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Overachieving VIP Hollowbody

24 frets would really change the sound that much?

In my experience no, it just makes the neck pickup a bit brighter which to be honest I prefer.

I would leave the specs as they are besides changing the Bigsby for a Gotoh 510 or a FR. Both of them are more useful vibratos.
 
This is going to sound really dumb but what do yall think about getting jt routed HHH or HSH and just using conversion rings for single coils just so I have the option to change out the pickups whenever I want?
 
Ah, the old “I prefer the sound of single coils and the look of humbuckers”. Totally get it.

Might I suggest classic Firebird pickups, Fralin Big Singles or Unbuckers, Lollar Novel Ts/The Birds, or similar humbucker sized single coil (or single coil voiced) pickups?

I recently put a pair of Lollar The Bird pickups in a guitar and they are awesome, very good “fat single coil” tone.
 
This is going to sound really dumb but what do yall think about getting jt routed HHH or HSH and just using conversion rings for single coils just so I have the option to change out the pickups whenever I want?
If versatility is your goal, it's hard to think of anything more versatile than that.

It might look weird, but it will give you options.
 
Got my terms mixed up ...

As to routing for HHH, if it's a top route just swap the pickguard for your pup swap. You might have to widen with a dremel the humbucker route, if you get, for instance a strat pup in the neck position, but it would be covered up so who cares, except Spud.
 
Got my terms mixed up ...

As to routing for HHH, if it's a top route just swap the pickguard for your pup swap. You might have to widen with a dremel the humbucker route, if you get, for instance a strat pup in the neck position, but it would be covered up so who cares, except Spud.
well the VIP is a rear routed guitar only so I can’t just swap pickguards. If I could I totally would. What do you mean by having to widen the route?
 
Ah, the old “I prefer the sound of single coils and the look of humbuckers”. Totally get it.

Might I suggest classic Firebird pickups, Fralin Big Singles or Unbuckers, Lollar Novel Ts/The Birds, or similar humbucker sized single coil (or single coil voiced) pickups?

I recently put a pair of Lollar The Bird pickups in a guitar and they are awesome, very good “fat single coil” tone.
Firebird pickups are single coils? Had no clue, never really got into firebirds. I’ll check those out and then reply to this again later.
 
The Bird pup is 2 Gibby Melody Maker pups stuffed under 1 cover. They have their own sound. Listen to Johnny Winter. It’s a very specific tone.
 
So I made a mock up of the guitar with single coils in adapters… they look pretty funky imo. I’m probably going to have to find an alternative. I’m going to see if other colors might look better but i doubt it.
 

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So I made a mock up of the guitar with single coils in adapters… they look pretty funky imo. I’m probably going to have to find an alternative. I’m going to see if other colors might look better but i doubt it.
Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I thought it would look like.

I wonder if, instead of silver, you could go with a clear plastic with the image of a humbucker on a sticker affixed to the back? At least then it might look in passing like a humbucker.
 
So I made a mock up of the guitar with single coils in adapters… they look pretty funky imo. I’m probably going to have to find an alternative. I’m going to see if other colors might look better but i doubt it.
Yeah adapter plates look wonky IMHO. They are good for hot rod / rat rod aesthetics, but if you’re building from the ground up it seems like an odd choice.

Another nice chimey option I think would look great is Filtertrons. They sort of slot between SCs and HBs and look great direct mounted or in rings. And of course they don’t suffer from hum either!
 
Yeah adapter plates look wonky IMHO. They are good for hot rod / rat rod aesthetics, but if you’re building from the ground up it seems like an odd choice.

Another nice chimey option I think would look great is Filtertrons. They sort of slot between SCs and HBs and look great direct mounted or in rings. And of course they don’t suffer from hum either!
You know I was looking at those. Maybe I could put three in for HHH. I got to check if they fit in humbucker slots. I’ll check them out again and respond
 
You know I was looking at those. Maybe I could put three in for HHH. I got to check if they fit in humbucker slots. I’ll check them out again and respond
They're not direct fit. A humbucker rout is bigger than a Filtertron rout. They do make humbucker sized Filtertrons, though.
 
Check out the mothership's page for dimensions on the various routes. If you want a p90ish sound in a humbucker form factor, railhammer bridge Heavy 90, and Neuvo 90's neck is good combo. You can always go back to humbuckers. That's what I did with the guitar in my signature, though I went in the reverse direction and now have the humcutters. As I eyeball the VIP, cosmetically, it seems to go with something in a humbucker shape, or p90 shape. If you want to change in the future, just find something that fits the bill, but I wouldn't recommend cutting out chunks of wood to make something fit, and will probably be a beautiful guitar. Just saying, different pickups have different dimensions, though probably there are adapter rings for just about anything? Mini-humbuckers?

Welcome to the world of partscasters!
 
They're not direct fit. A humbucker rout is bigger than a Filtertron rout. They do make humbucker sized Filtertrons, though.
They also make humbucker adapter rings for Filtertrons, so they fit. They look cleaner with no ears/direct mount though
 
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