I have some p90s laying around, so I'm thinking about putting together a cheap SG type guitar. I know that Gibson make SGs with p90s, but I'm in South Korea where everything not made in Korea is hugely overpriced or simply not available. What are easy to get and not too pricey are Asian SG humbucker-equipped clones (Epiphone, Grassroots, Swing, Dame, Tokai etc).
My plan is to get a used one and do a poor man's routing with my trusty chisel and hammer. Then throw a 'batwing' pickguard over it. Bit of a long-winded lead up to the question, but do those guards fit on both SG and Epi SGs? Cheers.
Comments
It is a safe bet that Gibson has made damned sure that a pickguard for an American-made SG does not fit its nearest Korean equivalent model. They like to differentiate between the brands and protect the expensive one. Some screw holes will not align and the neck heels may be of different dimensions.
There is no need to attack your guitar with woodworking tools. It should be possible to obtain P90-type pickups built in to humbucker-sized covers. e.g. G&B G123 and G123-1 pair, Tonerider Rebel 90 pair.
Could someone make a custom pickguard over there? Using your original as the basis - if you're really stuck there's at least one place over here that could do that, Jacks Instrument Services.
One of the disadvantages of the SG generally is the effect that its slim body can have on the neck joint. Enlarging the neck/Rhythm pickup cavity could weaken the existing joint surface contact area sufficiently to cause the neck to detach.
Another personal dislike of mine about SGs is the displacement of the neck/Rhythm position pickup away from the end of the fingerboard, towards the bridge. (Some recent variants have now filled this gap with two extra frets.)
If you are fortunate, some manufacturers may be producing SG bodies with a one-size-fits-all pickup rout capable of accommodating pickups of several types and dimensions.
With any project guitar, the journey is as important in itself as its successful completion. On the other hand, it is probably wiser to purchase a pre-owned guitar that was intended to have P90s to begin with.