Logical Frank Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 I got my design for my dual p90 tele-style body all drawn out and then realized the p90s I was gonna get from Guitar Fetish were spaced for Gibson guitars. Has anyone tried using these w/ a Fender spaced bridge or know if that will lead to problems? Thankfully, I realized this before I bought any of it (one good reason to draw it all up first). The neck I'm using is a Warmoth Baritone which is 28 5/8" scale w/ a 1 11/16" width at the nut. Using the spacing on a Gibson humbucker it seems like I might be OK but thought I would run it by you guys first. I was considering a Badass-style wrap around for this so maybe I will switch to that which should resolve the spacing problem but does have some issues of its own. (By the way, I think Fender Black Dove p90s are F-spaced, which would solve my problems, but I really have my heart set on cream.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted May 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 (edited) OK. Multiple choice then. This is a stupid question because: a. Obviously, they will work fine. b. Obviously, they won't work. c. I bet those cream-colored Carvin humbuckers will look even sweeter. Edited May 2, 2007 by Logical Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Well, I can't help, but i'll say this. I'm about to use a GFS P90 in a fender string spaced application myself. It probably won't be in time to help you out, but if you're still curious in about 3 months i'll let you know how it worked out for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I just HAPPEN to have a Strat that came from Fender with two single coils and a bridge humbucker here, and I just HAPPEN to have a pair of Rio Grande P90's in my desk drawer - and what I can tell you is that the P90's have a narrower spacing than the single coils, but as near as I can tell exactly the same spacing as the bridge humbucker that came from Fender. Of course, the strings aren't centered over the polepieces on the bridge humbucker, but it sounds fine so I don't really care . It's my understanding the Rio Grande's take standard P90 covers, so I guess they're standard size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted May 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Thanks fellas... Another thing that gives me confidence in using them is that Guitar Fetish sells tele pickguards that are routed for p90s in the neck. For some reason, I had a brain fart yesterday and couldn't find the contact email on the Guitar Fetish site but found it today so I dropped them a line. I will let you know what they say if and when they reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Thanks fellas... Another thing that gives me confidence in using them is that Guitar Fetish sells tele pickguards that are routed for p90s in the neck. For some reason, I had a brain fart yesterday and couldn't find the contact email on the Guitar Fetish site but found it today so I dropped them a line. I will let you know what they say if and when they reply. I have a GFS "Dream-90" (P-90 in a humbucker housing) in a strat-style guitar, and it works fine. Don't know if that helps, but here's a picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted May 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Well--here's what the man at Guitar Fetish had to say: Not real issues- yes the P90 spacing is narrower than USA spaced Fender guitars but the same as the MIM, CIJ, MIA guitars Jay I will take that to mean it's A-OK. (Of course, he is ultimately trying to sell me things so what do you expect? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I know of a lot of people who put P90's into their Tele and I haven't heard of any issues caused by string spacing. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 My experience has been you can really get away with more than you'd think as far as not having the string spacing match the polepiece spacing. And if you've got adjustable pole pieces, if the string spacing was off enough you felt like you were losing volume on the outside strings, you could try and raise them a hair to compensate. There's a fretboard calculator here: http://www.fretfind.ekips.org/index.php And a fretboard shape calculator here: http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/fbcalc/index.htm (I couldn't get the plug in numbers bit to work with the second one, but the maths are good, just grab a scientific calculator and you're all set.) I use the formula in the second one to calculate my fretboard tapers before cutting the board, it can help you plot the width along the distance of the board by punching in the distance from nut to various frets. But I've also used it in your situation, to figure out if my pickups work. Following that formula, you simply don't add in the extra width for the fretboard lip (measurement "d" in the Build Your Own Guitar page) and the numbers you end up with are going to be the string spread at whatever given distance - rather than plugging in the distance at the end of the fretboard or at a certain fret position for "L" use the distance from the nut to whereever the middle of the pickups would be, and you can find the string spread there and see if it matches up decently with your pickups. Other options - since you're using two P-90s, I assume you aren't using the Tele bridge plate - you could try a tune-o-matic saddle. But I'd imagine you'd be fine. I've played plenty of tele's with retro-fit P90s and no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted May 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Other options - since you're using two P-90s, I assume you aren't using the Tele bridge plate - you could try a tune-o-matic saddle. My original plan was a strat-style hardtail. Schaller actually makes one that's adjustable all the way from 2" to 2 3/16" which I think I might go w/. I actually like the looks of it much better than the other bridges I was thinking of and I'm fond of top loaders anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Other options - since you're using two P-90s, I assume you aren't using the Tele bridge plate - you could try a tune-o-matic saddle. My original plan was a strat-style hardtail. Schaller actually makes one that's adjustable all the way from 2" to 2 3/16" which I think I might go w/. I actually like the looks of it much better than the other bridges I was thinking of and I'm fond of top loaders anyway. I used one of those schaller bridges with a pair SD p90's an it is pretty good actually you can line up them pole pieces exact .. the guitar is a blueshawk / fenderish clone thing btw get ready for noise coz them p90's make a racket even with full shielding and a bridge strap guitar sounds killer an those p/ups really bite yer arse - great sound for blues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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