Gibson les paul studio 50's tribute mod

[dirty little face]

I have been playing for 30yrs and own many guitars of different brands...the les paul has always been my favorite...I never considered owning a studio model until these 50s 60's limited edition models came out...I was hesitant because of the chambered body and no binding...I was very pleased with the satin finish and the chambered body has a wonnderful resonant tone...in other words, these are great les pauls...the p90s sound great, but I wondered if a Humbucker could fit into the p90 slot without routing...for the last few months I have been investigating and the first info I found was at this forum search for this in the threads: CAN A HUMBUCKER FIT IN A P90 CAVITY?----kudos to captain tightpants!....so, by trimming the sides of the HB plate (using an ace hardware cutting tool, this tool worked great)...you have to unscrew the HB plate from the coils in order to cut the sides of the plate, (be careful not to reverse the direction of your magnet, when re-assembling the pickup)...the pickup will then fit into the p90 slot...there are ways to mount the PU to the inner body, but I wanted to keep the look of the mounting rings, so, I invented my own way of doing this...I install a HB in pickup ring with the ring screws and springs ...I remove the p90 PU mounting plate and then using a craftmsman nextec multi tool, (using a detail saw blade part no 17375), I make two small routes into the body, slightly larger than the width of the pickup plate feet...be careful not to route to deep, (if you route to deep one would have to use a longer maching screw to replace the original pickup ring screw, which means you would have to drill larger holes into the pickup feet to take on the larger width of the machining screws)....with the PU installed into the mounting plate, I now install PU into the guitar, I pressed down on the upper PU mounting screw, which then leaves an indentation in the body, which indicates where to drill the hole for the PU ring screw, I used a 1/16 inch drill bit to drill the hole for the upper pu ring screw...the upper screw is enough to hold the pu in the body...for live gigs I wouldn't trust it would hold for very long, although for playing and recording at home, so far I have had no problems with the PU coming lose...here are some pics:

 

[dirty little face]

the pictures:

 

[dirty little face]

more pictures...so, this can be done without routing...I have bought several and will place a gibson, or seymour, dimazio or lollar etc. into each one, and will still have under a $1000 invested in these les pauls...I could have bought one for $2000, but these tributes are fine by me because having a variety of les pauls (to go with my more expensive les pauls) is a dream come true...or it is complete over kill and not necassary?, well, you only live once...turn it up LOUD and play!

 

[dirty little face]

here are a couple photos of a 50s cherry with the holes drilled on the body...this was before I figured out how to route into the body...it really doesn't look to bad...again to have the option of going between a p90 and a humbucker for under a $1000...works for me...

 

[whiskeyinthejar]

that is brilliant. I just ordered a 60's tribute and it's like you read my mind. I love the idea of switching between a p-90 and humbucker especially with these guitars. I'm not good with this stuff but I have a friend who welds and I plan on showing him this and seeing If he can do the same. Again, brilliant.

 

[captain tightpants]

Wait, I posted that idea years ago. Where you been?
Glad you found it useful I've got a couple of ideas on how to not have to drill hole for the mounting ring, too, but i haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

 

[Pinkie]

Here is what I did got a DiMarzio super D P-90 only had to drill one hole for the mounting screw.The other screw screw mounts in the original plate.

 

[captain tightpants]

Truth be told, that's what I would advise most folks to do really.

I know I won't mostly because i haven't found a Dimarzio i like yet, but it's a lot less scary than hacking up a pickup for most folks.

I'm not most folks, tho, I like to try goofy ideas from time to time

 

[dirty little face]

a goofy idea?...I disagree, when you you can do something yourself and not have to pay a lutherie, that is good thing...and the guitars are far from being hacked up...with that said, what are your ideas on not having to drill a hole for the mounting ring?...

 

[captain tightpants]

Like I said, haven't worked it out yet.

 

[veeman]

I put Dimarzio P90 sized Humbuckers in my 50's also, drilling the one hole under the mounting bracket. I think it made the guitar sound so much better.

 

[SG_Lefty]

Here is what I did got a DiMarzio super D P-90 only had to drill one hole for the mounting screw.The other screw screw mounts in the original plate.

 

[captain tightpants]

Are they still using this plate?

 

[dirty little face]

yes, here is pick...let me know if you find another way to mount a humbucker...send me private message, in case I miss the thread...

 

[Pinkie]

Those plates were in mine so I just drilled the hole and in it went.

 

[Kalamazuu]

Like the configuration and looks way nicer than a BFG

 

[Quadrophenic]

Hi all! this is my first message in the forum!
This is my modded 50s tribute!
A white one originally with awful cream plastic parts, beautifully turned into a more agressive rock machine. SD P90 DiMarzio pickup on the bridge position. Black cover for the p90 on the neck position. Black knobs, black switch, black jack plate and nickel grover machineheads installed