Regular pickups into a JS700?

[babahi]

I just picked up a Japanese JS700 in flawless shape. But I am not too hot on the P-90's! What needs to be done so that regular humbuckers can be put into the guitar? I see that some people mentioned that wood needs to be taken out, but is that it?

The work would be done by an experienced luthier that I trust. What concerns me is whether it's possible at all and whether the existing pickups spaces are too big in one direction for humbuckers. I can see how the spaces may need to be widened, but won't there be too much empty space, concerning the height?

Thanks everybody,
Eric

[stratoskier]

Hi Eric,
You might want to check out the thread called "Just Found a JS700 body." (If I knew how to link to that thread, I'd plug it in here). Anyway, I just finished doing that exact thing. I did it myself with a Dremel, and no, it's not too hard. You will have to use pickup rings, since the existing P90 holes are already too wide for direct mounting, but that's the way all JS pickups are routed anyway.

Also, because the P90s ARE direct-mounted (using 3 screws in the center), there are no "wells" (deeper oblong pits) on either side of the pickups routes to accomodate the humbucker mounting feet. For me, that was the trickiest part of the work: getting those wells to the right shape and depth. Your luthier should have a humbucker template to get it right.

Finally, there's the issue of which direction to enlarge the pickup cavities. That is, do you want the humbucker cavities to be centered where the existing ones are. Or do you want to enlarge the neck pickup cavity toward the center of the body (not the neck), and the bridge pickup cavity enlarged toward the bridge or center. I compared the existing holes to those on my JS1000, and went toward the center with both holes (no enlargement on the outside of either cavity).
Bert

[babahi]

Wow, thanks for the thorough answer, Bert. I will give the guitar to my luthier. He's incredible and can really do anything. Friends of mine had guitars that were deemed dead or unworkable by others and he has brought everything back to life. So I leave everything in his capable hands!

Now the problem is which pickups to use? With the mahogany body and neck, that's going to sound pretty deep. What about a Tone Zone? Or how would a Fred sound? Any other recommendations?

BTW, I paid 250 for this guitar -- in mint shape! It's Japanese...

[Scott 74]

$250 mint!! Now that is a crime!! Congrats, and good luck!

[babahi]

Thanks, I pounced on it when I saw it for 300, then figured I had nothing to lose by asking if the guy could do anything on the price.

But regarding my pickup question -- Anybody have any reccomendations? I'm thinking of a TZ, but I really don't know what will go well with an all-mahogany guitar...

[ddragon64]

Ha! Looks like we're all in the same boat. I picked up a JS700 body a couple months back and I'm setting it up for normal humbuckers.

To answer your question on pickups babahi, I'm going with a PAF Pro for the neck and either a Tone Zone or a JB for the bridge. I'm going to get both and try them out. However, you'll have to wait a couple weeks to find out how they sound since I'm just finally going to pick up a neck for it this weekend. Hopefully I'll be ordering the pickups in a week or two.

Dragon

[saTa]

am i the only one who likes the js700 sound?

[babahi]

I can gladly do without the hum and thin sound...

[saTa]

not a blues player, eh?


seriously... i'd buy the js700 next to my 90th... tis a nice guitar if you don't use it as MAIN guitar, i think...

if i ever come to get the chance of buying one for 250$ i'll for sure go for it :P

[Jeff]

The 700 isn't japanese, its korean.

[Rich]

The 700 was made in both Japan and Korea.

Japan - inlay reads "JS Custom
Korea - inlay reads "Joe Satriani"

[Ekim]

Are the pickups the same with the Jap VS Korean models?