Overachieving VIP Hollowbody

[Shaun M]

Reading through this, I think you have a cool idea but none of the details are quite correct.

Jazzmaster pickups are wildly different from P90s like kale vs ice cream. 1Meg pots will not change that.

24 frets will wildly change the sound of the neck pickup because the position of the pickup matters a lot for the tone.

Piezos are good enough as an acoustic sound and can get better with IRs but arent 100% right. So great in a pinch live but not perfect.

The middle rail pickup wont sound like a strat as much as you would want it to.

The bigsby has its own issues so do some research about what you are getting into with that. The Towner bar is great but the Bigsby already has issues it wont fix. Also you can get a bigsby and expect to be Van Halen. Its for subtle vibrato only.

I have never seen a need to put midi on a guitar. Thats what keyboards are for.

24 frets would really change the sound that much? I mean I could just get 22 then. That would add more space and make everything less busy too. After all this I’ll probably just put 500k pots in them because they’ll sound good and there’s no risk.
I was thinking of possibly putting the piezo through an acoustic amp or something. It isn’t just for acoustic sounds it’s also for another sound.

Would adding the middle rail hurt at all though? I kind of see it as just adding more options. And i was thinking I could split it as well as the rail pickups on the p-rails to get that Strat sound.

What issues are there with a bigsby? I’ve heard about changing strings but that isn’t much of an issue. And I heard that as long as you set up the bigsby correctly there won’t be tuning issues.

Midi would be used for synths or something. Wouldn’t hurt to add it but we’ll see.

 

[TBurst Std]

My advice is CALM your jets and DO NOT order anything!

Already mentioned, but P90s sound ABOSLUTELY nothing like Jazzmaster pickups. Keep in mind the SD PRails do a poor imitation of either a HB, SC or P90. A want-to-be jack of all trades, master of none. Tried some and could not pull them out fast enough.

Piezo: Keep in mind that you want NOT only a dedicated volume and a way to mix it, but ALSO dedicated tone controls for the piezo ALONE. Ideally you want a different output as well as you will want to use a different amplification system (either an acoustic amp or something with an acoustic IR. I can talk for days on this topic as I have owned and played years of numerous gigs with an electric guitar with a piezo. Personally I ran 2 lines out, both to my Fractal unit which can process 2 entirely differently signals simultaneously. A high dollar solution. Otherwise, its 2 lines out: 1 for the mag side to a guitar amp; another line out for the piezo to an acoustic amp. Even then, its a bad substitute for a true acoustic with either a mic or a SBT (UST is a last resort).

As noted, a 24 fret pup move will definitely affect your neck pup's tone.

I would suggest this.
Write down the top 5 tones you want to achieve. If at all possible, list the band and song.
Now prioritize this from 1 - 5. Then share it back here.
As possible, note each one why you NEED that tone? Are you playing in a band? live? recording? getting paid?

Again, CALM your jets and DO NOT order anything. You are on the verge of spending a chunk of change that most likely will not accomplish your goals.

 

[TBurst Std]

24 frets would really change the sound that much? I mean I could just get 22 then. That would add more space and make everything less busy too. After all this I’ll probably just put 500k pots in them because they’ll sound good and there’s no risk.
I was thinking of possibly putting the piezo through an acoustic amp or something. It isn’t just for acoustic sounds it’s also for another sound.

Would adding the middle rail hurt at all though? I kind of see it as just adding more options. And i was thinking I could split it as well as the rail pickups on the p-rails to get that Strat sound.

What issues are there with a bigsby? I’ve heard about changing strings but that isn’t much of an issue. And I heard that as long as you set up the bigsby correctly there won’t be tuning issues.

Midi would be used for synths or something. Wouldn’t hurt to add it but we’ll see.

Oh I forgot about the Bigsby. Keep in mind I am a Bigsby fan (have 5 guitars with them). They are only used subtlly. And they aren't cheap. For a no mod try out, get the Duesenberg Les Trem II. Cheaper and totally reversable. Oh by the way, piezos do NOT like a vibrato bridge/tailpiece that well when used. You get some funky or no sounds (either its interpetation of a string dragging back and forth across it's element (Bigsby style) or loosing contact with the element (Fender style)).

And yes, moving a neck pup 2 frets does change the sound. You have removed it from its 24th fret harmonic location (close enough for govt work). Why do you think you can't tune a strat effectively using harmonics when on the neck pup?

If you put a piezo in it, you are going to find out you have run out of control cavity room for a midi as well.

Do NOT order anything!

And loose the 1 meg pots. Those were to compensate for the mud wiring section on one side of the JM's multi-tone paths mechanism.

 

[supertruper1988]

24 frets would really change the sound that much? I mean I could just get 22 then. That would add more space and make everything less busy too. After all this I’ll probably just put 500k pots in them because they’ll sound good and there’s no risk.
I was thinking of possibly putting the piezo through an acoustic amp or something. It isn’t just for acoustic sounds it’s also for another sound.

Would adding the middle rail hurt at all though? I kind of see it as just adding more options. And i was thinking I could split it as well as the rail pickups on the p-rails to get that Strat sound.

What issues are there with a bigsby? I’ve heard about changing strings but that isn’t much of an issue. And I heard that as long as you set up the bigsby correctly there won’t be tuning issues.

Midi would be used for synths or something. Wouldn’t hurt to add it but we’ll see.

You should definitely educate yourself some more before ordering. I had the "perfect" guitar built that did most of what you are after here and, spoiler alert, it was not perfect.