Trouble Installing Dragonfire prewired Pickguard

Paulbiz · October 15th, 2009, 07:51 AM

Hey Guys, A buddy of mine has a Fender MIJ Stratocaster. Knowing I solder and have rewired a few guitars he asked if I would help him install a new Dragonfire David Gilmour prewired pickguard into his guitar. I THOUGHT this might take 15-20 minutes, simply remove the old electronics, pop in the new pickguard, solder the jack and be done...simple right? WRONG!!! the thing is extremely difficult to fit into the MIJ cavities which are almost exactly like the MIA cavities. The pickguard has a lot of thick wires and bulky electronics. The 9-volt battery does not seem to fit nicely anywhere. Im gonna have my friend take some pics of his guitar, the pickguard etc to share. Anyone else have any trouble installing these??? If so what tricks did you use to get er done! Thanks, Ill post pics later.

Paul

thaus · October 15th, 2009, 08:23 AM

Sometimes one has to increase the size of the routed out cavity to fit certain electronics, pots, etc. I have done this once on a telecaster and carefully used a dremel to shave small areas of the cavity. Does the pickguard line-up with the holes on the guitar?

dhb2000usa · October 15th, 2009, 08:29 AM

I've had similar problems replacing pups etc., but a pre-wired pg should drop in easier than that. Sounds like you know what you're doing, but maybe you can re-distribute the wiring in a way to make it fit. Else, you may have to resort to surgery. Good luck...

TexBiker · October 15th, 2009, 08:30 AM

Also, I found it much easier to lengthen the battery wires and run them to the trem cavity. Then I just held the battery in place with velcro. This also allows you to replace the battery without having to remove the strings and pickguard.

thaus · October 15th, 2009, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexBiker

Also, I found it much easier to lengthen the battery wires and run them to the trem cavity. Then I just held the battery in place with velcro. This also allows you to replace the battery without having to remove the strings and pickguard.

That's a good tip. I think I have seen that elsewhere..........

Paulbiz · October 15th, 2009, 11:24 AM

Good tips guys thanks! Im not sure if my buddy wants to cut into the body. The pickups look like they will line up theres just not much room in that cavity. As far as running the battery to the tremolo cavity, I thought of that but didnt see anyplace where it would fit. Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
Paul

T-Bodz Terry B. · October 15th, 2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulbiz

Good tips guys thanks! Im not sure if my buddy wants to cut into the body. The pickups look like they will line up theres just not much room in that cavity. As far as running the battery to the tremolo cavity, I thought of that but didnt see anyplace where it would fit. Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
Paul

Hi Paul,

Got home a little early today and snapped some pics off of the 9V Battery Location
in my Clapton Strat for you. There is a little cutout under the Trem Cover with long
wires from the Battery Terminal thru the body to unite with the pots / switch.
VERY Convenient!

These pics should clearly show you how the Fender U.S. Factory have done it to
conceal the 9V and make it a breeze to change!

Hope this helps you out Brother... By the way, if the battery was under the pickguard
and I had to remove strings etc ... I'd probably sell the guitar! Behind the trem
cover is really easy / a slam job!

Terry

Paulbiz · October 15th, 2009, 06:14 PM

Wow Tbodz, that is a beautiful set up! Thanks for posting the pics and giving the advice! As it turns out my buddy emailed the seller (Guitar Parts Online) and was informed that the Dragonfire is only designed to fit strats with "open" cavities. My friends guitar is a japanese made (see pic)...they refused to accept a return, which in fairness to them they did mention was their policy before the sale...they also suggested removing a spring or two in the tremolo cavity and routing the battery there. But it looks to me like it still wont fit. My buddy is pissed off but hasnt given up yet. Ill let ya know what he decides...he may sell it on ebay and do something else. (se pics of what we were working with below.)

Thanks guys!

T-Bodz Terry B. · October 15th, 2009, 06:28 PM

It will fit fine if he routes it out a bit, look at mine with all springs installed.
You can see that the Trem Cover still conceals the compartment perfectly
with a little edge room to give. If he is serious about routing the trem area,
I'll be glad to provide some exact dimensions... Let me know.

Good luck!

Terry

Paulbiz · October 15th, 2009, 07:27 PM

Thanks T-Bodz, but no he does not want to reroute the guitar...I dont blame him, I wouldnt reroute either for a dragon fire set up...maybe the EMG version, but not the dragonfire. We didnt get to hear it, but the pickguard seems to be made with cheap materials and not very confidence inspiring. Thanks again!

SolidStrat · October 17th, 2009, 09:29 AM

I have the Dragonfire DG set, and it doesnt sound bad at all, I actually love it. It was a ***** to get it to fit, but you have to be slow with it and not try to stuff it in. for the price, i'd buy those pickups again.

TNTGUITARS · March 16th, 2010, 08:24 PM

Hello Guys,
Ken from TNT (DRAGONFIRE GUITARS). Just wanted to add my two cents here. First, the Japanese strats are generally based on the '62- so the cavity is NOT as big as the US and Mexican Strats. And the pickguard mounting holes are the '62 also. Since we sell all our guards to fit US and MEX strats, fitting it on anything else may be an issue and require some "surgery". As for fitting, we have both a US and a few Mexican Strats in the shop that we use to road test our new guards. And always, I can install a new guard in less then 20 minutes. We use this two models as test guitars for that reason. And when we market the guards, we tell you that they are a retrofit for, once again, US and Mexican Strats.

As for sound- check out the youtube videos here:

Guitar Parts Online

As always, any questions- please contact us.