Converting my Epiphone to P90s, need measurements.

[DrBGood]

I want to go full guard on this one, rout the body for P90s and put on a Gibson Classic pickguard. Can someone measure from both corners of the fretboard edge to the center of bridge posts ? Millimeters would be more precise for me.



Like this

 

[Nduro]

Standard 2010 cherry 490/498, E6 16.9cm, e1 16.5 cm

 

[Nduro]

I remember that the Gibson standard pickguard did not fit the black Epi G400pro, but it was years ago and I don't remember why

 

[DrBGood]

I remember that the Gibson standard pickguard did not fit the black Epi G400pro, but it was years ago and I don't remember why

Thanks. Not looking for Standard humbucker measurements, but for a P90 Classic. I intend on routing the body for proper P90 placements.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

I want to go full guard on this one, rout the body for P90s and put on a Gibson Classic pickguard. Can someone measure from both corners of the fretboard edge to the center of bridge posts ? Millimeters would be more precise for me.

View attachment 56640

Like this

View attachment 56641

Bdon, what are you doing over here?

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

I want to go full guard on this one, rout the body for P90s and put on a Gibson Classic pickguard. Can someone measure from both corners of the fretboard edge to the center of bridge posts ? Millimeters would be more precise for me.

View attachment 56640

Like this

View attachment 56641

Jean, I have a Classic. What if I did a template for you and mailed it to you?

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Jean, I have a Classic. What if I did a template for you and mailed it to you?

I can certainly take measurements like in your diagram too. I just got a metric tape measure the other day.

 

[DrBGood]

I can certainly take measurements like in your diagram too. I just got a metric tape measure the other day.

Thanks, that would do it. If it's way off, maybe a template would help, let's see.

Bdon, what are you doing over here?

I want a P90 SG. This could be it for cheap.

 

[Nduro]

the bridge drilling distance does not matter whether it is P90 or Humbucker, the scale must match, sometimes you can have 24 frets and a longer fingerboard

 

[DrBGood]

the bridge drilling distance does not matter whether it is P90 or Humbucker, the scale must match, sometimes you can have 24 frets and a longer fingerboard

Right, thanks.

Standard 2010 cherry 490/498, E6 16.9cm, e1 16.5 cm

I have 17.2 and 16.9, not far off, 3 and 4 mm, and maybe 1 or 2 mm difference in width due to Imperial vs metric. Would be easy to widen the pickguard post openings, depending on how loose those are around the Gibson posts.

Now ... do I do it or wait for the right Gibson Special Faded ? I foolishly let one go earlier this year, that I had found for a ridiculous 400 Canadian pesos. Didn't think of the conversion then .... DOH !

 

[Nduro]

it was a great price, I would have waited for the opportunity without rushing. Sometimes it's worth waiting. There may also be differences because there are different bridges. I used to have a fairly wide bridge, which allowed for large discrepancies in dimensions

 

[DrBGood]

it was a great price, I would have waited for the opportunity without rushing. Sometimes it's worth waiting. There may also be differences because there are different bridges. I used to have a fairly wide bridge, which allowed for large discrepancies in dimensions

Hope my luck shines again. There's one with a repaired headstock floating around for 750 CAD.

 

[Nduro]

This is probably not a bargain, in Poland you can buy a faded special in great condition for about $800 US. I don't know what the Canadian rate is. My SG Standard has a glued headstock and I am sure of this guitar because I did it myself, I know it is a solid job on fresh titebond. But I've read more than once about glued heads falling off, so I wouldn't trust someone else's work


I had to check the price, yes it is a good price even for a glued SG guitar here in Poland

 

[DrBGood]

This is probably not a bargain, in Poland you can buy a faded special in great condition for about $800 US. I don't know what the Canadian rate is. My SG Standard has a glued headstock and I am sure of this guitar because I did it myself, I know it is a solid job on fresh titebond. But I've read more than once about glued heads falling off, so I wouldn't trust someone else's work


I had to check the price, yes it is a good price even for a glued SG guitar here in Poland

= $525 US

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Jean, I will measure tonight or tomorrow
I'll get u specs once I get home.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Standard 2010 cherry 490/498, E6 16.9cm, e1 16.5 cm

In my P90 Classic with full guard, I get E6 16.8 cm and E1 16.5 cm. So, it seems the only difference is from the low E side of Nduro's vs mine of 1mm.

I thought to compare the measurements with the ones on my Unbound neck, SG Faded. The E6 measures 16.9 cm and the E1 measures 16.6 cm.
Maybe it is a slight difference due to the binding.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Jean, Can you post a pic of your SG with Humbuckers and Small guard, in a flatter viewpoint which matches the angle of the P90 SG.

The things I see that will come in to play here are where the neck P90 sits in relation to the end of the fretboard. On mine, the tenon cover in there is 2.5 mm from the fretboard edge to the top side of the neck pickup.

 

[Les’s Nemisis]

WAG is that the Gibson pickguard will be way off on the curves… especially if that’s a Vintage Epi SG. They are a bit different.

FWIW, WD Music has a lot of PDF’s for the various pickguards they sell for Gibsons and a few Epis. There were a lot of detail differences I found when I was considering a similar project. After some time with my digital caliper, I concluded that the only way to make it happen would be to have WD make a custom pickguard.

 

[Scole]

I don't have the dimensions you requested but here's how I addressed this challenge with my SG Special. First, I assumed that the original humbucker cavities were where they should be so my P90 pickups should be centered based on the humbuckers.Using a straight edge, I extended lines away from the edges of the humbucker routes. Once those were marked out, I could measure the distance between them and then mark what are the center points:

The newly marked centerlines now allowed me to place my P90 routing template which also had the centering crosshairs for reference.

I was happy with the end result:

My Special does have a bolt on neck so being able to take that off made this easier. If you have a set neck, this could be more of a challenge and you might have to alter your routing template to fit the neck area. There is another way to mark the centerline of the guitar which seems pretty easy. Check out the beginning of this video. Essentially, you extend two lines off either side of the fretboard, mark two locations, at the same distances along either line, and then draw a perpendicular line between the points. Divide by 2 and you have a point on the guitar's centerline. Once you have the two points marked, draw a third line based on those two points and you have your guitar's centerline.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

My Classic, Jean. And my other 2 SG Specials. Notice how the neck pickup on the black SG 3 knob is right up against the fretboard.