NGD! Well, sort of... 1968 Gibson SG Special

DirtySteve said:
Congrats!

I have a set of Gibson P90s I'm willing to part with if you want to go with Gibson. I personally like a hot bridge P90, but I play hard rock and metal with it. For that I recommend the SD Custom P90 that was recommended to me by @syscokid and he wasn't wrong.

As for mounting the P90s, I looked up pics of a '68 Special and it looks like the original P90s would have been mounted to the pick guard by those screws off each end of the pickups.

xHGMhGt.png


For that you need special mounting brackets like these. In fact you may want to go ahead and grab a couple because the last time I looked for some there were none to be found.

www.eyguitarmusic.com

P90 American Deluxe Mini Humbucker Mounting Bracket Plates-P

www.eyguitarmusic.com
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’ve seen those. They are very cool, and open up some choices!
So does mounting plates, for body mounting(instead of pickguard). Like the ones found in plenty of modern Gibsons. There are a few on the market…readily found. From “straight bar” types, to direct rips of the Gibson flat plates..
From eBay to Amazon…and reputable music equipment dealers.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Yeah, I’ve seen those. They are very cool, and open up some choices!
So does mounting plates, for body mounting(instead of pickguard). Like the ones found in plenty of modern Gibsons. There are a few on the market…readily found. From “straight bar” types, to direct rips of the Gibson flat plates..
From eBay to Amazon…and reputable music equipment dealers.
Click to expand...

The problem with direct mounting the P90s, with or without the plate, is you have to have them perfectly aligned with the pick guard and that can be a trick. I played that game with one of my Warmoth builds and it wasn't fun. Also the plate requires a slot routed under it so the pickup mounting screws can thread through the plate.
 
DirtySteve said:
Also the plate require a slot routed under it so the pickup mounting screws thread through the plate.
Click to expand...
Or raised by spacers…but yeah…cutting a pickguard accurately, for a 68, is probably gonna require a tracing. So any method requires some level of accuracy to the space. But pickguard mounting is probably going to be a bit more forgiving.
I was just putting it on the table, as I have seen it done.
Regardless…I’m stoked for @Cadorman !!!
 
I'm psyched you're going to restore it. I remember when you mentioned that you'd be getting back from your brother.

Get a pickguard from Terrapin Guitars. You can order one without the mounting holes, and transfer the holes from your original. Have them still drill the pickup mounting holes.

Terrapin SG Special or Classic PG

Like Don posted, the pickups are mounted to the pickguard. Originally, the backing plate would have been drilled and tapped #4-40 for the screws. Later version would have had clips. Original backing plates are difficult to find. It took me years to find one for my '68 SG Junior. I know I took a few photos for a thread at ETSG, but I can't find them right now. I'll see if I can find them somewhere on one of my old hard drives. The routes on your guitar look correct, but slightly enlarged. Since the pickups were mounted to the pickguard, they wouldn't look like an early '60s version that was mounted to the body. Where ever you decide to source the pickups from, make sure you let them know that the pickups need to have backing plates to be pickguard mounted.


'68 SG Jr.

IMG_1088.JPG



'62 SG Special Pickup routing. Not like yours.


P8280007.jpg

Oh, and I'd be willing to give the silver backed humbucker a home if you don't want to keep it. But, I would if I were you.
 
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DirtySteve said:
Congrats!

I have a set of Gibson P90s I'm willing to part with if you want to go with Gibson. I personally like a hot bridge P90, but I play hard rock and metal with it. For that I recommend the SD Custom P90 that was recommended to me by @syscokid and he wasn't wrong.

As for mounting the P90s, I looked up pics of a '68 Special and it looks like the original P90s would have been mounted to the pick guard by those screws off each end of the pickups.

xHGMhGt.png


For that you need special mounting brackets like in the link below. In fact you may want to go ahead and grab a couple because the last time I looked for some there were none to be found. Their pics only show mini hbs, but ignore that. Those 2 inside holes are for mounting the P90 to the bracket, then the 2 outside holes are to mount them to the pick guard just like any other pickup. The 2 bigger holes won't be used.

www.eyguitarmusic.com

P90 American Deluxe Mini Humbucker Mounting Bracket Plates-P

www.eyguitarmusic.com
Click to expand...

That's not the correct mounting bracket for a P-90 on a Bat Wing pickguard. The backing plate itself is similar to the Dog Ear backing plate, but with tapped holes instead of slots. The pickup is dirctly mounted to the backing plate, and It then uses springs like with a Humbucker.
 
Good grief, I somehow went right past all the pics after the first post. :facepalm: Hope I didn't step on anyone's toes when I made my comments.

Don, I didn't even see your posts about the plate. I was talking about a different plate that mounts in the bottom of the routs like my Melody maker had and now my Classic has them. Sorry for any confusion. :bash:
 
DirtySteve said:
Good grief, I somehow went right past all the pics after the first post. :facepalm: Hope I didn't step on anyone's toes when I made my comments.

Don, I didn't even see your posts about the plate. I was talking about a different plate that mounts in the bottom of the routs like my Melody maker had and now my Classic has them. Sorry for any confusion. :bash:
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No worries mate! :cheers:
I was happy to have the opportunity to present the many ways I’ve seen this done.
Easiest is to get it done right…the first time…and he may find the necessary path.
I’m not well versed in pickguard voodoo…so I will defer to the experienced in that domain.
Just get er done.:cheers:
 
Now that I have it mostly stripped it definitely has P90 routing. Humbuckers will wedge in, but don't really fit. I have always been skeptical about the white finish, but it continues into all the cavities. It's original. I can barely make out the serial number on the headstock. It's faded to a dull shadow, but looks to be 896144. Plus the plain headstock, bound neck with dot inlays, trem and P90 routing plainly make it out to be an SG Special.
 
Cadorman said:
What should I get for a Knut? I'm thinking Graphtek, but I'm totally open. I'm putting this back to stock right handed. I'll never be able to play it. I just want it as good as it can be.
Click to expand...
Bone! You can get pre-slotted bone nuts from Stewmac and just sand them from the bottom until it's the right height. I use them and they work great. Sometimes I have to widen the slots a bit for 10s, but not always. I recommend buying a couple or 3 of them so you have backups in case you mess up and sand them too low. It's easy to do so just go slow.
 
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