Filling a Pickup cavity

[Captain Crunch]

alright, so i have a Kramer Baretta neck thru project guitar that i've been working on lately. Someone tried to Van-Halen Stripe it and did a REALLY bad job of it. I've already re-fretted it and im ready to re-paint it. It is an HH configuration. I'm wondering, is there any way to fill up the neck pickup cavity to make it a one-pickup guitar. The actualy finishing of the guitar is no problem, i'm pretty good with paint and hav re-finished in the past. Wht should i use to fill the cavity?? Wood?? thanks for any suggestions

Rob

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

pictures please... and of course you should use wood to fill in the PU cavity if you don't want it

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

you can do it, it's just a decent amount of work if you want to do it right. you have to fill the route with wood...the same kind as the body would be best if possible...but if you just stop there, no matter how tight a fit you get when you paint it the wood swelling and contracting at different rates between the body and the plug will cause the finish to shrink into the crack between the fill showing the outline of where the pickup cavity used to be. to get past this the correct thing to do is after filling the route real well veneer the top of the body with a real thin maple veneer. it would be very thin so it won't really mess with the tone it will just keep the paint from shrinking into the crack between the plug and the body destroying all your finish work.

-Mike

 

[uOpt]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

It's a pretty large area. To make this look like there's never been a route you will have to go all the way. Fitting a wood piece, filling in the gaps and then extensively sand it the whole thing. Realistically, to make it look good you'll sand off some of your guitar's top. Even then, with a gloss black finish you probably notice indentations.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

It's a pretty large area. To make this look like there's never been a route you will have to go all the way. Fitting a wood piece, filling in the gaps and then extensively sand it the whole thing. Realistically, to make it look good you'll sand off some of your guitar's top. Even then, with a gloss black finish you probably notice indentations.

I'd go to a reputable luthier and get it done right. JMO:smokin:

 

[Bludave]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

If you plan on painting the guitar a solid color it should work out fine. The way to do it is you need a wood plug of the same kind of wood to plug the hole. Then you need to create some "dust" of the same wood. This is done by sanding the wood and saving the sanded particles. My buddy does this and has jars of each wood kind stored. Then you mix the dust with wood glue to fill in the gaps. The plug should be just slightly higher than the hole. After the plug and filling are glued in and dry, then you can begin sanding. Once you have it sanded smotthe then you can do the finishing.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

I'd go to a reputable luthier and get it done right. JMO:smokin:

I don't see how that makes sense without having him paint the whole thing.

At that point a whole new body is the better way.

 

[scottish]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

you can do it, it's just a decent amount of work if you want to do it right. you have to fill the route with wood...the same kind as the body would be best if possible...but if you just stop there, no matter how tight a fit you get when you paint it the wood swelling and contracting at different rates between the body and the plug will cause the finish to shrink into the crack between the fill showing the outline of where the pickup cavity used to be. to get past this the correct thing to do is after filling the route real well veneer the top of the body with a real thin maple veneer. it would be very thin so it won't really mess with the tone it will just keep the paint from shrinking into the crack between the plug and the body destroying all your finish work.

-Mike

I think Mike is right on here. Everyone has seen his guitar building skills, ive built a few myself and while ive never filled a trem or pup cavity, what he is saying makes complete sense to me.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

Fill your neck pickup w/ a wood inlay like everyone says. Here's where I differ. Leave an 1/8" or less gap from the top of the inlay to the top of the body. Then you'll need some stuff called Marine Tex. Fill off the rest of the gap w/ this stuff and sand smooth.

This stuff is used for boat repairs and is designed to not shrink or expand under climate conditions. It also sands smooth and paints very well. Thus making it ideal for your situation.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Filling a Pickup cavity

You could trace the route and cut a piece of wood with a jigsaw that matches the route and glue it to the body. I wouldn't expect an increase in sustain/tone.