Curtis P Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 (edited) I would like to rear route my pickups through the back, so i dont have to put covers around them, but i dont want to loose sustain, would it be ok if i rear routed the pickups, then for the cover, it be a block of wood that fits in the route tightly (not touching the pickup though, maybe 1/4 inch away from the back of it) and then have a laminated peice of wood on top of it with 4 screw holes?? If i use this for each pickup, then it shouldnt kill sustain too much will it?? Or should i just call the rear routes "tone chambers" ?? lol Curtis Edit, I drew a picture in paint, LOL Heres what i mean Edited November 23, 2004 by Curtis P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 You probably won't lose very much sustain at all. The most important part is to keep sufficient wood around the neck joint and the bridge. Carving a pickup-sized mass of wood for each pickup and then attaching each pickup to the top through the back will probably be just fine. On the other hand, if you wanted a simpler method of attaching the pickups without having to use covers or rout space for the mounting ears, you have a couple of options: 1. EMG makes the 81, 85, and 60 in a neat P-90 sized package. They mount directly to the wood with no mounting ears or covers needed. 2. Use DiMarzio pickups that are designed to fit into Parker guitars. They don't have mounting ears either, and retain the classic humbucker look. A screw in each coil is replaced with one that goes through the baseplate and into the wood of the guitar. I think they offer most of their models, with the exception of the Evolution, in the Parker style. I think both options will give you a nice, clean appearance with quality pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 But i already have my pickups Seymour Duncan 59's When i attempted my RRV, it had them, i screwed up, tossed the body to a friend, destroyed the neck, and all the hardware is going into my Jem Thanks Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Well, you could always cut the mounting ears off the '59 and replace a couple of the screws on the "screw" coil with longer screws that will attach directly into the wood. You might be able to find some brass or steel studs to go under the pickup and in the wood. This would allow you to use machine screws to mount the pickup. I think that's how Ed Roman retrofits SD's into Parkers, and I know that's how the JB and Jazz are mounted in the Fly Mojo. Again, I'm not sure how much time or trouble you're willing to put into this, but I think this could be a cleaner and simpler solution instead of carving big holes for the pickups all the way through the body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Well, you could always cut the mounting ears off the '59 and replace a couple of the screws on the "screw" coil with longer screws that will attach directly into the wood. You might be able to find some brass or steel studs to go under the pickup and in the wood. This would allow you to use machine screws to mount the pickup. I think that's how Ed Roman retrofits SD's into Parkers, and I know that's how the JB and Jazz are mounted in the Fly Mojo. I dont really get what you mean, cut the ears off and then what?? Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 cut the ears off and then what?? If you look on the bottom of the pickup you'll notice that the polepiece screws on the "hot" coil go all the way through the baseplate. I'm suggesting that you replace two of those screws, say the A and the B string screws, with longer screws that will screw all the way into the body. It'd be kind of the same way you'd mount an old non-dogear P-90. It would be nearly impossible to get machine screws to firmly attach to the wood itself, so you might try to find some threaded inserts for the body side. This way you can firmly attach the pickup and not worry about it falling out. Just trying to think outside the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Another possibility is to route the body so that the pickups are inserted at an angle (not from behind). This is only good for guitars with a top (doesn't have to be a figured / stained top - just a top piece glued to the body blank). You'd route about an extra 1.5 inch (I'd have to veify this) slot to the right or left of the pickup cavity and make it a bit deeper. The top ends up being a permanent pickguard and the pickups can still be changed at any point. Again - you don't need to have a figured top - this will work fine if you're planning on painting. If you're not able to use a top, you could still do this but I think it gets a bit more tricky. You'd have to make "inserts" to cover the pickup cavity. Certainly can be done but I wouldn't recommend adding that complexity unless you've got a few guitars built already. I did this on my skull guitar. It works fine but you really need to be sure that you can't live with a mounting ring since it's a bit of work. Good luck with it, DaveQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 DaveQ, Will this technique work on a LP style guitar? My concern was being able to get the pickup close enough to the strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 well, i paid 100 bucks a pop for the pickups, and i dont want to be screwin around with the poles peices and ending up ruining my pickups, not that i dont trust what your saying, but hey, 200 bucks plus tax and shipping is alot of money yea know (285 bucks roughley, if my math is right) DaveQ I aint putting a top on, so that isnt an option, thanks for the idea though Well, back to the drawing board Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Hooooly Craaap!! You paid nearly $300 for two Seymour Duncan '59s?! I understand why you're leery to risk ruining them. If you change your mind, maybe you could find a set of cheapo humbuckers to practice with. But hey, I'm just suggesting something that may be a little less complicated than routing bigger holes through the back of the guitar. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Go to Perry's website and look at his double carved guitar, the one he got at the GOTM, I't a hollowed body but if you are going to put a cap on your body you can pull the same thing in a solidbody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 1) There's no way you'd -ever- catch me routing out a neck pkp from the back of the body. 2) The only time I'd even attempt to come in from the back is if I was completely hiding the pkps on purpose, and then I would be giving -ample- space between the neck and neck pkp. 3) If you really paid that much for those pkps, no way would I do it, too much $$$ at stake. The risk factor simply would kill the idea right there. 4) Some ideas you just linger on for awhile, then you let them go. That's what I'd do if I were you, let the moment pass and move on to something more normal and doable within your present abilities. 5) IF I were going to attempt to do something like this, then you'd better believe I'd have every angle of the operation pre-thought out and an answer for everything before I attempted it, since if this isn't done right, it will look like dogsh*t cubed. 6) It will look like a complete and utter hack job if the details are not preplanned out, like EXACTLY how are you going to cover the rear, how EXACTLY are you going to make them fit perfectly in place and not hang there like from a rubber band, and how are you going to get to them, i.e. accessability. If you have the cojones to cover every base and think it out, then you probably have the cojones to pull it off. So, what I'm saying basically, is if you have to ask how to do it, I wouldn't be doing it, you haven't done enough research and spending time on this yourself to cover your bases, so wait for another sunny day. I'd spend several days and look at it every way I could: How are you going to route them out neatly and professionally? How are you going to guarantee that they'll be dead-centered on your strings? How are you going to adjust the height? How are you going to cover the back in a very cool (not hack) manner How are you going to get to them in the future? How are you going to route the top neatly to give a nice clean look? How are you going to route the top neatly -and- be sure that when you route from the rear (neatly too) , that everything lines up for a smooth hassle free installation? How are you going to run the wires? This is just coming off the top of my head, I'm sure there's even more to consider if you pondered it over for a few hours. So bottomline, it's a neat idea, but are you good enough yet to actually do it, or should you backshelf it for a year or so? I've bought wood that I knew I wasn't good enough to do it justice, and let it sit for 3-4 years until I had grown to the point where I knew I could make it shine. Your call. Backing off an idea takes as much guts and maturity sometimes as going thru with it. Personally, I don't like the idea and would look at other alternatives. Just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Well, I didnt really want to use rings, but now that you have said all that Drak, I think the better route would be go with Rings, heck, i will just make em outta metal and paint them the same colour as the guitar, barely even know they are there Thanks Curtis Edit, math was wrong, I paid 240 for them, i just quickly did it in my head today in design class when the net was turned on a no one was looking, but it was still alot of money Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Where do you live? Shipping must kill you. I regularly buy those pkps used for $45.00/ea., have 2 sets here I bought a few years ago still sitting...waiting... Curtis, I'm not trying to scare you off of anything, just because I don't care for that method don't mean nuthin'...but I'm just trying to get -your- head in the right place to pull it off in Monster Truck Stylee if you do decide to give it a try. But also, you can let ideas go, you don't have to pursue ALL your whacky ideas. Just contemplation is good sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 (edited) I think he lives in Edited November 24, 2004 by AlGeeEater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 yep, ontario canada Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 yep, ontario canada Curtis What do i win? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis P Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 \m/ hows that? Thanks for the info guys Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Good enough Curtis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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