HR design and build thread part III - The build.

Looking good!

What are you doing for a finish on the guitar?

What is the purpose of the angle on the pickup?Is it just for a tone variation?Whatever the case,I like the look of an angled pickup.
 
Looking Great Muttley,

Going with wood binding got me the look I wanted plus some. I just figured on plastic because it was easy and this was a prototype. Good on ya.
 
acidrock said:
Looking good!

What are you doing for a finish on the guitar?

What is the purpose of the angle on the pickup?Is it just for a tone variation?Whatever the case,I like the look of an angled pickup.
Click to expand...

Not decided on the finish yet but it will most certainly have a solid colour for the back and sides which is why I didn't bother with a dark stringing line under the binding.

An angled pickup will sound different to a perpendicular one. How much is not predictable until a bunch with both styles have been built. Even then it is hard to attribute any conclusions to that factor alone..

Personally I would go for it on visual grounds only if that is what I wanted.
 
Jeezuz, that thing looks bloody awful, oh well, winter's here again multi, it should keep you warm for about 15 minutes. :)
 
wow this looks brilliant! I only looked at the pictures though because there is a lot to read and I'm kinda confused, at different points it looked like you were building an electric but at others it looked like an acoustic? This might be a stupid question but I really don't know anything about building guitars so I really admire your work :)
 
lol it isn't going to progress over the holidays. I mentioned to milnoque the other day that I hope to get back on it in the new year now that I have cleared some other builds and a back log of festive work. I always get quite a bit of set up work pre Christmas for some reason..

Be on it soon.
 
So... I have some time in the next week or so to get a bi more done on this. I hope to get onto the pickups ASAP and want to revisit the recipe posted by JCH and maybe adjust a bit as it is going to be quicker if I can use parts I have or can get here. More on that later. I also want to start on the finishing as today I glued up the frtboard and stuck some frets in it..

Lined everything up with a locating pin to stop slipping when the thing gets glued up...

fingerboard pins.jpg

fingerboard pins2.jpg

Then a few clamps and a shaped caul..

fingerboard on.jpg

Finally stuck some frets in..

fretsin.jpg
 
JCH said:
My favorite P-90 tones come from the bridge position. If you want a DD tone, the easiest way to get that is with a strat neck pu.


OK, recipe's it is.*

For a tele bridge pickup a good starting point would be IMO, you could try South polarity AlNiCo 3 or 5, 8,500 turns of AWG42 poly wound clockwise with moderate to heavy scatter. The heavier scatter will soften the resonant peak, and the slight overwind will lower it. Both of these combined will yield a pickup that is slightly mellower than a vintage 50's or 60's tone, and should blend well with a P-90.

On the P-90 at the neck. I would wind North up AlNiCo 5 CCW around 9,700 turns with a mild scatter. Be careful with the P-90 bobbins. If you use too much tension they will flare badly, and you won't be able to get the cover on. If the A5 is too harsh, try A2 magnets. This is a slight underwind which will make the pickup a little brighter.

Controls, and tone caps are going to make a very big difference, so be prepared to do some experimentation there.

Tag, you're it!
Click to expand...

OK, revisiting JCH's recipe for the pickups.

Here's what I have and what I need to get and a few questions for JCH or others with more pickup winding experience than me.

The P90 style in the neck I have the bobbin made up and need to get the pole piece screws and magnets.

JCH can you advise on which magnets you would go with from this link? I have used them in the past and they are pretty good.

Buy Guitar Pickup Magnets

The pole pieces I can either rob out of an old P90 or more likely order these.

Pole piece screws for humbucking pickups | Allparts UK Ltd

As to the winding I have some 42 gauge.

For the bridge pickup I have some alnico 5 pole pieces that should work.

What else am I going to need?
 
muttley600 said:
The P90 style in the neck I have the bobbin made up and need to get the pole piece screws and magnets.

JCH can you advise on which magnets you would go with from this link? I have used them in the past and they are pretty good.

Buy Guitar Pickup Magnets
Click to expand...
62 x 3.2 x 12.5 Alnico 5

Try these. A5 are my favorite for P90's. You'll need two.

The pole pieces I can either rob out of an old P90 or more likely order these.

Pole piece screws for humbucking pickups | Allparts UK Ltd
Click to expand...
Those would be good.

As to the winding I have some 42 gauge.

For the bridge pickup I have some alnico 5 pole pieces that should work.
Click to expand...
42 gauge poly would be fine for these pickups. I like alnico 5. That's what I would use.
What else am I going to need?
Click to expand...
eyelets, lead wires, pigtail wires, keeper bar for the P90. You might have to make that, depending on your pole piece layout.

Nice to see that you had some time to get back to this. I'm excited to see it move along.

I doubt I'll get to it any time soon, but the idea of making a vacuum forming setup still looms in the back of my head. It would be pretty neat to be able to create unique pickup covers, or some of the other parts that could be made.
 
JCH said:
62 x 3.2 x 12.5 Alnico 5

Try these. A5 are my favorite for P90's. You'll need two.


Those would be good.


42 gauge poly would be fine for these pickups. I like alnico 5. That's what I would use.

eyelets, lead wires, pigtail wires, keeper bar for the P90. You might have to make that, depending on your pole piece layout.

Nice to see that you had some time to get back to this. I'm excited to see it move along.

I doubt I'll get to it any time soon, but the idea of making a vacuum forming setup still looms in the back of my head. It would be pretty neat to be able to create unique pickup covers, or some of the other parts that could be made.
Click to expand...

Alnico 5 it is. I decided to order a whole bunch of them and some others so we can maybe do some comparison down the line.

Will make the keeper bar and have all the other bits to hand. What do you pot with?

Still really interested in the idea of vacuum forming covers but like you time is at a premium.
 
Had a bit of time this weekend to flush the frets and install the dots on the f/b edge...

Used the angled file block and then did a rough level, crown and polish and added the side dots.

Next chunk of work is cleaning up the whole guitar ready for finishing. Hopefully get most of that done tomorrow.

filethefrets1.jpg


filethfrets2.jpg


edge dots1.jpg


edge dots2.jpg
 
I've built about six houses in the time this has taken.

apart from the sloppy crowning it looks pretty good. :D
 
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