Front strat route on a rear-routed Soloist body

[muns53]

Hi, Warmoth doesn't offer this but I think they will allow it on a strat body.

Has anyone done a front route on a Soloist body or know of anyone who has done this? I have a rear-routed Soloist on order but am considering using a pickguard on the front for a few different reasons, including easier to wire it that way.

All ideas welcome. Thanks!

 

[Fat Pete]

Forum maniac Cederick has his scratchplated Soloist as his profile pic - search him out! He did post about how he did it, but it was quite a while ago and I can't remember if actually did a front-routed conversion, or just left the body as is and put the plate on top - I suspect the latter.

Here's one in Warmoth's gallery.

 

[muns53]

Forum maniac Cederick has his scratchplated Soloist as his profile pic - search him out! He did post about how he did it, but it was quite a while ago and I can't remember if actually did a front-routed conversion, or just left the body as is and put the plate on top - I suspect the latter.

Here's one in Warmoth's gallery.

FatPete - THANK YOU, very helpful!! I will try to ping Cederick and JonKon see if I can learn something.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

I think you would have to buy a special pickguard because the standard pickguard won't account for the scooped and narrowed horns. And of course the holes for the controls in the body would have to match the pickguard or you will have to drill additional holes in the body..

I'm thinking of building an inexpensive guitar that I could swap premade pickguards with different pickup/electronics without worrying about scratching the finish etc but would have the neck shape I prefer which is why I'm leaning toward the Strat even though I like the very light weight Soloist and the extra scooped out horns.

 

[muns53]

When my body comes in, I've decided that I'm going to try out the concept with a generic pickguard I have on hand and just trace what would need to be cut out on the guitar. Basically a shape for the controls to poke through and channels between the pickup routes for the wires to poke through.

I am thinking a pickguard would be really easy to modify to the needed shape if the top of the bodies and pickup locations were enough of a match. I have seen people on various build threads here showing how they are making custom shapes for their guitars - pretty cool to see!

I'll definitely be posting pics and ideas in my build thread once my Soloist body comes in.

 

[muns53]

Quick update (I also posted this in my build thread)... I got my body in and it is now obvious that a strat pickguard doesn't work as-is. The rear cavity on a Soloist is not matched to the normal strat holes. The pickup carvings and 5-way switch are in the same spot. But the holes would not line up. So, a completely blank pickguard could be shaped to match and the holes placed to match the rear cavity. But if the "tone 2 hole" is already drilled, it won't work. No biggie but good to know.

Front shows the hole misalignment and that it would be easy to re-shape the pickguard:

Rear shows the difference in rear cavity vs placement of parts on standard pickguard:

 

[WindsurfMaui]

Good to know. So anyone trying this in the future shouldn't order the second tone control. It's hard for me to see how much of the pickguard would need trimming b/c the wood and the background are similar colors and there is a shadow there. Can you put the pickguard on the front of the body and then flip it over so I can see how much white is peeking through? Thanks.

 

[muns53]

Good to know. So anyone trying this in the future shouldn't order the second tone control. It's hard for me to see how much of the pickguard would need trimming b/c the wood and the background are similar colors and there is a shadow there. Can you put the pickguard on the front of the body and then flip it over so I can see how much white is peeking through? Thanks.

Not sure if this is helpful, but here you go. This is the pickguard lined up same as the "front" pic earlier and just flipped over. You can see some silver from the back of the pickguard that actually shows the 5-way and the holes are not the same at all as the pickguard.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. It is the area near the neck pocket that I was curious about. Because the Soloist has a deeper scoop  around the neck pocket I assume the pickguard needs to also be scooped in this area not to  get in the way of your hand when you play down around the 22nd fret. I was curious how much of the pickguard shows when  the pickguard is on the front of the guitar but then the guitar is turned over so the pickguard shows how much sticks out.

As for the second tone control. I would have assumed it was going to be in the same place as on the pickguard. Because it isn't I think is important to know not just because of not fitting the pickguard but if you play a Strat and like where the controls are you will have to get used to finding the second tone knob is in a different place.

 

[muns53]

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. It is the area near the neck pocket that I was curious about. Because the Soloist has a deeper scoop  around the neck pocket I assume the pickguard needs to also be scooped in this area not to  get in the way of your hand when you play down around the 22nd fret. I was curious how much of the pickguard shows when  the pickguard is on the front of the guitar but then the guitar is turned over so the pickguard shows how much sticks out.

Yeah, check out the first pic - that placement fits the neck pocket. So, lots of shaping needed on the top and bottom of it.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

When looking at the first photo I can see how a little of the pickguard sticks up past the  scoop on the top horn. But on the bottom horn because of the shadow around the scoop and the fact that the background material is a similar color to the wood I can't tell how much if any of the pickguard is sticking up past the scoop on the lower horn. Maybe you can just tell me is the pickguard on the deeper scoop still even with the wood or does it stick out past the wood and need to be cut back? How much of the pickguard is sticking past the scoop? 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch Thanks

 

[Cederick]

Yeah, this is a dear topic of mine  :icon_biggrin:

I made this myself, and up close it's a VERY crude cutout. But I really like "EVH style" DIY stuff that really looks like crap but is great to play on.

 

[WindsurfMaui]

I agree function over fashion.

 

[muns53]

When looking at the first photo I can see how a little of the pickguard sticks up past the  scoop on the top horn. But on the bottom horn because of the shadow around the scoop and the fact that the background material is a similar color to the wood I can't tell how much if any of the pickguard is sticking up past the scoop on the lower horn. Maybe you can just tell me is the pickguard on the deeper scoop still even with the wood or does it stick out past the wood and need to be cut back? How much of the pickguard is sticking past the scoop? 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch Thanks

Here you go! Sorry, I misunderstood what you were asking. Hopefully these 2 pics help. Quite a bit of sculpting to do and positioning it where you want it based on looks, etc. But totally doable.

 

[muns53]

Yeah, this is a dear topic of mine  :icon_biggrin:

I made this myself, and up close it's a VERY crude cutout. But I really like "EVH style" DIY stuff that really looks like crap but is great to play on.

Love it!! So did you use a front and back route with pickguard-mounted pickups? Or is this on the front as a cover? More details please, sir!!

 

[rgand]

Here you go! Sorry, I misunderstood what you were asking. Hopefully these 2 pics help. Quite a bit of sculpting to do and positioning it where you want it based on looks, etc. But totally doable.

It looks like you'll need to start with a pickguard that isn't drilled for mounting screws. Shaping that one to fit will most likely cut right through that first screw hole.

Yeah, this is a dear topic of mine  :icon_biggrin:

I made this myself, and up close it's a VERY crude cutout. But I really like "EVH style" DIY stuff that really looks like crap but is great to play on.

I like the design of this pickguard. Rough cut or not, it's a good look. It would be good if Warmoth offered one much like that. I generally don't like the look of a soloist but this really is cool.

edit: You know, the more I think about this, the better I like it.

 

[Cederick]

Thanks!  :icon_biggrin:

However I wish I made the lower horn more pointy, and it's generally a bit too close to the outer edges, but eh. I can get along with it.

 

[JLantern]

Hi, and greetings to the forum from Finland.

I've been struggling with the same idea. I'm looking to build a super strat based on a soloist body, and I'd like a pickguard for the looks. HSS pickup configuration. But as we know, Warmoth doesn't provide a soloist shape pickguard.

Spike from Warmoth was kind enough to reply to my inquiry: he said that soloist body can be delivered without the rear routing at all, if it helps. (This would of course mean that a top routing still needs to be DIY.)

Best option IMO would be to order a soloist body with:
- rear routing
- HHH pickup routing on top
- no controls routed
- find and order a pickguard that fits the soloist shape, and
- drill holes for controls using the pickguard as a guide

Here's a pdf from http://www.terrapinguitars.com which may or may not fit soloist body. Perhaps if someone with a soloist body could print this pdf out and see how it fits? If it (or any other model from the page) does fit, we have a solution.

http://www.terrapinguitars.com/2011/pdf/Ibanez%20RG%2040.pdf

I'm eager to find out if this is the solution? Please let me know! Thanks in advance.

 

[rgand]

I also like the idea of a soloist with a pickguard on it.

Fat Pete on the forum here made one with a pickguard that isn't the normal Strat type. Don't think you have to go conventional with it. Pete's Wilkinson Barracuda.

Of course, the Strat-type looks quite nice.

Welcome to the forum. BTW, my wife was born in Jakobstad.