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Topic: Need Gibson BR-9 Plate or Tracing |
Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 12 Apr 2024 2:48 pm |
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I just rescued a 40s/50s Gibson BR-9 husk and I need the pickup plate that holds the P90 pickup. My plan is to have Pickguardian make a new pickup plate without the "dog house" over the bridge.
Does anyone have a BR-9 pickup plate that you can make a tracing of for me? Or better yet, a BR-9 plate that you would be willing to sell or loan so I can get a plate made?
I've been wanting to give a P90 lap steel a go so I decided to do another rescue (which I said I would not do  ).
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster T8 black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2024 4:51 am Gibson BR-9 custom mounting plate
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I have made a handful of these:
I also have a couple of original Gibson BR-9 fingerrests from rescues (such as those pictured) that I replaced with a custom plate because I can not abide with the stock fingerrests. Coming from a pedal steel background, I'm most comfortable resting the heel of my hand directly over the strings atop the bridge. The stock fingerrests on many postwar Gibson lap steels prevent it, so I either take 'em off (I have a box full of 'em), or replace 'em with a new, custom, flat plate if they double as a control plate -- like on the later BR-6s and virtually all BR-9s. |
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Steve Gwizdalski
From:
NW Indiana
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Posted 13 Apr 2024 7:19 am BR-9 plate
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Nowhere near as cool as Jack's pickguards, but I made these to go around the wide oval or racetrack pickup that I think came earlier than the P90s. I made the first one out of a bamboo cutting board from Menards that I planed down - pretty stable. The 2nd one didn't make the cut as I couldn't get the fake leather to lay down around the corners of a small pc of 1/4" plywood. Now the bridge is pulling up, so here we go...
Tony if you needed a tracing of the original plate I could snail mail that to you if you want - not sure how much difference there is from the oval to the P90. I'd bet Jack would have a handle on that.
Steve |
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Michael Miller
From:
Virginia
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 13 Apr 2024 11:53 am
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Thanks all!
Jack, great job on those BR-9s. You have set a high bar!
Steve, that is food for thought.
Michael, I looked on eBay & Reverb and I must have missed that one. Ugh! My bad, I put in an offer .
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster T8 black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2024 5:11 am
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Michael ,
The seller accepted my offer and the OEM PICKUP plate doghouse is on the way. Thanks for the tip.
Does anyone know a source for the BR-9 style knobs?
Any recommended replacement knobs?
Thanks!
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster T8 black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Michael Miller
From:
Virginia
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Posted 14 Apr 2024 5:35 am
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Tony, you're welcome. There are a couple of sites that sell various antique/repro knobs. I would look out for bakelite. Good luck!
Last edited by Michael Miller on 15 Apr 2024 3:06 am; edited 1 time in total |
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John Haspert
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2024 7:44 pm Gibson BR-9 Knobs
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I also have been looking for these with little success. I found some dark color ones in the UK on eBay and ordered them years ago. Never found any of the “Cream” colored” knobs.
Todd Clinesmith told me he could 3-D print some. However the color was nearly white. Many of the BR-9’s I’ve seen, the originals were replaced with Speed knobs or top hats etc. Guessing the originals just cracked due to age. I’d like to find a couple of the knobs in the original cream color.
_________________
Pedal Steel Guitar is "Music from Heaven" |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2024 7:02 am
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| I have yet to find a source for the postwar ivory 481 knobs, the the brown prewar (and postwar KEH) 481 knobs are readily available -- but they're quite spendy. PM for more info. |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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Posted 19 Apr 2024 1:38 pm Is this what you ar looking for Tony?
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Is this what you are looking for Tony?
Thanks to the magic of the internet and post office one of Jack's Hand crafted Pickguards arrived in The Land Of Enchantment.
My Team of graphic and laser operators have managed an exact copy of his design.
We cleaned up the control pot holes and hold down holes too.
The control holes are .390 perfect for 3/8 shaft pots. The White Acrylic is 3/16 thick.
These require effort and ingenuity to do edge edge work.
You can use a round over router bit with a roller pattern bearing - flat angled too.
Some folks use files and sandpaper.
Top photo is the Tortoise from Jack laying on top of the new white one -
Next Photo is the new white acrylic 3/16 raw cut.
_________________
GeorgeBoards S8 Non Pedal Steel Guitar Instruments
Maker of One of a Kind Works of Art that play music too.
Instructional DVDs
YouTube Channel |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 22 Apr 2024 5:42 pm
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George,
My P90 arrived today and the OEM doghouse does not fit over it. I thought that this might be the case as the P90 is a DiMarzio Super Distortion.
Yes, I would like to buy one of your plates. PM me with the details.
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster T8 black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 5:53 am
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| Tony Oresteen wrote: |
| My P90 arrived today and the OEM doghouse does not fit over it. I thought that this might be the case as the P90 is a DiMarzio Super Distortion. |
If you come to find out that the polepieces on your DiMarzio do not match the string spacing of the BR-9 bridge (which is quite likely), Christine & Jerry Sentell's LS5 "Tennessee Honey" pickup is tailor-made for a BR-9.
https://www.sentellpickups.net/steel
Many people do not realize that Gibson made different P-90s for Spanish guitar, and 6-, 7-, and 8-string P-90s for Hawaiian guitar. All have differently spaced polepieces. The 6-string Hawaiian and the 6-string Spanish pickups have (approximately) 58mm and 52mm polepiece spacing, respectively. |
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Tony Oresteen
From:
Georgia, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 1:56 pm
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Jack,
Thanks for the heads up! You are right, the DiMarzio does not line up. As I have a bunch of Sentell pickups, I took your advice and bought the LS5 Tennessee Honey.
Now, what do I do with the DiMarzio P90 Super Distortion? Not to worry, I have a project for it !
_________________
Tony
Newnan, GA
Too many guitars, not enough time to play
'72 Sho-Bud 6139, '71 Marlen 210
'78 Fender Stringmaster T8 black
PedalMaster D8 |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2024 4:51 pm
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Tony,
The two BR-9s pictured above both are sporting Sentell pickups. I think they sound great. Your new LS5 will almost certainly fit perfectly inside one of George's beautiful new mounting plates, and the polepiece spacing will match a BR-9's bridge perfectly. Good luck with your project, and be sure to keep us posted. |
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George Piburn
From:
The Land of Enchantment New Mexico
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