Anyone built a test jig, or mule guitar for testing pickups ?

[wire waster]

Hey all,
When I first started copying "the classics" it wasn't such a big deal to swap out pickups using wire nuts for the "quick change" checkout .
I pretty much knew what they would sound like, and was mostly checking to make sure they worked, and didn't squeal uncontrollably.

Lately I've been experimenting with my own ideas, and I'm finding that the biggest time waster of the whole "creative process" (if you can call it that) is installing and de-installing to make changes on my own twisted designs.

I'm thinking of picking up a cheap bolt-on neck neck and mounting it on a slab of 1"X 6" with a tuneomatic and stop tailpiece, maybe even a terminal block that has a couple of screw connections to an output jack.
Has anyone here built anything like this ?
If you have built something similar, I would love to see a picture to get some ideas.

Thanks.

- Jay

[copperheadroads]

I think this one was posted here yesterday
Leo's Lab II - The Pickup Palace - YouTube
I Pretty much have a test guitar for all models
strat ,tele ,les paul ,p-90 guitar
the strat & tele has the pickup cavity routered completely through the back ,for easy pickup install thru the back

[wire waster]

Thanks, I must have missed that post, but that's exactly what I was thinking about.

Funny you mention a Tele bridge, that's the only one that I didn't think I could test with my "slab 'o pine" design.
I may have to think about how to do that, but for now I'm woking on a HB sized single coil to capture that "Harry DeArmond / Gretsch Dynasonic" vibe, so I think a slab may be a good test bed.
Thanks, I'm going to watch the video again now.

- Jay

[Possum]

I use a cheap old plywood guitar and routed out 3 huge slices off the top, then put in a 250K volume and tone pots, and a second 500K set with alligator leads on both. Its a cheap quick way to take a listen, but is a poor way to make any final decisions, you really have to install into a real working guitar then play it a couple weeks to see how it really sounds and how it holds up over time....

[big_teee]

I use a cheap old plywood guitar and routed out 3 huge slices off the top, then put in a 250K volume and tone pots, and a second 500K set with alligator leads on both. Its a cheap quick way to take a listen, but is a poor way to make any final decisions, you really have to install into a real working guitar then play it a couple weeks to see how it really sounds and how it holds up over time....

A couple of Weeks.
I can Usually Tell if It's Sh!@ Way before that!
B_T

[copperheadroads]

These test/jig guitars are just for last minute checks to see if it all good & after all your R & D is done
I feel i need a telecaster to get that tele tone,need a LP to get that tone
also a very important is scale length
A 25 1/2" scale guitar is just wrong to test any of Gibson's Vintage tones
Paf or p-90 I find you don't get that honky tone without it

[wire waster]

A couple of Weeks.
I can Usually Tell if It's Sh!@ Way before that!
B_T

Exactly !!
I'm still feeling my way around with wire gauges, varying my TPL ,and different magnets, but I really do try to give each of my new design attempts at least 30 serious minutes of playing time.

That being said, I have to say most times it really pains me for that last 25 minutes .
I've only got a few of my homemade bobbins, and after 5 minutes I know I'm on the wrong track and want to rip them out and rewind 'em, or try something with the magnets.
The thing is that really sucks is that it takes longer for me to rip them out than it does for me to cut the wire off and rewind, or change out / re-Gauss the magnets.

Of course the other variable (I haven't mentioned) here, is I'm trying to build something optimized for hollow or semi hollow bodied type guitars.
So right now I'm using my Washburn (335 style w/ a Bigsby) semi hollow as a test bed, and that requires me to slacken the strings enough to get the pickups out (and retuning, with a Bigsby no less).
Even with wire nutting the connections, it's still taking at least 30 minutes to change out a pair.

I'm thinking it would be nice to be able to tell if a wind was even worthy of installation before I go through the trouble of de-tuning / re-tuning a Bigsby from scratch each time.

So I was thinking of building a slab, just to check them out beforehand, but hadn't thought about buying a cheap guitar and routing out the front (or even the back).
Thanks guys, it may be easier and cheaper to snag a $50 beater off craigslist and route it out, than to buy a neck and assemble it myself.


- Jay

[Jim Shine]

I had one that was stolen. It was actually manufactured for stores to allow customers to "try" pickups before buying. The pickups loaded into a black frame with two contacts. The units slide in from the rear and are locked in. The two contacts met two others that ran to controls. It only had two positions, bridge and neck and the frames were universal. I would love to find another.

[Possum]

Yeah a couple weeks. Pickups change their tune over time especially when new, keep your ears open for it. I don't sell pickups until they've had at least six months of testing behind them, but also these are ones I am making much of them from scratch. TV Jones had a great test guitar he used to take to shows, it got stolen last year along with all his demo guitars. I was an unfinished guitar with 3 big slots (or was it two), and had his pickups mounted on solid pieces of wood that you could slide in and out, the ends of the wood had connectors so when you slid it in it connected the pickup to the guitar. Brilliant piece of work.

[Kindly Killer]

I routed three wide channels in a strat for this purpose after seeing a feature in Bass player where they were doing a Jazz pickup shootout. I won't show you mine because it's retarded and poorly executed LOL

I thought this one was the ultimate slick until I saw the #2 post in this thread from G&L.

As usual, Leo got it right the fist time!

[wire waster]

Wow, thanks, a lot of great ideas.
I like the idea of sliding in a block of wood, but the one in the video above looks pretty easy to do.

IIRC there used to be someone back in the '80's, (Maybe Floyd Rose ?) who had a quick change setup, where the pickups slid in from the back on plastic mounts.
I'm going to check Craigslist for a cheapie guitar to route out.

Thanks all !

- Jay

[Kindly Killer]

Yeah I have a vague memory of those, and that reminds me of the Ampeg/Dan Armstrong clear guitars with the slide-in-from-the-side pickups. That would be a real nice test setup but realistically I will never put that much work into a real guitar, much less a workshop tool LOL

[Corona Blue]

A couple of Weeks.
I can Usually Tell if It's Sh!@ Way before that!
B_T

LOLOLOL!!! Yer killin me here!!!

[ken]

A couple of Weeks.
I can Usually Tell if It's Sh!@ Way before that!
B_T

I have the perfect crappy pickup detector... it's called a wife. If I make a stinker she wrinkles up her nose at me. I'm thinking about making a really bad one on purpose to see what she would do.

I've got a couple of test guitars, all routed from the back so I can pop pickups in and out. I need to make a couple of basses the same way.

ken

[Jim Shine]

This idea could use some refinement, but on a good path.