Kinda Pissed Off At Warmoth.................

[JeffBlue]

I recently had a tele thinline body made for me. I asked for an option that they normally don't offer. I wanted a Bloodwood laminate top and they decided to give my my second choice. The body turned out beautifully anyway.

Today I called and asked if I could special order a Fender thinline pickguard with a cutout/rout for a P90 in the middle position. My thinline body has a P90 rout in the middle position. I am a consistent customer of Warmoth and I am confounded why something so simple is something they won't do.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I recently had a tele thinline body made for me. I asked for an option that they normally don't offer. I wanted a Bloodwood laminate top and they decided to give my my second choice. The body turned out beautifully anyway.

Today I called and asked if I could special order a Fender thinline pickguard with a cutout/rout for a P90 in the middle position. My thinline body has a P90 rout in the middle position. I am a consistent customer of Warmoth and I am confounded why something so simple is something they won't do.

There are literally dozens of variations of pickup routes in pick guard templates, and it is possible that there is not for that particular combination.  Making one single pick guard template for the pin router for such a rare, one-off request is labor some & therefore not cost effective when you take into consideration the limited number of requests.

Simple economics, i.e.; supply & demand.
Not enough demand to warrant the cost of supply.

 

[Cagey]

If you've got a body with that cavity cut into it, you could order a pickguard with just the neck/bridge cutouts, then use the body as a template to cut the middle P90 hole. Attach the pickguard to the body in the proper position with a couple/few screws, drill a 3/8" access hole somewhere in the area where you know the P90 cavity is below, then use a 1/4" edge trim bit (lower bearing) to cut out the pickup opening.

 

[KOABUILD]

Here try these guys they do special order work, awesome material selection for those special needs http://www.terrapinguitars.com/index2_php.php?content=guitarContent#electric

Here is a description explaining many unadvertised possibilities...http://www.terrapinguitars.com/index_php.php?content=optionsContent

I have ordered custom through them and was very happy with the results.

 

[Wolfie351]

Your custom middle pickup cavity was likely hand routed and they know you'll be even more pissed when the pickguard doesn't match exactly.  So that means shipping the body both ways plus the cost of a custom guard...that's one expensive scratchplate.  If you ordered both at the same time, I'm willing to bet they'd have done it.

 

[Fat Pete]

A middle position P90 wouldn't fit within the outline of a ('68) thinline pickguard and would cover the top/middle screw hole on a '72. Neither mean it couldn't work, but both might cause issues with Warmoth's production process. They are a parts supplier after all, not a full-blown custom shop; it's amazing that they are able to offer as many options as they do, but you can find the limits if you try.

As others have suggested, there are plenty of people out there who can help, or just DIY - pickguard material is only a little harder to cut than butter.

 

[Kostas]

...My thinline body has a P90 rout in the middle position...

Warmoth offers the Thinline (like mine) and '72 Thinline, which one you have? I believe they wouldn't rout a middle P90 in a top routed Thinline, only in a non pickguard guitar. Check mine, a P90 would be half on the pickguard and half on the body. There are also pickguard screws where a middle pickup goes.

https://postimages.org/

 

[BigSteve22]

If that P-90 will fit in your guard, Cagey's advice is surely the best, most accurate, and easiest way to do it. You are guaranteed an exact fit to the body route in exactly the right position.

I've made a complete pickguard using this method. I first made a plywood version of the outline. I mounted the material to the plywood, used a piloted straight bit to cut it out, and then a 30 degree chamfer bit to shape the edge. I then mounted the guard to the guitar and cut out the pups as Cagey described. In fact, this was the second method I tried. On my first attempt, I cut the pups using using cutouts in the plywood outline, but things didn't line up quite right. Much more satisfying results the second time around....

 

[JeffBlue]

I hand cut the pickguard myself. Not perfect but the partial pickup/pickguardeffect looks pretty cool to me. I purposely ordered the body without an F-hole so I could creat my own sound hole.

 

[rgand]

Yes, the partial PU/PG looks good. It's also interesting to have the Tele control plate encorporated with it, too.

 

[BigSteve22]

I hand cut the pickguard myself. Not perfect but the partial pickup/pickguardeffect looks pretty cool to me....

Looks pretty cool to me too! Nicely done, and I love the lightning bolt "f" hole!  :icon_thumright:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I can see now why they wouldn't.
Seems there is a screw hole right in the path of the bridge side of the p_90 cut.
Re-directing that screw hole to fasten that section between the bridge & middle would make the pickguard no longer a direct replacement as the screw hole would now be mis-aligned.
A big factor to consider for a replacement part company.
I could see them omitting the screw & doing the P-90 route in the center for an upcharge of $45 due to the manual labor involved in making the cut by hand.

 

[JeffBlue]

I'm feeling pretty good about how it is turning out. Don't need Warmoth to do my custom work.

 

[JeffBlue]

This is what the guitar looks like finished.

 

[BigSteve22]

This is what the guitar looks like finished.

Nice, enjoy your new axe!  :icon_thumright:

 

[JeffBlue]

Thanks........I've calmed down and will continue to purchase from Warmoth.