An S-90 mini crisis

[mad dog]

So I'm shining up the old S-90 tonight, getting ready for tomorrow's gig. Turn it over, and see no cover on the electronics cavity. No screws, no nothing. Look all over the house, no luck. It must have come off weeks ago at rehearsal and I never noticed. Who knows where it is by now.

I'm assuming the odds of finding a replacement are low (please correct me Hans, if I'm wrong ...) In which case, has anyone here ever fabricated the black cover for a solidbody? Any recommendations on materials, sources? Would anyone have a spare plastic blank I could use?

I'll play it tomorrow sans cover, but don't want to make that a regular thing. Thanks for your help.

Michaeil D.

 

[Maxer]

I'm in graphic design for television and film. Couple of years ago I got an old Fender Bullet from '84 or so and it was missing its electronics cavity plate. It was an odd shape but I photographed it straight on, printed it at full size and traced out the shape, then scanned that and took it into Adobe Illustrator and cleaned up the lines. Then I took the file to an output bureau/sign shop our industry deals with and asked them to make me a thick styrene plate. It wasn't pretty - it was a light grey, somewhat flimsy cover, but it fit quite well on the guitar and it protected the cavity. I had to drill some holes in it so as to screw it to the sill of the cavity, but it worked fine. I considered it a temporary solution and was going to improve on it with something thicker, darker and more substantial, but then I traded the guitar away a couple of weeks ago.

If you have a cavity that's more rectilinear in its shape, it's an easy job. Some online pickguard makers will do relatively cheap custom work and you can have a nicer pearloid plate for your Guild. All you have to do is measure it up.

 

[Qvart]

I cut up a black DVD cover one time to cover up the wiring on a junky bass. A tad flimsy but it worked.

 

[Hammer]

Duct tape! It fixes everything! :lol:

 

[Default]

Get a piece of plexy from Home Despot. You can make a template from paper or cardboard, get someone with a bandsaw to cut it out, drill some screw holes and hit the cavity side with some black spraypaint.

Easier than falling off a log with a cinderblock taped to your forehead.

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

Drop into your local luthier and see what's hiding in the old parts drawers...a larger backplate can easily be cut/sanded down to the right size. Even a multiply pickguard could be cut down. Good luck.

Temp solution for tomorrow's gig...cardboard or picture mat cut to size and a few bits of velcro tape...black marker if you don't want it to show. :wink:

 

[fronobulax]

So the cover and cavity of my JS are lined with copper, I presume as shielding to reduce hum or other interference. How necessary is that, really, and would a long term solution to the cavity problem have a copper layer?

 

[danerectal]

I've got a bunch of 3-ply BWB pickguard material from a p-bass pg that I made once. I bet I could run to the music store and have one cut. Is yours the 70/71 cavity or the 72-77 shape? Either way, I have one to use as a template. I'm not positive the thickness is correct, but I'm sure you could find some spare picks or something to use as shims. Let me know if you want me to do it. I'd give you the material, just pay the shop bill and shipping.

 

[Default]

So the cover and cavity of my JS are lined with copper, I presume as shielding to reduce hum or other interference. How necessary is that, really, and would a long term solution to the cavity problem have a copper layer?

Shielding the cavity is a good thing. You can go to the hardware store and buy "metal repair tape" if you don't feel like waiting. It"s alumininmiumium (European spelling for Jerry) with adhesive backing.

 

[danerectal]

So the cover and cavity of my JS are lined with copper, I presume as shielding to reduce hum or other interference. How necessary is that, really, and would a long term solution to the cavity problem have a copper layer?

Shielding the cavity is a good thing. You can go to the hardware store and buy "metal repair tape" if you don't feel like waiting. It"s alumininmiumium (European spelling for Jerry) with adhesive backing.

Good call on that. If you want to take me up on my offer, I could slap some stew-mac conductive shielding tape on the reverse.

 

[mad dog]

Dane:

Sorry for the delay ... didn't realize there were new posts here. That's mighty nice of you to offer. For sure I'm interested. My S-90 is 1973. Is that enough info to know which cavity size it is? I could take a pic if that would be better. Thanks again. Much appreciated!

Michael D.

 

[danerectal]

That's the same year as mine. I'll pop off the two screws that are left and bring the pair in this afternoon. By '73 they should have gotten rid of all the old shape cavities, so that's more than enough info. PM me with your address, and we'll take it from there.