My Warmoth SoCal pickguard experience

[Newc]

I ordered 3 pickguards from Warmoth - S-S-S + 5-way, H-S-H + 5-way, and H-H + 5-way.
I left the knobs blank so I could position them myself.

First thing I had to do was grind off some at the neck gap on each one with a Dremel. Fun.
It's sloppy, but it works.

The S-S-S: there's not enough room at the bridge for a slanted single - it hits the body. Looks like I'll have to either cut wood or cut the pickguard for H-S-S. I'm not good enough with the Dremel for either one.

The H-S-H and H-H will work now that the neck gaps have been opened, but only a few screws will line up. If I force the others, then the 'guard will shift and the bridge pickup will hit the body. Since one of these is actually going to get 4 Duncan Jr-style pickups, hitting the body isn't an option.

I really want one to have S-S-S as I've got a Classic Stack bridge with nowhere to go.


Warmoth's adherence to Fender's specs is unquestionable. These pickguards not lining up firmly disproves the notion of the Charvels being built by Fender.


If Charvel has any plans to do aftermarket pickguards, I do wish they'd hurry.

[Newc]

Well, nothing to do around here, so I went ahead and Dremelled the body to take a single coil in the bridge.

Of course, I didn't realize I didn't have enough mounting screws for the pickups. I didn't even have enough to do the H-S-H. Also didn't have any mounting screws fo the 5-ways.
Sheer comedy.

Got some coming from StewMac.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

The neck pocket part is no suprise since Charvel/Jackson necks have always been a little fatter than Fenders at the heel, but I'm really surprised the pickup screw holes don't line up.

Did you get the 11 hole, 8 hole, or 8 hole conversion? I've seen other guys buy these in one of the 8-hole styles (don't think they said which) and they screwed right down except for the one near the 5-way switch.

[Newc]

The neck pocket part is no suprise since Charvel/Jackson necks have always been a little fatter than Fenders at the heel, but I'm really surprised the pickup screw holes don't line up.

Did you get the 11 hole, 8 hole, or 8 hole conversion? I've seen other guys buy these in one of the 8-hole styles (don't think they said which) and they screwed right down except for the one near the 5-way switch.

I got the 11 hole. 5 lined up, but the others are off too much to use. I went with the 2 by the bridge, the 2 by the 5-way switch, and the one before the lower horn.

I wish they would've had a no-holes option so I could drill them using the old pickguard as a template. Probably just should've gone with my first idea of getting blanks for $10 each instead of pre-cut.

[DHardmanJr]

I had a different experience with the pickguard screw holes. I just put in each screw a little at a time and given that the pickguard material is vinyl the pickguard was able to stretch, I guess you'd say, to accomodate the screw holes in the body.

[6string40]

I had a different experience with the pickguard screw holes. I just put in each screw a little at a time and given that the pickguard material is vinyl the pickguard was able to stretch, I guess you'd say, to accomodate the screw holes in the body.

+1

Same thing here...I just did a little bit at a time and had no problems...that was on 2 different So Cals. Can't help you with the slanted single coil. Hope it all works out for ya tho!

[Newc]

+1

Same thing here...I just did a little bit at a time and had no problems...that was on 2 different So Cals. Can't help you with the slanted single coil. Hope it all works out for ya tho!

Slanted single is taken care of. Had to grind away some wood in the cavity, but it fits now.

I'll look into the one-screw-at-a-time trick and see if it works.

[85 San Dimas]

Warmoth's adherence to Fender's specs is unquestionable. These pickguards not lining up firmly disproves the notion of the Charvels being built by Fender.

Who's building them, Gibson?:ROTF::ROTF::ROTF:

[Newc]

Har har dee har f'n har.

[jet66]

Who's building them, Gibson?:ROTF::ROTF::ROTF:

No, the price to quality ratio is too well balanced to be a Gibson.

[85 San Dimas]

No, the price to quality ratio is too well balanced to be a Gibson.

I dunno. I think ratio-wise they're about the same. But anyway, so a warmoth strat pickguard cut to Strat specs doesn't fit the So-Cal body. Hmm.

[skorb]

But anyway, so a warmoth strat pickguard cut to Strat specs doesn't fit the So-Cal body. Hmm.

wrong.

it fits fine. just not with all the shit that Newc is trying to do to it.

[Newc]

wrong.

it fits fine. just not with all the shit that Newc is trying to do to it.

Such as mods commonly done to Strats.

[85 San Dimas]

wrong.

it fits fine. just not with all the shit that Newc is trying to do to it.

:ROTF::ROTF: This damned near had me crying with laughter at work.
Comedic timing is everything man.

Not laughing at YOU Newc. That post was perfect in the comedic sense.

[Newc]

Well, I finally got all 3 pickguards set up - got all the switches and stuff I'd need, etc.

Wired up the Pagan Gold with 3 singles, but once I had it all together I discovered my Duncan Classic Stack (which I've been holding onto for about 3 years now) is toast. Not sure if it's got an internal wire broken or what, but it gets about 1/3rd the output it should have. The middle and neck pickups overpower it.

So I pulled it out and replaced it with an old Jackson J100 (with a ceramic magnet!). That puppy is SWEEEEET! I have no idea where it came from or how long I've had it, but it definitely kills.

The middle and neck are some old Duncan Designed SC101s I had laying around, and they're not half bad.

Gave it a 500K/250K concentric pot, with the 250K for volume and 500K for tone.

I messed up and wired the Tone backwards, but it works.


Next up, I was going to use a Jackson Special 5-way on the Candy Green to do all sorts of fancy shmancy switching - standard, parallel, split, phased, etc - but there's no way to do all that without a degree in electronics and maybe a circuit board, so I went for a 3-way blade instead. I kept the original 3-way toggle switch as well, and the splits for the hums go to that one, with that switch running to the center of the blade. I can use the toggle to select Both split in position 2 of the blade, or Bridge-only split or Neck-only split. Works for me.

That one's also got a dual-concentric pot, but the Volume is 500K and the Tone (which doesn't do anything) is 250K.


Lastly, the Candy Plum. This was very disappointing. I had 5 Jr-style pickups crammed into a H-S-H setup, along with a Special 5-way switch. This one was going to have options out the ass. Series, parallel, split, each pickup by itself, parallel with each other, you name it. I had it all worked out on paper and couldn't wait to get it all wired up.

So I've got all the pickups on the pickguard (had to mark and drill holes to mount the Jrs in the standard humbucker holes), and was ready to mount it on the guitar and then wire it up (I can do that now that I've cut the control section off the pickguard like a Jazz bass setup), when wouldn't ya know it - the body cavities aren't wide enough to accept that many pickups!

I pushed and squeezed and twisted, but if I want those options, I'll have to shave the body routes with the Dremel and a sanding barrel