Making my own electric - crazy idea

[scotchtape]

Ok maybe not so crazy, but sort of a question to all of you:

So, after seeing that thread "Stratocaster" it got me thinking that I'd like to build one from warmoth parts. I've been wanting to get a strat for a while and I might as well give this a shot!

Anyways, I was wondering if it's possible to have... the guitar rear routed, but on the top face have NO PICKUPS SHOWING... Basically, do everything like a normal rear rout but have no space for the pickups to poke through the wood. So it looks really clean... I sort of like lower output pickups as I find they're too sensitive when they're too close, also you can get wolfy notes. Is this a viable idea or just impossible to do? I'm assuming the magnetic fields will pass through the wood easily, just don't know if the pickups will be too far away. All of the controls will still be accessible via the top though.

Thanks!

[jyee]

the pickups would probably be too far away, unless you sunk the bridge and neck a bit. the other problem is that it would be very difficult to adjust your pole pieces for optimal output. Your best option, and one that's far more common is to put wood covers on them.

[scotchtape]

they don't look as cool

[trpullen]

Fender tried this back in the 60's...kinda. They had the Fender Marauder Type I that had the pickups all hidden beneath the pickguard. It never made it to production.

[scotchtape]

lol!

i hate pickguards though except clear ones. can you get clear strat pickguards?

[Herb Hunter]

I think you should try making one the way you describe. You'd have to determine what the optimum space between the pickup poles and the strings is for your taste before starting.

[trpullen]

I believe they had serious issues making the pickups, well...pickup. That is a lot of distance to put between the pickups and strings. You could potentially route the neck and bridge into the body so the strings would be closer to the body but...still not sure if that gets you in the neighborhood.

Basically, even with electronics, you will be introducing lots of noise because the signal part of the signal to noise ratio will be very low.

[romo]

Warmoth sells bodies that are rear routed for the controls but the pickups still go in from the top. You wouldn't need a pickguard but probably some sort of pickup mounting rings for single coils and they would be mounted in a way similar to how pickups are mounted in Les Pauls.

[romo]

This is an example of what I was talking about in the post above. (pic taken from the Warmoth gallery)

[trpullen]

Originally Posted by romo

This is an example of what I was talking about in the post above. (pic taken from the Warmoth gallery)


[img=http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8961/jimfrankilnfulldl7.th.jpg]

That's not what he is asking. He wants something to look like this.

[romo]

Ohh woops...misread. You would need a really thin top to get the pickups close enough. Or like trpullen said: cut the neck pocket deeper so the fretboard would be flush with the top and probably sink the bridge a little. Then get a set of high output pickups and it might work.

[scotchtape]

what kind of guitar is that?!
maybe i should just buy one instead, haha.
i have no tools at home

[trpullen]

That is a Line6 Variax. All the pickup sounds are modelled. Kinda cool actually.

If you don't have any tools, building and assembling a kit will be really difficult. You need at least a mid-level guitar repair knowledge to keep from wasting your cash on Warmoth parts. If you have some skills, you can build a nice guitar.

[jyee]

you could get the look you want if you avoided standard pickups and used some piezo saddles ( http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...or_Guitar.html )

of course, you wouldnt get the traditional electric sound.

[zombywoof]

Fender still uses a hidden pickup in some of their Custom Shop guitars - I think they call it the Stealth.