Can you help? Strat related *more than 4 lines written*

I can't find one any where! Do you know where I can get a pickguard cut for a P90 in the bridge and then two singles in middle and neck? They need to be in the UK...

I have started doing up an Aria STG004 that has been lying about the place. I blocked the tremolo in a VERY unique (bodged...) way. It may have been "Unique" but it worked very well. Anyways, will it work if I put the P90 in the Humbucker slot that I allready have? It will have the "Dog Ear" bits, so I thought it might fit.

Also, I was looking at getting an original Gibson P90 but any suggestions are welcomed. I like the look of the Rio Grande BluesBar but i'm not sure

Do P90's wire up just like singlecoils do? I don't know much about them other than they sound great! It is a little "project" that is straying outside of Telecaster realms..

*IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE DETAILS OF THE MOD'S KEEP READING!!*

Heres the deal, I had a reasonably-- aww heck, pretty nice-- Strat copy lying around. The action was a little high... So I fiddled with the truss rod. Got it quite low. Then I shimmed it. The action is the same height all the way along with no buzz, and great (but not perfect, because I can't be bothered) intonation! So I played around with it. I thought it played real nice, but didn't sound that great. And, as if by destiny, I saw a bundle of guitar parts on eBay for a reasonable price. So I put in my bid and I won. For the guitar I got a Texas Special pickup that I will put in the middle position (bridge position until P90), 2 Mexican pickups that I will put one in the Neck and one in the Middle until the P90 comes along, and loads of Tele parts.

After I swap all the pickups out, I will replace the tatty, nasty looking maple/r'wood neck with a 1 piece maple Allparts one or something. After that I will get some Kluson double line stamped Machine Heads and I will be done! (for the moment...) Once I get some more money I will swap out all of the electronics for Fender/CTS stuff.

Thanks for reading and/or helping!
SGT

EDIT: I probably put this in the wrong forum. You can move it if you like, mods.

I can't find one any where! Do you know where I can get a pickguard cut for a P90 in the bridge and then two singles in middle and neck? They need to be in the UK...

I have started doing up an Aria STG004 that has been lying about the place. I blocked the tremolo in a VERY unique (bodged...) way. It may have been "Unique" but it worked very well. Anyways, will it work if I put the P90 in the Humbucker slot that I allready have? It will have the "Dog Ear" bits, so I thought it might fit.

Also, I was looking at getting an original Gibson P90 but any suggestions are welcomed. I like the look of the Rio Grande BluesBar but i'm not sure

Do P90's wire up just like singlecoils do? I don't know much about them other than they sound great! It is a little "project" that is straying outside of Telecaster realms..



WD Music should be able to make just about any pickguard. And they can ship to the UK.

http://www.wdmusic.com/

But I'd skip the dogear type of P90. I can't see any advantage there. And keep in mind that P90 pickups mount to the guitar body, not to a pickguard like with the Strat. And that might not be convenient when you have two single coil pickups and the controls and wiring on the pickguard, but the one P90 attached to the body.

I'd go with one of the P90/humbucker retrofit pickups. So you'll have a P90 that mounts like a humbucker, so it'll mount on the pickguard like the rest of the pickups.

See what I was doing with this Strat build:

http://lasttelecaster.home.comcast.net/lastwhammy/pickguardPUs.jpg

Those are 3 Kent Armstrong P90/Humbucker retrofit pickups. There're several PU companies who build PUs along those lines.

Those ones have a Gibson style braided cable. Not all P90s have the same kind of cable. So they don't wire up exactly like a Fender type single coil PU. Most P90s have some sort of shielded cable instead of two leads.

Pete

By humbucker P90's I thought you ment Phat Cats or something, but those are something else, (literally)...

How do those Kent Armstrongs sound, and do they wire up like a fender single coil?

Are these the ones you used? (I would only get one)
http://www.wdmusic.com/kent_armstrong_p90_guitar_pickups_29750_prd1.htm

By humbucker P90's I thought you ment Phat Cats or something, but those are something else, (literally)...

Right. Like those. They don't look like P90s. My impresion is that essentially, that's what they are though.

Not mounting them in the body like a real P90 will probably do more to change their sound than anything else though.


How do those Kent Armstrongs sound, and do they wire up like a fender single coil?

Are these the ones you used? (I would only get one)
http://www.wdmusic.com/kent_armstrong_p90_guitar_pickups_29750_prd1.htm

That seems to be the ones I bought. I changed my mind before I assembled the guitar though, so those pickups never got installed.

This is what the guitar looks like finished. More pickups from Kent:

http://lasttelecaster.home.comcast.net/lastwhammy/blueStrat3.jpg

But I'm sort of on a P90 kick right now, so they'll probably get used in something.

They have a Gibson style cable. A braided sheild, and one conductor in the middle. As far as I know, that's the same thing you get on a Gibson P90. Fender single coil pickups always seem to be two leads, with no sheilding.

Pete

That strat looks Hawtt by the way!

There was a couple of other things that I had on my mind as a choice.

The DiMarzio PAF DP197 (bridge)
Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates (overpriced)
Or those pickups you get on Telecaster Customs--
http://www.axesrus.com/axepickup_files/TELEWR.jpg

I like DiMarzio PAFs. And you can buy those Fender spaced for use in the bridge position too.

That's what I used on this humbucker Tele that I built using a relic'd body:

http://lasttelecaster.home.comcast.net/finishedTele.jpg

I've never tried that Duncan Pearly Gates.

I love the visual looks of those Fender humbuckers. I'm pretty sure that those were designed for Fender by Seth Lover, the man who invented the humbucker.

There's a good article about Seth in Vintage Guitar Magazine, that I haven't read in a long time.

http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=28

Pete

Thats one beautiful Tele you got there.

Anyways, I am wiring it up S/S/S until I get the money for a Humbucker. (I have two P/G's)

You could also go with a stock S/S/S pickguard and buy one of Pete at Vintage Vibe Guitars P90 Strat pickups:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stratocaster-size-P90-style-pickups-for-electric-guitar_W0QQitemZ7406229049QQcategoryZ22670QQcmdZVi ewItem

I haven't personally heard them but I have his fullsized P90s and they sound great.