Assembling Parts-caster with dog-ear P-90 in neck - how to get string height setup?

infiniteposse · June 30th, 2008, 06:23 PM

Hi all-

I've been working on a mongrel of a Parts-caster that I've dubbed the "Fuglycaster." It's a mysterious old body with a nasty routing job and quite the professional paint job. It's also light as a feather and has much mojo. I got a Strat neck for not much money and I was off to the races...

I decided to use a Lollar Low-wind Dog-ear P-90 in the neck position and the guitar also has a Bigsby on it, so the bridge pup is quite elevated as well.

My question is, how do I set this up so that there's enough string elevation to get over the pups but at the same time, not have ridiculously high action? Is it a matter of shimming the neck pocket or perhaps using a larger shim/riser to actually elevate where the neck sits in the pocket to get it higher up?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cole · June 30th, 2008, 07:25 PM

myself, I would have not used the P90 dogear for a Fender style guitar because it sits to high. What you might consider doing as an alternative to shimming the neck is to purchase a regular P90 cover... cut a hole in the PG and mount it to the body instead.

This way you keep 100% surface contact between neck & body and you keep better string/neck geometry. That's what I would do....

GDStone · July 1st, 2008, 11:48 PM

I'm no expert BUT the P90 needs to be hieght adjustable. It seems to be placed on the pickguard with NO adjutment possible.
I would cut a whole in the pickguard that fits the pickup only ( not the dogears). Assuming there is a cavite allready cut in the body that fits the P90 the I would place the pickup thru the picguard from the bottom and use springs between the pickguard and the dogears. The screws sgould now be able to adjust the height of the p90 to your taste.
I hope my explanation makes sens and good luck.

reddogbass · July 2nd, 2008, 10:46 AM

Recess it into the body as required so string height is normal to the original neck set. The adjustable pole pieces are for adjusting the pickup height relative to the strings. I'd think that if you mounted it to the pickguard with the "ears" on the underside it would be about right.

Question- where'd the cool armrest come from?

infiniteposse · July 2nd, 2008, 01:35 PM

Thanks for all of the assistance guys. I went with a Fralin soapbar I had around and I think that along with some neck shim is going to help me get it working pretty handily.

Reddog - I got the body from a local Portland luthier, Saul Koll, who'd gotten it as a little project a few years back. He'd made up the armrest to sort of pay homage to the Bigsby theme (I guess old Bigsby guitars had armrests) and also to deal with the extremely sharp edges of the body. It's a pretty cool little detail on the guitar.

reddogbass · July 3rd, 2008, 11:01 AM

Interesting- thanks. Being a home-builder (not houses), I don't visit, nor am I that familiar with the local lutherie scene. So, Saul Koll and the 12th Fret are one in the same?

robt57 · July 3rd, 2008, 11:22 AM

Just order a non dog ear cover from Fralin, no?

That is one Mojo infested cool looking bastard if yo ask me. ;)
What is with the wood cap there on the forearm ?

That said, I have some dog ear covers in my stash. The neck one is lower that the bridge one. Now that you have the hole drilled, maybe one type over the other will work...

I measured the ones I have, 3/16 neck and 7/16 bridge. The pole spacing is tighter on the neck pup, is that usual for P-90 spec, or just for Gibson?

June 30th, 2008, 06:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
infiniteposse TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 42	Assembling Parts-caster with dog-ear P-90 in neck - how to get string height setup? Hi all- I've been working on a mongrel of a Parts-caster that I've dubbed the "Fuglycaster." It's a mysterious old body with a nasty routing job and quite the professional paint job. It's also light as a feather and has much mojo. I got a Strat neck for not much money and I was off to the races... I decided to use a Lollar Low-wind Dog-ear P-90 in the neck position and the guitar also has a Bigsby on it, so the bridge pup is quite elevated as well. My question is, how do I set this up so that there's enough string elevation to get over the pups but at the same time, not have ridiculously high action? Is it a matter of shimming the neck pocket or perhaps using a larger shim/riser to actually elevate where the neck sits in the pocket to get it higher up? Any help is greatly appreciated. __________________ ------- Lee www.myspace.com/sonandelder

June 30th, 2008, 07:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cole Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Louisville KY Age: 57 Posts: 215	myself, I would have not used the P90 dogear for a Fender style guitar because it sits to high. What you might consider doing as an alternative to shimming the neck is to purchase a regular P90 cover... cut a hole in the PG and mount it to the body instead. This way you keep 100% surface contact between neck & body and you keep better string/neck geometry. That's what I would do.... __________________ ~Cole Cole's website Cole's MySpace "The only currency we have is influential communication."

July 2nd, 2008, 01:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
infiniteposse TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 42	Thanks for all of the assistance guys. I went with a Fralin soapbar I had around and I think that along with some neck shim is going to help me get it working pretty handily. Reddog - I got the body from a local Portland luthier, Saul Koll, who'd gotten it as a little project a few years back. He'd made up the armrest to sort of pay homage to the Bigsby theme (I guess old Bigsby guitars had armrests) and also to deal with the extremely sharp edges of the body. It's a pretty cool little detail on the guitar. __________________ ------- Lee www.myspace.com/sonandelder

July 3rd, 2008, 11:22 AM	#7 (permalink)
robt57 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 51 Posts: 3,740 21 Photos	Just order a non dog ear cover from Fralin, no? That is one Mojo infested cool looking bastard if yo ask me. ;) What is with the wood cap there on the forearm ? That said, I have some dog ear covers in my stash. The neck one is lower that the bridge one. Now that you have the hole drilled, maybe one type over the other will work... I measured the ones I have, 3/16 neck and 7/16 bridge. The pole spacing is tighter on the neck pup, is that usual for P-90 spec, or just for Gibson? __________________ Leo's Great, Leo's Good, let us thank him for our... Twang!

July 1st, 2008, 11:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
GDStone TDPRI Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ontario,Canada Posts: 78	I'm no expert BUT the P90 needs to be hieght adjustable. It seems to be placed on the pickguard with NO adjutment possible. I would cut a whole in the pickguard that fits the pickup only ( not the dogears). Assuming there is a cavite allready cut in the body that fits the P90 the I would place the pickup thru the picguard from the bottom and use springs between the pickguard and the dogears. The screws sgould now be able to adjust the height of the p90 to your taste. I hope my explanation makes sens and good luck.

July 2nd, 2008, 10:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
reddogbass Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, Oregon Age: 62 Posts: 603 5 Photos	Recess it into the body as required so string height is normal to the original neck set. The adjustable pole pieces are for adjusting the pickup height relative to the strings. I'd think that if you mounted it to the pickguard with the "ears" on the underside it would be about right. Question- where'd the cool armrest come from?

July 3rd, 2008, 11:01 AM	#6 (permalink)
reddogbass Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, Oregon Age: 62 Posts: 603 5 Photos	Interesting- thanks. Being a home-builder (not houses), I don't visit, nor am I that familiar with the local lutherie scene. So, Saul Koll and the 12th Fret are one in the same?