Off the shelf Strat pickguards with Volume/Tone, or just Volume (moved from standard position)

guitarfishbay

Without going custom, what options are there for 2 pickup strat pickguards that have a moved volume control?

Looking for black H/H, and H/S ideally Volume/Tone, or just Volume is fine.  I already have a single H one though I don't have any equipment to mod it neatly.

The only HH I know of is the Fender Jim Root style, though the pickup selector is in a different place and I prefer the standard position.

The only H/S ones I can find have the volume knob in the standard position, which is ok, but I'd prefer it moved so I absolutely can't knock it.

Thanks

guitarfishbay

Well, I still don't fully understand what happened, but last night I tried to change the S/S/S guard for a H/S/S one just for the interim (I don't use the middle pickup and need a bridge humbucker).

I took the bridge off, leaving the strings on, as I always do, to save the strings.

Somehow I fumbled the bridge and it twisted through some kind of bizarre cats cradle mess with the strings.  I have no idea how this happened.  After a brief moment assessing the situation I figured I didn't have the brain power to try and untwist it as it was, and somehow I couldn't see any kinks in the strings so it was still able to be saved, so I figured I'd just unwind the strings that were causing issues and undo the mess that way.

Now I was doing this sat on a sofa with a small table infront of me.  I figured I had enough slack to put the bridge on the table and then the guitar on the floor, and sit on the sofa to unwind.  That way I could maintain a straight line for the strings and avoid getting any unwanted bends in the strings.

While unwinding one of the offending strings I managed to accidentally create enough pull on the strings to pull the bridge off the table and swing right at the guitar body.

I tried my best to stop it hitting the body but failed, and made a dent in the top of the strat.

What was more infuriating was that I'd left the screwdriver I'd been using on the floor, and somehow in the motion to try and stop the bridge hitting the guitar I'd managed to drag my heel backwards into the screwdriver, which was pressed into the base of the sofa, and stabbed my heel with the screwdriver.

All I did was try to save a set of strings and I ended up bleeding and denting my guitar.  

My g/f suggested I could start a relicing business by offering to try to fix other people's guitars. 

Philly_Q

guitarfishbay said:

My g/f suggested I could start a relicing business by offering to try to fix other people's guitars. 

No offence, but I don't think I'll take you up on it....

Wish I could help on the scratchplate question, but I can't think of anywhere.  Relatively easy to get hold of HH or HS, but as soon as you start personalising it with something like moving the volume control it's hard to get one off the shelf. 

Warmoth is a great place to get a Strat scratchplate configured pretty much any way you want it, but it's expensive - especially with current exchange rates.

Octafish

guitarfishbay said:

I took the bridge off, leaving the strings on, as I always do, to save the strings.

Ah, yet another benefit of vintage tuners, just slacken off, lift the strings out of the posts and swing out of the way.

www.axesrus.co.uk has blank strat pickguards that you can drill/cut your own pickup/pot holes. As mentioned, Warmoth do a custom option, but it's not cheap and last time I looked their postage for a pickgaurd was obscene.

Philly_Q

Octafish said:

www.axesrus.co.uk has blank strat pickguards that you can drill/cut your own pickup/pot holes. As mentioned, Warmoth do a custom option, but it's not cheap and last time I looked their postage for a pickgaurd was obscene.

Yeah, the Warmoth scratchplates themselves are actually very reasonably priced, but the shipping is exorbitant.

guitarfishbay

Yes the postage is what kills the Warmoth option.

I don't have any equipment to cut with (more to the point I don't think it'd be safe if I did...).

I've found a Jim Root style pickguard on eBay for cheap so I think I'll start there for H/H.  H/S will have to be a custom job I think.

Philly_Q

guitarfishbay said:

I don't have any equipment to cut with (more to the point I don't think it'd be safe if I did...).

I used to make scratchplates with a junior hacksaw, hand drill, files and wet-or-dry paper.  They always turned out very well - but I was a lot more patient and had a lot more time on my hands in those days.

Octafish

guitarfishbay said:

I don't have any equipment to cut with (more to the point I don't think it'd be safe if I did...).

Ha, ha good point considering what happened to you during a simple pickup change !