TremoloKing
New member
Last week I mentioned that I was planning on converting a PRS SE Soapbar II from P-90s to full size humbuckers, having acquired a set of SD Antiquities for the job.
I completed the conversion yesterday night in time to string it up, do a quick set up and make a local open-mic/blues jam last night.
The results are excellent. As you might anticipate the sound changed somewhat, it's not quite as crisp but almost, and there is more bottom and slightly warmer midrange (which may be an illusion because of the reduction in brightness.
While I was at it I changed the pots and jack and CTS and switchcraft respectively and put a pair of chrome dome top Tele knobs on it. I took some photos of the job in progress and finished. I'll upload them asap.
The only issue was that each P-90 route required some wood to be added in two of the four corners so as to have something to screw the HB mounting ring into along that edge. I made the inserts for this from 1/2" dowel and glued them in place. My buddy that helped with the routing can make me some mahogany plus for this purpose in the future so that the grain run perpendicular to the screw as itr should for better thread bite. But for now this works fine.
The neck P-90 is mounted up against the fretboard so that route goes right up to the neck. Therefore the neck humbucker's mounting ring is right up against the neck now and the opening for the pickup's body needed to be slightly larger on this pickup than the bridge pickup because of the thickness that the mounting ring takes up along the edge of the fretboard.
When I upload the photos you'll see what I'm talking about.
Bottom line is that Duncan knows how to make a heck of a sweet vintage sounding humbucker. Except for a different body shape this guitar is as close as I'll come to having a 1961 Les Paul SG.
I completed the conversion yesterday night in time to string it up, do a quick set up and make a local open-mic/blues jam last night.
The results are excellent. As you might anticipate the sound changed somewhat, it's not quite as crisp but almost, and there is more bottom and slightly warmer midrange (which may be an illusion because of the reduction in brightness.
While I was at it I changed the pots and jack and CTS and switchcraft respectively and put a pair of chrome dome top Tele knobs on it. I took some photos of the job in progress and finished. I'll upload them asap.
The only issue was that each P-90 route required some wood to be added in two of the four corners so as to have something to screw the HB mounting ring into along that edge. I made the inserts for this from 1/2" dowel and glued them in place. My buddy that helped with the routing can make me some mahogany plus for this purpose in the future so that the grain run perpendicular to the screw as itr should for better thread bite. But for now this works fine.
The neck P-90 is mounted up against the fretboard so that route goes right up to the neck. Therefore the neck humbucker's mounting ring is right up against the neck now and the opening for the pickup's body needed to be slightly larger on this pickup than the bridge pickup because of the thickness that the mounting ring takes up along the edge of the fretboard.
When I upload the photos you'll see what I'm talking about.
Bottom line is that Duncan knows how to make a heck of a sweet vintage sounding humbucker. Except for a different body shape this guitar is as close as I'll come to having a 1961 Les Paul SG.
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