7/8th P90 Plank of Possibility

[rockandroller]

So, I have a nice new 7/8 Warhead neck in hand, but still no body, as it's possibilities are currently indeterminate.

I asked Warmoth support if they could make me a 7/8 body blank (neck and pup routes, no outline) and they said they would look into it but I haven't heard anything back.

I already have a 7/8 Strat and 7/8 tele, looking to make this P90-loaded guitar something different.

Allegedly this neck might work on a mustang body? Been thinking about maybe a Z body blank... Or maybe a Diamondback?

Not a big fan of p90 routing work, no rings to cover any glitches... So been thinking of maybe ordering a 'standard' strat-heeled body and having warmoth route for neck and middle (no bridge) -since the bridge would have to mount 3/4 inch forward of normal location for strat scale.

Maybe this should be a mutant P90 Dinkycaster?

Here is the story so far:

 

[ragamuffin]

That's a nice neck!

 

[Hagwood]

Hey, it has my Supernova Inlays !! I like the idea of P90's Plank of Possibility. How about Dog Ears if you don't like the routing ?

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

The trouble with using a standard size body is the pickup routes are in the wrong place for the 24.75” scale. It’s not only the bridge route that needs to be relocated. It would be better to use a pickguard from a Mustang or 7/8 Strat that is custom routed for P90 pickups. Mustang pickguards for P90s are readily available.

I already did a project with a Warmoth 7/8 neck fitted to a Fender Mustang Player series body. In my case I used a Warmoth pickguard as well, so the screw locations on the body for pickguard and control plate needed to be re-drilled. The pickguard screw close to the fretboard overhang has to be relocated due to potential interference with the 7/8 neck. I can post pics later.

I wonder if there is a possibility of using a Mustang pickguard and control plate on a Dinkycaster body.

 

[stratamania]

since the bridge would have to mount 3/4 inch forward of normal location for strat scale.

That is not probably an accurate assumption.

A Strat neck is a 21 fret neck blank with an overhang for a 22nd fret for a 25.5" scale and the 7/8 is the same neck blank with a similar overhang but laid out for 24 frets for a 24 3/4" scale. They both fit into a Strat style neck pocket, but where is that along each respective scale length and neck type.

It is not simply a matter of deducting one figure from another, but also knowing where things are in relation to each other, which points are fixed and which need to vary.

If you print the below pdf out to full size, it should give you an idea with your neck and figuring out the total scale length where the bridge needs to be.

https://warmoth.com/media/skin/images/PDFs/pickguards/78thStrat.pdf

 

[rockandroller]

...

It is not simply a matter of deducting one figure from another, but also knowing where things are in relation to each other, which points are fixed and which need to vary.
...

Yes, absolutely!

I do know that the location of the bridge mount 'intonation point' is relative to "Half the scale length from wherever the center of the12th fret is".
But I am not sure about where the 'hypothetical 24th fret' is located relative to the end of a 'standard 25.5' Warmoth neck pocket, but I expect its an inch or so past it... and the butt end of the 7/8th neck is very close to its 24th fret.

BTW, I really don't subscribe to a "correct" pickup location... sure there are "traditional" ones, but to my ear 'alternative' locations do not destroy the sound of a guitar.

 

[Hodgo]

I asked Warmoth support if they could make me a 7/8 body blank (neck and pup routes, no outline) and they said they would look into it but I haven't heard anything back

Do tell us if they get back to you and say it’s possible. I very much want one such blank….

BTW, I really don't subscribe to a "correct" pickup location... sure there are "traditional" ones, but to my ear 'alternative' locations do not destroy the sound of a guitar.

I agree wholeheartedly, however I think if you want a guitar to sound like another guitar putting them in the same relative location is ideal. But the ES-175 is a great example of a totally great sound from it’s not quite neck not quite mid humbucker.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

Moving the bridge pickup by 3mm in either direction is a noticable difference in both output and tone. IMO, it can almost destroy the tone if it's the wrong choice. Obviously it depends on what you are trying to achieve and what parts you use to do it.

 

[ragamuffin]

Another thought: if you can shape a body on your own, it isn't all that much harder/more work to do the neck pocket and pickup routes on your own as well.

When I wanted to build a Music Man Albert Lee style body I ended up buying a Warmoth pre-routed body blank and shaping it for my first build, but in the process I realized that I probably could have done all the routing myself.

Since then I've made several of my own bodies from scratch.


Tips for making your own bodies:

-Always measure twice! Or three or five times! One of my builds I routed for the bridge too far forward and it was crushing! But I got over it eventually and it was a necessary learning experience.

-For your first time, before you route on a an expensive body blank (or a Warmoth pre-routed one) be sure to practice everything that you're going to do on a cheaper piece of wood. For my first I bought a 8' board of poplar from a hardwood lumber yard. It me around $40, made two and a half body blanks, and saved me from f-ing up my Warmoth pre-routed blank. In lumber yard terminology, you want an 8" wide 8/4 board S4S (surfaced on four sides) of something cheap (poplar, pine, maybe something else depending on local availability). Cut it to body length, glue it up, and have at it.

 

[supertruper1988]

This is the neck that diappeared from my cart when it was put on super screamin' deal. if you dont find some possibilities, I would be interested to take it off your hands.

 

[rockandroller]

Another thought: if you can shape a body on your own, it isn't all that much harder/more work to do the neck pocket and pickup routes on your own as well.
...

Well, I have done so once or twice before (most recently, see https://www.talkbass.com/threads/sp...ycheldelicd-starcaster.1455115/#post-24043976 ) and frankly router work isn't something I enjoy very much.

If I can get a body blank with neck pocket, pups, rear control cavity and maybe even bridge work already done by CNC, then playing around with a bandsaw and sander doesnt seem too onerous!

I guess my current best bet might be a raw 7/8th strat body with the routing above - then mess with the body outlines.

But I dunno, I am really starting to lean towards one of the smaller standard Warmoth bodies, no bridge pup or bridge drilling but all other routing, and one of their fabulous finishes. This build is intended to replace something I built a long time ago with P90s - trying hard to thin the herd here and standardizing on the 7/8th Warhead neck since I really enjoy my first one...

 

[rockandroller]

Wow, Joe just got back to me : 7/8th body blank IS A THING!!

" We can offer a 7/8 body blank.
Just fill out the form and mention that you would like a 7/8 sized body blank in the special instructions.
This body blank will be No Cancel/Return/Refund.
We will rout the body with the 7/8 locations."

Wheels are turning now - possibilities!!!

 

[stratamania]

Wow, Joe just got back to me : 7/8th body blank IS A THING!!

" We can offer a 7/8 body blank.
Just fill out the form and mention that you would like a 7/8 sized body blank in the special instructions.
This body blank will be No Cancel/Return/Refund.
We will rout the body with the 7/8 locations."

Wheels are turning now - possibilities!!!

Which form is being referred to?

I am assuming probably this one.

https://warmoth.com/gb-bb

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

If Warmoth can do a 7/8th body blank, I don't see why a 7/8th Soloist or Musiclander would not be possible.

 

[db82]

Can they put a unique choice lam top on my 7/8 body blank?

 

[rockandroller]

Can they put a unique choice lam top on my 7/8 body blank?

You can add one to any unfinished body that you order, so I would suspect the answer would be yes...

I'm more on the fence than ever... The only thing i dislike more than routing is finish work, and my upcoming short scale bass and 7/8th Esquire are both getting simple wipe on oil finishes... Now jonesing for a metalflake, which in the case of a body blank build would probably require the assistance of a local auto body shop...

 

[rockandroller]

BTW, I just got the word from Joe: No lam-tops on body blanks...

 

[rockandroller]

Well... this build project has suddenly struck out on an unexpected TANGENT
... first, this is my current instrument it's intended to replace:

It's a lovely-sounding guitar (Kent Armstrong humbucking P90s each with push-pot series/parallel, toggle switch, and master tone.
Very versatile but I find it uncomfortable due to fatter neck (like 59), wider nut, and most importantly: barely any edge radius!
It was supposed to have a big 1/2 inch roundover (like 70s Alembic) but I was in a big hurry and it never happened.

Anyway I recently made the mistake of doing a lot more browsing of these forums (and the Warmoth site!), and hit on a new idea...

 

[rockandroller]

I was reading up on the "new top-routed soloist" offering, and (BEING LAZY) it occured to me that I might be able to pretty easily turn one of those into a sort of "7/8 soloist". And sure enough, the Screamin Deals page was offering a top-routed soloist in a rather attractive extra-lightweight Poplar.

I took a measurement from my 7/8th Strat and saw that the 'end of neck pocket to intonation point' was 164 mm.
I then took the soloist picture (which was shot pretty flat-on) and scaled it into a Strat template I had laying around in Corel draw...

I could see that the theoretical 7/8th intonation point set back 164mm from neck pocket likely clears the standard top-route-soloist pickup routing. A hardtail bridge would overhang that a few mm, but not a big deal with a Schaller 3D which mounts on three sturdy screws further back.... I grabbed a scale Schaller drawing and pulled it in... Looks promising! The 7/8th intonation point will sit about 15.4mm forward of the traditional 25.5 scale,


To get a better look I printed the real size Soloist pickguard PDF and imported that into my Corel drawing. Everything lined up OK ( tight, but OK). I took a pic of a gold pearl P/G that I selected in in the site...

And scaled that to match the 'real-size' PG and traced it into an object (in retrospect, I could have just made the background transparent...)
Anyway, it looked do-able!

 

[rockandroller]

Still, will have to TRIM about 5mm out of the pickguard to fit the bridge in...

But that still leaves a couple mm of pickguard behind the pickup!
Should look something like this:


Anyway, body, pickguard, and a set of 'contoured heel' screws will be on the way soon. Then I will find out how close my guesses really are! Will this be the canary neck vehicle of my dreams???