That looks interesting, especially in the image. I was thinking drilling between the two tone pickups and placing my jack just aft of them. I'm still interested in drilling the jack hole through the control cavity plate. I don't have to drill though the wood and at least for right now I'm not planning on doing too much gigging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 you might consider doing a google search on "jack on back of guitar" to get some ideas of how you'd work that out... on the jem... it's on the side but dif than typical... works rather well for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 10 hours ago, mistermikev said: on the jem... it's on the side but dif than typical... The Jem seems interesting but how do you set the guitar down if its plugged in? The guitar will rest on the cable if you set it down. Thinking about it more I like the idea of putting one of these Electrosocket tele cups and installing it to the front: https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Jack_Plates/Electrosocket_Jack_Mount.html It's a support for the output jack and I could even flush mount if I want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 Surprisingly the jem doesn't have any issues going on a guitar strand... that is the closest to setting it down I ever come! the tele cups are nice... if you were gonna go that route I'd def go for an electrosocket. esp since mounting the typical tele cup with the jam washer might be a pain. then again the electrosocket has to screw into something. hopefully you'd have enough room for either going in from the top... you might want to check that because the jack itself is 3/4", plus the cup which is somewhere around 3/4". I guess in a les paul you should have enough room... but then the 1/4" plug will stick out beyond the end of the 1/4" jack so... you'll have to do some measuring to make sure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGFanboy42 Posted August 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 10 minutes ago, mistermikev said: that is the closest to setting it down I ever come! Nice lol! So once I work out where to place the jack and the angles to drill at I was planning on starting with a jack-socket sized drill hole straight down. There should be plenty of room to drill down, those mono jacks aren't too deep. Then hopefully my spatial reasoning and measurements are good because then I'm gonna drill another hole from the cavity to the hole... ...At least that's ideal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 5 hours ago, mistermikev said: then again the electrosocket has to screw into something. There's also push-in versions similar to the bushings for bridge posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: There's also push-in versions similar to the bushings for bridge posts. "tele cup with the jam washer" - you mean these or an actual ribbed insert? I've never seen that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 Ribbed. As far as I understand, this type is the original before the cheaper jam washer type. They're available in many places including: https://reverb.com/item/21502795-machined-brass-press-fit-recessed-jack-plate-cup-w-switchcraft-jack-for-telecaster-tele-guitar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 wow, never seen those. question is... who's pleasure are they for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 2 minutes ago, mistermikev said: who's pleasure are they for? As it says in the description, that's reminiscent to the early model used in the Broadcasters and early Teles, so obviously that serves as a spare part for restorations of those vintage instruments as well as for those who want to build a replica. And of course in this case a fellow builder may like one for his LP top mounted jack. Personally I prefer the screw fastened bowl just because of the shape. Other than that I can't see any issue with either one in a solid body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 pretty sure "reminiscent to the early model" is an extremely liberal use of that phrase. Judges? that said they are cool looking... might have to try one some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 29 minutes ago, mistermikev said: pretty sure "reminiscent to the early model" is an extremely liberal use of that phrase. Tried to find evidence and found this: https://artisanguitars.com/1951-fender-nocaster-blackguard-all-original-pre-telecaster-id-5925 To me it looks like the rim on it is thicker than that of the nickel cup. Original style or not, machined brass certainly sounds more valuable than nickel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: Tried to find evidence and found this: https://artisanguitars.com/1951-fender-nocaster-blackguard-all-original-pre-telecaster-id-5925 To me it looks like the rim on it is thicker than that of the nickel cup. Original style or not, machined brass certainly sounds more valuable than nickel. I'm guessing that's a jam washer style but admittedly it's closer than I thought. Used to seeing the well rounded 'tub' style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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