Gibson Les Paul Junior Tribute DC

Haych

Really liking the look of these, if they had twin P90s I'd have ordered one already.

How feasible would it be to modify the guitar and rout another cavity for a second P90 at the neck, in the usual DC neck position?  

Is it likely to affect the stability of the neck joint?  Obviously it's going to void any warranty but apart from the lack of a neck pickup it's pretty much just what I'm looking for.

Henrytwang

I haven’t seen underneath the scratchplate of one of these guitars but I think that fitting a neck pickup would probably require routing into the neck/ body joint.

Jez6345789

I presume it looks like most Juniors in terms of neck joint. 

You can easily get an Acrylic P90 template online.  That said there are a number positionsons for the neck 
Pickup and to be honest the early ones were close to the fingerboard and although authentic they take out a fair amount of wood from the neck joint leading to potential stability issue. 

The later position moves the pickup closer to the rear pickup and preserves wood in the neck joint for greater stability. 
Most people say you are hard pushed to notice the difference. 

usedtobe

I think there’s a thread on these, with a picture of one with the scratch plate off..
If it were me, and I was determined to have a neck pickup, I’d definitely move it back towards the bridge a bit...

Haych

I think I’ve talked myself out of the idea now. Rather than settle for less than I want and try to make it into what I want I’m gonna hold my fire and wait for the right guitar to come along. 

Maybe I’ll have to wait long enough that the desire fades but this is a GAS itch that I’ve had for years so probably unlikely. 

ICBM

It should be OK if you keep the pickup rout at least an inch from the end of the fingerboard - which you'll probably want to do anyway since otherwise the top corner of the pickup will be very close to the edge of the pickguard and look a bit odd - and make it the absolute minimum depth you can.

NelsonP

Watch this from around 2.40 in

ICBM

NelsonP said:

Watch this from around 2.40 in

Wow. That neck joint is some *really* ugly workmanship, even by Gibson standards...

poopot

NelsonP said:

Watch this from around 2.40 in

That is a f£&king disgrace!... seriously? why anyone would pay for a modern Gibson is beyond me!...

Danielsguitars

i understand why they've done it because it's a mass made one body and neck fits all approach, they can add a neck pickup easily and without much stress being put on the joint

The reality is most would buy that over a hand made one, it's resale value over potentially a much better guitar, just my opinion 

Jez6345789

In these days of CNC  manufacturing does a budget setneck have to be such a dogs dinner. 
When you see it stripped down like that it just stinks of nobody gives a **** even the finish looks cheap

Time the new Guvnor either sorted out building budget models in the US or bit the bullet and moved these entry level budget Gibson to Asia. 

Imagine how nice a World musical Instrument junior could be.

ICBM

customkits said:

i understand why they've done it because it's a mass made one body and neck fits all approach, they can add a neck pickup easily and without much stress being put on the joint

The reality is most would buy that over a hand made one, it's resale value over potentially a much better guitar, just my opinion 

The irony is that the neck joint is such a mess because it's the bit that's done by hand...

Jez6345789 said:

In these days of CNC  manufacturing does a budget setneck have to be such a dogs dinner.

No, not if the neck joint is made accurately using CNC. Like this:

poopot

ICBM said:

customkits said:

i understand why they've done it because it's a mass made one body and neck fits all approach, they can add a neck pickup easily and without much stress being put on the joint

The reality is most would buy that over a hand made one, it's resale value over potentially a much better guitar, just my opinion 

The irony is that the neck joint is such a mess because it's the bit that's done by hand...

No excuse tho is it? This is the neck join on a junior I am building and it’s ME that’s doing it... a Hamm fisted gibbon with no previous building experience... so is it too hard to expect “trained” builders to get it right?... I know they build down to cost etc but that really is taking the piss!!!! And as we have seen in other threads even the R8’s and R9’s look shite as well...

Danielsguitars

poopot said:

ICBM said:

customkits said:

i understand why they've done it because it's a mass made one body and neck fits all approach, they can add a neck pickup easily and without much stress being put on the joint

The reality is most would buy that over a hand made one, it's resale value over potentially a much better guitar, just my opinion 

The irony is that the neck joint is such a mess because it's the bit that's done by hand...

No excuse tho is it? This is the neck join on a junior I am building and it’s ME that’s doing it... a Hamm fisted gibbon with no previous building experience... so is it too hard to expect “trained” builders to get it right?... I know they build down to cost etc but that really is taking the piss!!!! And as we have seen in other threads even the R8’s and R9’s look shite as well...

I think you'll find it was also help from someone else showing you the right way

I wouldn't have allowed that shit joint anywhere near anything that comes out my shop in the first place 

I doubt any of these assemblers are that skilled or trained as that costs money, i agree moving the production to another asian company would probably be better

p90fool

Not being funny, but what's the matter with that neck join, other than looking a little ugly?

Henrytwang

Untidy but substial. It’s not just the cheaper Gibson’s that have untidy neck/body joints, I’ve seen some pretty rough workmanship on Les Pauls.

stickyfiddle

The "good" news is you could easily route away a bit of that neck joint without hurting the integrity because it's already made of gaping holes...

dindude

I had the misfortune of touching one of these in a guitar shop recently, really did feel like a piece of junk.

andyp

I am not very clued-up at all, but I had a quick look at one in GG Glasgow at the weekend and thought it looked quite cool. It is similar in style to my 2016 SG Faded - the satin finish etc - and nothing jumped out as being crap, but it was clear it looked much nicer than the more expensive LP Studio Tribute hanging next to it... which seemed way overpriced. I didn’t play it or spend very long looking at it, but the DC Jnr still seems about £200 too expensive for what it is... but I’m finding it very appealing. No way at that money though.

Just to compare, my SG was £599 and one of the first ones they got in at the end of 2015 and it’s proven to be a keeper, it’s a fantastic fun guitar.

NelsonP

I've bought one and it is a great guitar. Sure, it's basic, but that is the whole point of it and I think the simplicity and slightly 'rough around the edges' feeel adds to the character of the guitar. I got it from DV247 for £538, and I think it is great value at that price. The setup is good, the frets are level and nicely finished and it plays brilliantly. And that single P90 sounds fantastic.

I haven't taken the pickguard off to have a look at the neck join though. If i did I would hope that it would look a bit better than the one in the vid.

https://i.imgur.com/GGjuinA.jpg

IvisonGuitars

To be honest, I just read through the comments about the neck joint and was about to post “ah, come on, I’m sure it’s not that bad..” then I watched the video...

My only problem with the cherry one is that it slightly reminds me of Brian May’s Red Special....and if there’s one thing I don’t like to be slightly reminded of, its Brian May’s Red Special....