Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I was wondering if anyone has any one can point me to information regarding pickups in the soapbar format? I'm not looking so much for the sound of the soapbar as pickups that fit the design - humbuckers, single coils etc. I've seen a few models that Dimarzio carries but are there any other manufacturers that offer their pickups in this form factor? My main interest in the format is, admittedly, aesthetic. I love the clean look of the soapbar - no pickup rings and a route that fits perfectly around the pickup. A good example can be found at Zachary Guitars Z2-T model. He makes his own but does not sell them. Thanks, Robert Irizarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Erm...eh? 'Soapbar' means P-90 single coil, to me; there are a few humbuckers (Stacked, generally) that are designed as drop-ins for those who don't like the P-90 sound, but that's it. I've never seen 'design specs' for stacked P-90s or similar anywhere, nothing detailed. All the usual suspects make several models, stacked and regular, so I guess my question is: what is it you're after? Do you want to make your own? There are a few discussions re: stacked buckers to be found, use search, see if that helps. Also simply google for 'pickup making' and/or pickup design, and see what comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Erm...eh? 'Soapbar' means P-90 single coil, to me; there are a few humbuckers (Stacked, generally) that are designed as drop-ins for those who don't like the P-90 sound, but that's it. I've never seen 'design specs' for stacked P-90s or similar anywhere, nothing detailed. All the usual suspects make several models, stacked and regular, so I guess my question is: what is it you're after? Do you want to make your own? There are a few discussions re: stacked buckers to be found, use search, see if that helps. Also simply google for 'pickup making' and/or pickup design, and see what comes up. I'm not looking to make my own - I simply prefer the look of a soapbar and the way it looks mounted on the guitar - I'm after its form. If and when I attempt my first build, I'd like to make use of the soapbar's shape and means of mounting. It doesn't require pickup rings and the routing conforms to its shape unlike a conventional humbucker which has ears that require routing for them. As I mentioned, I'm simply looking at the shape for its aesthetic value. The link I provided in my original post shows the look I'm after. Obviously, this is not a critical component to a design but I tend to like clean designs and this is about as clean as it gets in terms of pickup mounting. Thanks, Robert Irizarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Try www.skguitar.com and click Custom Pickups, Rewind & Repair. If you scroll down you find a VERY interesting pickup that is designed to fit in a P-90 rout. It should be possible to add a P-90 cover on that one. Drop Steven a mail and ask. He is usualy very quick to answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I think he's just looking for that 'bare' look, no pickguard ( ), no rings. Not necessarily the P90 form factor or look. I'm sure there are ways of achieving something similar with humbuckers too...time to put the thinking cap on. Since I like the sound of P90s, I'd just go with...P90s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I think he's just looking for that 'bare' look, no pickguard ( ), no rings. Not necessarily the P90 form factor or look. I'm sure there are ways of achieving something similar with humbuckers too...time to put the thinking cap on. Since I like the sound of P90s, I'd just go with...P90s That's exactly it! I chose the P90 form because it doesn't have ears which means it fits snugly in its route - no pickguards, no rings, etc. (Sorry, about no pickguard - ) If I could use conventional humbuckers or preferably single coils to get this clean look I would definitely do that. Somewhere, I saw a guitar that appeared to have the pickups mounted from the back so that all you saw from the front was the pickup and the two screws necessary to hold them in place. Has anyone seen this? (I wish I had saved the link.) I would certainly go for something like that if I could get an idea of how to approach it. I suppose I could just route out a cavity in the back of the guitar and drop them through that way... Thanks! Robert Irizarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I saw someone who rear-routed their pickup cavity on here, it looked like how I think you want it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I saw someone who rear-routed their pickup cavity on here, it looked like how I think you want it to. Sounds good! I'll dig around some more. Thanks, Robert Irizarry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 (edited) I saw someone who rear-routed their pickup cavity on here, it looked like how I think you want it to. Sounds good! I'll dig around some more. Thanks, Robert Irizarry Yeah, I looked, but I couldn't find it. It had a rosette (it was a solidbody) and had string trees behind the bridge. Edited February 20, 2006 by JohnA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Rhoads (Perry Ormsby) and VDL (Alex VanderLinde) have both posted guitars here with front loading, earless pickup routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Parker uses earless pickups and replaces 2(?) pole piece screws with longer ones that screw into the body. Or so I've been told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 DiMarzio offers several humbuckers in the P-90 format, including the Tone Zone and Super Distortion, which are nice bridge pickups. I didn't see any neck pickups that called to me, though... no PAF Pro or Air Norton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Rhoads (Perry Ormsby) and VDL (Alex VanderLinde) have both posted guitars here with front loading, earless pickup routes. Thanks! I started digging around further and came across this thread - Guitar of the Month March. Scroll down to erikbojerik's submission. A cavity was rear routed and the pickups mounted through - eliminating pickup rings and pickguards in the process. I'm still looking for Perry Ormsby's post but in the meanwhile, I looked on his site and found the guitar where I first saw this example - Ormsby Vine. Its not the best image (a bit small) but you can see a similar look. The approach, however is quite different. This image shows that the route was done in the top wood before it was glued onto the body effectively "trapping" the pickups within the body - Route in Top Wood. Its an interesting solution but you'd better be committed to the pickups! I looked at other pictures on the site and there doesn't appear to be any way to get to the pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Parker uses earless pickups and replaces 2(?) pole piece screws with longer ones that screw into the body. Or so I've been told. Hmm. That sounds like a cool solution as well. Cut off the ears on a conventional humbucker and use longer pole piece screws. I suppose a hardware supply catalog would be in order to find the right length and thread. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser Rob Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 www.lmii.com sells P90 style pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Rhoads (Perry Ormsby) and VDL (Alex VanderLinde) have both posted guitars here with front loading, earless pickup routes. Thanks! I started digging around further and came across this thread - Guitar of the Month March. Scroll down to erikbojerik's submission. A cavity was rear routed and the pickups mounted through - eliminating pickup rings and pickguards in the process. I'm still looking for Perry Ormsby's post but in the meanwhile, I looked on his site and found the guitar where I first saw this example - Ormsby Vine. Its not the best image (a bit small) but you can see a similar look. The approach, however is quite different. This image shows that the route was done in the top wood before it was glued onto the body effectively "trapping" the pickups within the body - Route in Top Wood. Its an interesting solution but you'd better be committed to the pickups! I looked at other pictures on the site and there doesn't appear to be any way to get to the pickups. Look closer; the 'slanted' bit plus some extra room in that area allows the pickup to be slid in place at an angle, clearing the other tab, and then 'popped' into the right place and the adjustment screws are added. Looks a bit fiddly, but you can most definitely remove the pickups if you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingblake Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Your link doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Your link doesn't work. At first I wasn't sure which one you meant since I recently posted three new ones. I realize you meant the link from the original post. I just fixed it. (one too many http://) Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Non-ear mount P-90's traditionally mout via two screws between the poles and sprung underneath, often with a foam pad...the holes for the mounting screws can be seen on skguitars pic here... Parker did the same thing but used two of the screw poles and extended them all the way through to the body allowing the mount to be hidden completely...bet you you wont find a screw to replace your pole screws like them... I like that look too. But as mickguard suggest...time for the thinking cap. I would be thinking about the sound though too...not just the aesthetics...P-90's have a distinctive sound, but they are single coil (typically). I quite like what that Zachary guys done... Zackary Link But these are more like mini humbuckers with extended covers that allow for screw mounts on the side. As you say he custom makes them, but a similar effect could be devised with mini humbuckers with custom made covers or some other devious means...anyone else got some ideas on this? pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I was going to suggest minihumbuckers too, they'd look pretty great. Mount them from behind (heh heh) and only show the tops. Another alternative would be to craft your own wood covers --have a look at the tang top progress thread, the garehanman is doing an excellent job on a set for his guitar. You could modify the idea by making your covers long enough to cover the wings (of a humbucker). If the fit is accurate enough, you'd be able to push the covers down into the cavity, no need for screws. Could look really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 I would be thinking about the sound though too...not just the aesthetics...P-90's have a distinctive sound, but they are single coil (typically). I quite like what that Zachary guys done... Zackary Link But these are more like mini humbuckers with extended covers that allow for screw mounts on the side. As you say he custom makes them, but a similar effect could be devised with mini humbuckers with custom made covers or some other devious means...anyone else got some ideas on this? pete Custom covers certainly sound like a good way to go for the clean look. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 I was going to suggest minihumbuckers too, they'd look pretty great. Mount them from behind (heh heh) and only show the tops. Another alternative would be to craft your own wood covers --have a look at the tang top progress thread, the garehanman is doing an excellent job on a set for his guitar. Thanks mick, but myka deserves the credit. He explained the whole process to me a while back(it ends up that it's quite critical that you route, then cut). You could modify the idea by making your covers long enough to cover the wings (of a humbucker). If the fit is accurate enough, you'd be able to push the covers down into the cavity, no need for screws. Could look really cool. Actually, that's been done before(minus the pressure fit), and it looks pretty sexy, if I might say so myself. have a look This image shows that the route was done in the top wood before it was glued onto the body effectively "trapping" the pickups within the body - Route in Top Wood. Its an interesting solution but you'd better be committed to the pickups! I looked at other pictures on the site and there doesn't appear to be any way to get to the pickups. Guitars that are routed like that are typically designed to have the humbuckers slide into the cavity on a slant. It'd be very impractical to have anything permanently incased in a guitar that isn't guaranteed not to break at some point. I'm inclined to believe that that guitar is also designed to have the pickups put in on a slant based on the way they routed the top. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 I was going to suggest minihumbuckers too, they'd look pretty great. Mount them from behind (heh heh) and only show the tops. Another alternative would be to craft your own wood covers --have a look at the tang top progress thread, the garehanman is doing an excellent job on a set for his guitar. You could modify the idea by making your covers long enough to cover the wings (of a humbucker). If the fit is accurate enough, you'd be able to push the covers down into the cavity, no need for screws. Could look really cool. Thanks for the ideas - Minihumbuckers mounted from behind ( ), custom covers... I'll revisit the tang top progress thread. That is some really nice work. I had noticed the covers but it hadn't occurred to me as a solution. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.