Bryan May replacement scratchplate for humbuckers - ideas...

nickp

I guite like the bryan may guitar that I have - nice chunky neck, good intonation, stays in tune, 24 frets.

not sure about the pickups tho - so I don't use it (it seemed a good idea at the time etc).  So I'm tempted to try the guitar with maybe a regular single coil in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge (or two humbuckers).  So that means a replacement scratch plate so that I can keep the old one intact with pickups and switchgear, just in case.

how do i get (or can i sensibly make) a scratchplate?

help please

ta 
nick

Gassage

Nick, a mate of mine has an in-depth knowledge of these. I will ask him for you.

Funkfingers

The series wiring of a Brian May Red Special guitar means that the some of the pickup pairings are already hum-cancelling.

The HS format that you appear to be suggesting resembles one of the variations that Guild tried in the Eighties when they built May signature guitars. Guild re-positioned the centre single coil right alongside the bridge position single coil. The thing that I cannot recall is whether they wired up the control harness differently.

mudslide73

X2N ftw. In all seriousness though Jacksinstrumentservices will be able to make you one - I think you'd have to send yours to him as a template. 

Bennyboy-UK

Jack is great, either send a template on paper of the actual pickguard for him to build a new one. If you have ideas about wiring but haven't bought your new pickups yet, he can do all that, and supply pots, switches, everything, and fit and hook them up and give you solderless connections for you to hook your new pickups up when it gets returned to you.

100% recommended.

nickp

Gassage said:

Nick, a mate of mine has an in-depth knowledge of these. I will ask him for you.

Thanks!

I'd go for regular wiring with a new plate - KISS - anything else is too difficult for my brain to cope with!

nickp

thanks also to everyone else and the suggestions of Jack

Ravenous

Do these things have room (ie the routing under the scratchplate) to accept humbuckers?

Just thought I'd better ask the obvious question first before we all start ordering parts...

nickp

Ravenous said:

Do these things have room (ie the routing under the scratchplate) to accept humbuckers?

Just thought I'd better ask the obvious question first before we all start ordering parts...

no it'll need a bit of routing as far as I am aware (not taken old plate off yet)

Jalapeno

Given you could probably switch-in H/B settings why bother ?  Just learn the switching options properly - that's the point of a Red Special after all .......

Gassage

@nickp The guy who has done this for both Jamie Humphries and Brian May in the past is Andrew @ Guyton.

https://www.facebook.com/Guyton-Guitars-201657545404/?ref=br_rs&pnref=lhc

Cols

Like yourself, I wasn't overly taken with the stock pickups; found them quite harsh tbh.  I replaced them with a set of proper Adeson vintage replica Trisonics, and they were much better in terms of smoothness and clarity.  I'd recommend trying that first; you can get a set off the Burns website, or you could try e-mailing Adrian directly at wetgilbert@hotmail.com

nickp

in fairness to the guitar, maybe the answer is to flog it and buy myself a double cut humbucker jobbie with a wang bar!

and in quick reply to @Jalapeno  - i know how to do the switching options but it's still not quite there soundwise - trouble is that it was a birthday present so my natural inclination to flog it and move on is tempered by not upsetting the boss of the house