I got this wild idea... I hope I don't mess up though.

[johnzah]

I have a newer Gibson Les Paul Junior (with humbucker) and I want to rout it for a strat or tele neck pickup.

Have you guys ever done or seen something like this? I would think it would be fairly easy to pull off, but I've been wrong before. BTW this guitar is kind of my beater guitar so it's pretty banged up.

Thoughts?

 

[alterbridgefan]

http://www.warmoth.com/Gallery/GalleryItem.aspx?id=5325
:headbang1:

 

[johnzah]

Thanks for the link. That's a cool idea, but I want to keep the bridge humbucker and just add a neck single coil.
there is a pick guard that should cover any routing.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I believe this is exactly what you need. :guitaristgif:  No routing needed.

 

[bagman67]

A photo of the guitar in its current condition would help us to provide useful suggestions.  Does it already have a neck pickup rout?  If so, the adapter that ihnpts suggested seems to be the tool for the job; otherwise, it's likely just a matter of getting the right template to make a new rout for a strat pup, and then using an aviation bit to drill between the pickup routs (or from the neck rout to the control cavity, as the case may be).


Bagman

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Oh.... I didn't think about this as a single pickup LPjr with no rout already... in which case this is what you need.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[johnzah]

thanks guys. those templates should do the trick. I have a hand-held router that should work but will the fretboard get in the way of the router??

 

[bagman67]

Use the plexiglass template to make a much thicker template out of MDF.  Make it much wider than the plexiglass template so you'll have plenty of surface contact with the guitar body.


Then use a straight edge guide to rout a chunk out of the down-side of the MDF template to accommodate the fretboard.  Looks like a quarter-inch depth or so should do the trick, eyeballing your photo.  Use double-sided tape to hold the MDF template down on the guitar body.  Use a follow bearing on the shank-end of the router bit.


That oughta keep you in good shape.

 

[Great Ape]

Have you considered the possibility of wiping out the neck tenon by routing at that place on the body, or is it short enough on that guitar that it's not a concern? Measure twice, cut once, an' all that sorta thing...

 

[johnzah]

thanks again! that should work.

That's actually a really good thing for me to try to figure out. how far back does the neck tenon usually come back?
Also, would it sound terrible if i mounted the pickup back further?

 

[greywolf]

The tenon is at least 4"  Gibson uses 3 depths ..

 

[dmraco]

Have you considered the possibility of wiping out the neck tenon by routing at that place on the body, or is it short enough on that guitar that it's not a concern? Measure twice, cut once, an' all that sorta thing...

He should be OK, especially if it is a single cutaway.  Leave some space between the neck and PU and you should be fine. 

You can also by drill bits that are like 8-12 inches long.  If you can find the correct angle from the control cavity, you could drill a channel thru the bridge PU area into the new single coil area.

Post some photos.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Honestly, just get a Melody Maker. Gibson have been making them with neck single coils for a while now. They're dirt cheap and it means you can keep your Junior exactly as it is, no risks.

 

[Dan025]

ehh, guitars with one pickup sound better. there are less magnetiically induced harmonics (stratitis) and parasitic string pull. i'd enjoy it for what it is and get another guitar with a neck pickup. or you can play with tone circuits to make it sound warmer and pick softly closer to the neck for less harmonics to get a sorta neck pickup sound...

you can either build a more versatile guitar to expand your sound or work around the existing guitars limitations to make you a more versatile player. both options work but only one enhances your talent....

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

ehh, guitars with one pickup sound better. there are less magnetiically induced harmonics (stratitis) and parasitic string pull.

Honestly, just get a Melody Maker. Gibson have been making them with neck single coils for a while now. They're dirt cheap and it means you can keep your Junior exactly as it is, no risks.

DUDES!  DON'T DISCOURAGE POTENTIAL GUITAR MODDERS!!!!

Not that I necessarily disagree with the points made, btw, just want to make sure we foster musical instrument tinkering/improvement.  Isn't that why we're all fans of Warmoth to begin with? :headbang:

 

[Ace Flibble]

Well... no, I'm a fan of Warmoth more due to the basic problem of not being able to to get the pickup/control/bridge/scale length options I wanted in production guitars. If Fender would make some 24.75" scale guitars with tune-o-matics and volume controls that aren't in dumb positions then I probably would have just stuck with them.

I'm all for modding—I don't own a single guitar that's still in stock condition—but there's "modding" and then there's "probably ruining a perfectly good guitar just to make it like a thing which already exists".

 

[dmraco]

Warmoth make a shorter scale conversion neck.  I would not cut into the gibson....may loos some value and appeal.

 

[swarfrat]

ehh, guitars with one pickup sound better. [theories deleted]

Yeah, but I always figured it was really because with a one pickup guitar you don't spend time fiddling with knobs and just play the thing.
Pickups, like switches and knobs, are attractive nuisances.