P90 Soapbar Rings...anyone make them?

[miroslav]

I know P90 soapbar pickups traditionally are installed without any pickup rings....they're just dropped into the hole and screwed down into the wood, but I never liked that look and have seen P90 soapbar pickups WITH rings.
I'm not talking about those conversions that are used to cover up the excess width of humbucker holes when they are replaced with the narrower P90 pickups.
I mean an actual ring that simply goes around a soapbar pickup/hole...purely for cosmetic reasons, so as to better dress the routed hole.

I'm talking about something like this, though in my case I'm looking for cream colored rings...and they don't need to be 2-ply...just a solid cream ring would be perfect.

 

[stevieb]

I don't know of any, but you could buy a small piece of pick guard material, and make your own. The stuff is easy to work with, if you take your time. Beveling the edge is pretty easy with an Xacto knife, too.

You COULD make a paper or card-stock pattern, and bring it to a trophy company- they will have the means to cut them out for you. I did this with a Kay SG-type bass I restored, but was not pleased with the results. The cut was good enough, but the guy couldn't get BWB glossy stock, and charged me more/did less than I understood it would be. I coughed it up- I needed the piece, sub-standard though it was, but he will NEVER get my business again. Based on that experience, I can not recommend that path.

If you can't find a small piece, but find a larger one that would be enough material for your rings AND a strat pickguard, PM me- I want to put a pair of 'bars in a spare strat I have, and can't find a lefty strat 'bar pickguard to save my neck- we can split the cost of the stock piece in some equitable manner. I don't particularly care what color it is, although if it's tortoise-shell, it won't look good on my dark red strat- BWB, WBW, MOT, White or Black would be my preferences.

 

[miroslav]

I have a buddy who is a master carpenter and he also does basic luthier work, mostly repair/refinishing kind of stuff. He could probably make me a pair easy enough...he has all the equipment for it….so that’s going to be my plan-B…but I was just wondering if anyone already made/sold them...?

I've found a lot of references to them on the Internet...but most people talk about seeing them a long time ago, and that they are "rarer than hen's teeth"...which is kind of odd to me since they are just basic plastic rings...and no more complicated to manufacture than humbucker rings!
I get the feeling other people who talk about them would like to find some...but no one has a source…???

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

These are more like Goof Hiders and may need trimming.

http://guitar-parts.com/content/estore_details.asp?category=36&product=1497


lou

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

I'm talking about something like this, though in my case I'm looking for cream colored rings...and they don't need to be 2-ply...just a solid cream ring would be perfect.

View attachment 62511

What is that guitar? Find a current guitar that sports 'em and get in touch with the manufacturer. Other than goofhiders I don't think they are out there. Goofhiders are/were made for minihums not P90s.


lou

 

[miroslav]

What is that guitar?

I have no idea...it's just a picture I saw on another website where people were talking about the same thing....of course, no one there knew where to find these kind of rings either.

It wouldn't be very difficult to cut them from a piece of pickguard material...I just didn't want to spend the time making them if I could find ready-made ones.

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

Might be easier to mod a set of goof hiders but I don't know the size difference between minihums and P90s - it might look weird.

Do you just want these 'cause they look sexy? You are going to be drilling holes in the guitar to fit 'em. Hope you like the look a lot 'cause if you don't the holes will be worse.


lou

 

[miroslav]

I just think that the way P90 Soapbar pickups are installed...it always looked like a half-assed, unfinished job.
On the other hand, P90 Dogear pickups look great installed.

AFA drilling holes for the screws...well, I won't have to drill the holes if I don't like how the rings look when they are placed around the pickups...but as long as they are not real wide rings, rather nice and thin, just enough to cover the routed holes and provide a finished trim to the PUs...they will look great.
I'm really surprised no one makes them...yet they make all kinds of conversion rings for people wanting to switch between humbuckers and P90s.

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

I just think that the way P90 Soapbar pickups are installed...it always looked like a half-assed, unfinished job. ...just enough to cover the routed holes...

I have one P90 guitar, a '54 Reissue Les Paul Goldtop w/cream. I think it looks great - there is no gap at all.


lou

 

[miroslav]

It's not really a question of any large gap that needs covering, I’m not trying to fix “goofed” routed holes...I just think it generally looks unfinished. I guess that's just my humbucker mentality.

Like...I also REALLY hate the look of uncovered, black plastic 'buckers!
I've purchased three guitars that had them, and while I liked the sound of the pups, I hated the look...so I put chrome covers on them.
Then...I have one guitar with uncovered blonde DiMarzio SD 'buckers from the late '70s, and I love how they look, especially with black pickup rings around them.

*shrug*

I know it sound petty...but we all judge how things look...and small details often make a difference if something is appealing or not to each of us.
If I had live with the P90 pups as-is...it wouldn't be a big deal...I just thought of trying some rings around them to see how it looks (if I can find them).

This is the guitar in question:


It looks great without rings...but it won't hurt to see how it looks with rings (without drilling holes, of course). I'm even thinking that black rings would work better than matching creme colored rings (if I can find them ).

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

I can tell from that pic that my LP pups are a much tighter fit. I don't think you are going to find any stock rings. You'll have to make some or modify some like the ones I posted.

The original "goof" being hidden was early Les Paul Deluxes being fitted with minihums. The story I heard is that the factory had the blanks routed for full size hums but they didn't have enough pups so they went with minis which they had in abundance for Firebirds. They had to make the rings to cover the factory planning goof. A lot of guys buy those rings now to restore Deluxes which were manufactured correctly and then routed by their owners for full-size buckers. I have one of those but I put full size Fralin PAFs in it to replace the Dimarzios someone routed it for.

Anyway - good luck.


lou

 

[miroslav]

Problem solved!

I emailed my buddy the carpenter/luthier...he's going to be doing a refret on one of my older guitars next month...he said no problem, he can cut the pickup rings for me while I wait, just bring him the measurments. He already has the pickguard material in various combinations (1-ply, 3-ply, 5-ply).

COOL!

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

Problem solved!

I emailed my buddy the carpenter/luthier...he's going to be doing a refret on one of my older guitars next month...he said no problem, he can cut the pickup rings for me while I wait, just bring him the measurments. He already has the pickguard material in various combinations (1-ply, 3-ply, 5-ply).

COOL!

Bring this thread back and post a pic when you get 'em.


lou

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

This is my Goldtop.

lou

 

[miroslav]

Nice guitar!

Sure...I will post up a picture when I have the rings mounted.

You might like the look enough to want a set for your P90s!

 

[Sky Blue Lou]

You might like the look enough to want a set for your P90s!

Won't woik with the pickguard. That pic was taken by the guy I bought it from. I took the sticker off the guard but I can't bring myself to remove the guard. It's the only one of my Lesters with the pickguard still on it.


lou

 

[stevieb]

Problem solved!

I emailed my buddy the carpenter/luthier...he's going to be doing a refret on one of my older guitars next month...he said no problem, he can cut the pickup rings for me while I wait, just bring him the measurments. He already has the pickguard material in various combinations (1-ply, 3-ply, 5-ply).

COOL!

Ask him if he can do me up a lefty strat pickguard for two soapbars, and how much? PM me with his price, please. And thanks.

 

[miroslav]

You can pretty much order exactly what you want on the Warmoth website...but I can ask my buddy. He may not have as big a selection of pickguard choices as they have on this website...all cut to exact specs and ready to go...check it out:

http://www.warmoth.com/Pickguard/StratPickguard.aspx

 

[xtp]

You can pretty much order exactly what you want on the Warmoth website...but I can ask my buddy. He may not have as big a selection of pickguard choices as they have on this website...all cut to exact specs and ready to go...check it out:

http://www.warmoth.com/Pickguard/StratPickguard.aspx

Probably a little off topic, and probably more applicable to a strat than a Les Paul.

But when I put a Les Paul P-90 circuit into my Fender I cut a nylon backing plate [from a kitchenware cutting board] with two tags for each P-90.

I then screwed the P-90s into it using the centre holes through the cover, and then I put a screw through the pickguard into each tag held in position by a spring from a ballpoint pen.

This allows me to adjuct the height of the pickup and not have it screwed directly into the wood, making the P-90 a little more versatile.

 

[miroslav]

This allows me to adjust the height of the pickup and not have it screwed directly into the wood, making the P-90 a little more versatile.

Yeah...IMO, that's the other half-assed, unfinished aspect of P90s (besides the open routing holes sans rings). You have to put foam pads and whatnot under them in order to adjust their height.

I know a lot of guys will accept the P90s as-is because that's how they were *originally* implemented (they don't look *horrible* without the rings, I just think they will look better with them )...but I think it was simply a low-cost alternative to also making them adjustable and also trimming them out a little. Hey...they're plastic covered pickups screwed directly to the body of the guitar.

That was a nice mod you did to make them adjustable!