First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

D

Danzy22

New member
Helloooooo.

Im starting my very first guitar build project soon and i need some advice about the pick-ups and wiring aspects. ive been looking for the pick-ups that offer great tone and everything im looking for in a guitar - i have nailed it down to three , All different.

NECK - Seymour Duncan HOT P90
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/specialized/progressive/sp902_hot_soapb/

MIDDLE - Simple Single coil (Not yet chosen)
Just for a example.
http://www.axetec.co.uk/axetec guitar parts spares pickups_035.htm

BRIDGE - DiMarzio super distortion Humbucker
http://www.dimarzio.com/site/#/pickups/humbuckers/super-distortion/


First question.
Can this configuration be done ? i have not seen any guitar with this kind of set up really , perhaps just one , im not sure.

Second question.
If this can be done , anything i should know about the wiring for this set-up.
I presume a 5 way toggle switch would have to be used rather than the 3 way.

i hope i dont sound like a complete uesless wreck, im only 17 and never got this deep into guitars before really. All advice and tips are most helpful.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

I'm not a master on wiring but it can be done.

Sounds cool though. Neck P90, Bridge bucker and a single in the middle.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

It can work, but you would need to run 2 volumes and 2 tones due to the single coil and the P90 needing a 250 or 300k pot and the bucker needing a 500k pot, unless you got a really bright bucker where a 300k pot would tame it down, that would be the only issue I think you would face sound wise.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

I have a modified Ibanez SAS36FM, fitted with Duncan Designed HB-102b, SC-101m and TE-101n pickups. My compromise volume pot resistance value is 300kOhms. Seems to work nicely.

The only possible problems with wiring up your chosen pickups are the magnetic polarity and electrical phase relationship between the pickups plus the mixture of conductor colour code conventions. (Duncan and DiMarzio both use black, green, red, white + bare wires but not in the same order.)
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

Funkfingers said:
I have a modified Ibanez SAS36FM, fitted with Duncan Designed HB-102b, SC-101m and TE-101n pickups. My compromise volume pot resistance value is 300kOhms. Seems to work nicely.

The only possible problems with wiring up your chosen pickups are the magnetic polarity and electrical phase relationship between the pickups plus the mixture of conductor colour code conventions. (Duncan and DiMarzio both use black, green, red, white + bare wires but not in the same order.)
Click to expand...



Would this be a major issue or something i will just have to figure out when wiring it up ?
Another thing , The P-90 has just a single wire connection right ? and the single has 2 and so on. Sounds complicated , im going to have to do some research i think.
Its been a while since i have worked on guitar electronics , im a lil rusty.

As mentioned above , 2 tone and 2 volume sounds like alot of work.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

I'd use a a SP90-1N in the neck, which has an alnico magnet and isn't wound so hot. You'll get a nice clear tone for cleans. The SP90-2N has a ceramic and is wound hot so it could be overpowering and muddy. Ceramics don't really belong in P-90's.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

Yeah i shall have to look into the different types of P90.
But for now , its just the wiring side of things for my setup i need to get sorted before i start the build.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like a very interesting project. I have to agree with Blueman about the P-90. I really dislike ceramic pickup magnets. I think you'll be much happier with the tone of the SP90-1n.

P-90's have 2 wires...1 lead (hot) and 1 ground, just like any other single coil pup. Humbuckers will have either 1 or 4 leads and a ground. With 4 leads, you can do coils splits, parallel, and series wiring.

The Strat type 5 way switch is what you want for this setup of pups.

You can get by with just 1 vol pot and 1 tone pot, but it depends on how your guitar is routed. You can still get the effect of the single coil running through a 250k (or 300k) pot by wiring a resistor in parallel with the SC middle pup.

The P-90 should use a 500k pot for best sound, just like the typical hummer. But there are many variations to the "norm" depending on your specific requirements, and much experimentation may be necessary to find what you're after. But that is half the fun of a DIY project.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

GuitarDoc said:
Welcome to the forum.

Sounds like a very interesting project. I have to agree with Blueman about the P-90. I really dislike ceramic pickup magnets. I think you'll be much happier with the tone of the SP90-1n.

P-90's have 2 wires...1 lead (hot) and 1 ground, just like any other single coil pup. Humbuckers will have either 1 or 4 leads and a ground. With 4 leads, you can do coils splits, parallel, and series wiring.

The Strat type 5 way switch is what you want for this setup of pups.

You can get by with just 1 vol pot and 1 tone pot, but it depends on how your guitar is routed. You can still get the effect of the single coil running through a 250k (or 300k) pot by wiring a resistor in parallel with the SC middle pup.

The P-90 should use a 500k pot for best sound, just like the typical hummer. But there are many variations to the "norm" depending on your specific requirements, and much experimentation may be necessary to find what you're after. But that is half the fun of a DIY project.
Click to expand...


Ahh thankyou very much !
Just what i needed to know , My main concern was the wiring process but i think i can handle it. I wanted to build a guitar different to most i have seen to get a unique sound , i like a challenge. haahaa.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

I would use 3 Volume Pots and a tone Pot connected to those 3. This gives enough control, and the Wiring is going to be easy!
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

Yeah the three volume pots and one tone sounds like a good option.
Well all this info has given me the confidence to go ahead with my plan.

i shall probably post more queries in future during the build.
Many thanks.
 
Re: First guitar build coming up - advice + tips needed.

Yeh, if your guitar is routed for 4 pots, the 3 vol and 1 tone would be the best way to go.
 
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