Project Idea - is this feasible?

BathTubWarrior · Post by **BathTubWarrior** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:02 am

Freddy V-C wrote:Those might be worth looking into, definitely. I think I'm gonna stick with the VM Jag pickups for this, mainly because it's gonna look super weird and I like super weird SGs.

The dude from Humanfly's super weird SG was another source of inspiration.

Reminds me of (this picture for whatever reason is gigantic)

► Show Spoiler

spirograph · Post by **spirograph** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:52 am

love that mockup freddy!

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:43 am

FUCK BUCKERS, FUCK YEAH FREDDY.

always kinda wanted an sg b/c of teh cream, but I don't really get along with humbuckers much. stoked to see how this turns out.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 8:15 am

I'm meeting BobAC to get the Jag pickups off him on Friday, then I'm visiting my parents that evening so I'll be able to dig out these Strat pickups (they're somewhere in amongst all of my crap). And I ordered the pickup rings yesterday, so I should have all the parts very soon.

I was a little worried about how all this would come together since I'm still completely hopeless at soldering, and the dude I usually trust with these matters no longer works at the local guitar shop. Luckily I managed to contact him directly and he's more than happy to help out. Rad!

markleton · Post by **markleton** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:03 pm

Freddy V-C wrote:I got bored and made a mockup.

Yep, cool.

This looks like the tits. Can't wait to see it all together.

jagsonic · Post by **jagsonic** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:06 am

What about Filtertrons? Think they sound a bit more like singlecoils but will look better on a sg...

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:17 pm

Will they really look better though?

George · Post by **George** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:24 pm

i have a retrotron in my strat. it looks hilariously mismatched but sounds okay. not quite on the same level as a real single coil and i keep meaning to put the original pickup back in. i'd go ahead as planned. it'll look great. you gonna go for blank covers or not? i'd recommend white with polepieces showing. will look great.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:28 pm

I'm visiting the parents this weekend, and I think I've got some cheap shitty Strat pickups in a box somewhere at their house. I'm planning on nicking the covers off those. White with pole pieces showing, THE ONLY WAY TO GO.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:36 pm

Do it! It looks fantastic in the mock-up.

I'd go robroe covers but then I'd also go with robroe covers.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:48 pm

Just to clarify James: would you go with robroe covers?

James · Post by **James** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:58 pm

Never!

also -> always*

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 1:06 pm

I haven't posted any updates on this in a while, oops!

I met up with Jon/BobArseCake a couple of weeks ago. He gave me his VM Jag pickups for free because he's a top bloke! We had a rather nice pint together.

I've got all the other bits and pieces together (although I'm not 100% sure whether the pickup covers I've got will fit). We had a soldering workshop at uni last week, and I was hoping that if I did well I might be able to solder this together myself. As it turns out, though, I'm still absolute garbage. So I've just met up with my friend Phil who's gonna wire it all up for me, and also tweak the setup.

We're considering wiring the pickup selector so that it switches between series and parallel rather than neck and bridge, because I pretty much always have both pickups switched on.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 10:48 pm

After Mike gave them to me because he's a top top bloke and I thought Freddy would put them to better use! D:

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:16 am

AND IT'S FINISHED.

Unfortunately the Strat pickup covers wouldn't fit inside the pickup rings, but it looks rad either way so I'm still super happy.

This thing sounds amazing. Even though the pickups are the same as in my VM Jag, I'd say the closest guitar I've had sound-wise is the Baja Tele I sold a year or two ago.

I was a bit concerned that replacing the pickup selector with a series/parallel switch would leave me with a limited palette, but I'm getting a real variety of sounds. I'm mostly playing in parallel, but in series things thicken up nicely, and when I'm playing clean it's pretty cool to switch to series as a volume boost. I also don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this guitar in parallel through my Harmonic Percolator into a slightly overdriven amp is my favourite guitar sound I've ever achieved.

Possibly more pics/opinions once I've spent a little more time with it.

A further mod I'm considering is taking out both tone knobs and one of the volume knobs seen as I only really need/use one volume. I'm just not sure what I'd do about the unsightly holes.

I'm also tempted to get a tort pickguard cut somewhere down the line, although that might be a little too ridiculous.

Maybe even green pearl... haha.

torchindy · Post by **torchindy** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 1:55 am

Freddy V-C wrote:Those might be worth looking into, definitely. I think I'm gonna stick with the VM Jag pickups for this, mainly because it's gonna look super weird and I like super weird SGs.

The dude from Humanfly's super weird SG was another source of inspiration.

Them's Les Paul Recording pickups!

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 2:20 am

Freddy V-C wrote:I'm just not sure what I'd do about the unsightly holes.

GAFFA TAPE.

dub · Post by **dub** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:08 am

Freddy V-C wrote:I'm just not sure what I'd do about the unsightly holes.

I'd check out a diy store and get a plastic (christmas tree clips) or a wooden plug?
http://www.screwmaster.co.uk/10-wooden- ... -230-p.asp

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:19 pm

i'd be tempted to go super ugly and put a big aluminium plate on it. would cover the holes and make it look like a framus or old japanese thing at the same time. (30 second photoshop, sorry)

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:27 pm

Holy shitting balls, this is a great project. Somehow I just know single coils in an SG would sound amazing.