Mounting A Dog Eared P90

[jlarremore]

When mounting a dog eared P90 pickup, do I need to route a cavity for the pickup or does it mount flush to the top of the guitar? I can't tell from any image I've seen.

[jlarremore]

Ok, so I don't type well today. I meant "Dog-Eared".

[Bygde]

Checked out Hiscock's book, and I found a pic (didn't look too much into it. sorry!), but it did look like it was routed. Also you can measure the height of the pickup and compare to the height of the strings where the pickup is going to be placed. If you are building an axe from scratch, you could always measure another guitar. My guess is that routing will be necessary to get the right height under the strings.

Edited October 12, 2008 by Bygde

[Mickguard]

You definitely have to route. The pickup is as thick as a soapbar P90, although it does stand proud of the neck. More or less depending on if it's at the bridge or neck. But there are the screwends and wires on the underside that require space anyway.

There are two ways of mounting the dogear: one is so that it sits directly on the wood -- so you'll have to measure the cavity to get it where you'll want it -- you can use the pole pieces to fine tune their height in relation to the strings.

Or you mount them on top of foam (usually you get that with the pickup) which serves as a spring. You still use the pole pieces to fine tune, but you don't have to measure the cavity as accurately.

Some people feel that the pickup will sound best and capture the most sustain when mounted directly to the wood.