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Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and - after much lurking - finally ready to build my dream guitar. Over the years, Line 6 has received quite a bit of my money. ;) So far, I have/had in my house the following products: - Variax 300 Acoustic - Variax 4-string bass - POD 2 with all the X3 updates - Pocket POD (will purchase on Friday) - POD UX 2 (will purchase this weekend) - Varix 300 Electric ... and if I had any more money, I'd probably spend it on some of the newer Line 6 products. :D Instead, like so many of you, I am looking forward to creating my own dream guitar with the electronics that I have in the Variax 300 (Electric). In the last 20+ years, I have used Ibanez guitars exclusively. Because my JS1000 is too thin for a transplant, I have decided to use a painted RG-type "semi"-blank (no Floyd, only humbucker and jack cavities so far) and an old GIO 25 1/2", 22-fret neck (square pocket) to build the guitar that I really want. Since wizard-luthiers Jeff Miller and Roosevelt Walker (midirose) have all but disappeared from the internet (and I don't have facebook :(), I only have you guys/gals to whom I can address my questions. I would appreciate it if some of my final questions could be answered; and that this list - given how comprehensive it - can help other future builders find their answers, too. --- Ok, here goes: Preparing the Body: 1.) Can I switch between magnetic pickups and the Variax 300 piezos by drilling an additional hole for a killswitch (thus not using them at the same time, of course)? 2.) If I can keep both the magnetic pickups and the Variax piezos, is this body thick enough to route the Variax 300 electronics from the back of the guitar? 3.) As you all know, the electronics of the Variax 300 come in a HUGE triangular shaped box (like a tin coffin). Can I pull the electronics from the coffin, so they fit better into the back cavity? 4.) Can I cut through the knob plate in order to facilitate the positioning of the knobs and the routing? 5.) I have seen a few back cavities in transplants that look like the letter "L" sideways. Any ideas where I can buy that type of template online? 6.) What's the best way to cover that type of "L" cavity? A ply of wood, or simply the material luthiers use for customized pickguards? I think the latter is less work... :P 7.) Do I have to drill 6 holes to hold the string ends, as it is the case for the Variax 300, or can I use a hardtail bridge with piezos (e.g. Graphtech Ghost)? 8.) If I can't figure out how to transplant the piezos from the saddle into a hardtail, how do I measure the Variax 300 "neck pocket - saddle - string hole" distance on a RG body? Does the distance matter? Electronics: 9.) If I cut the electronics into more sizeable pieces, do I need to isolate the cavities/parts with copper/conducive foil, to minimize noise and distortion? 10.) Can I connect my magnetic pickups directly to the Variax tone and volume knobs? (total: 1 tone + 1 volume + 1 model selector), or do I need separate knobs (total: 2 tone + 2 volume + 1 model selector)? 11.) Apart from a killswitch, is there another way to switch between the pickups on stage? 12.) One of my family members is a retired technician. He knows a lot about building TVs, radios and telephones. Will he be able to route the wires correctly? 13.) Are there any wiring templates for the "Variax 300 + two humbuckers" online? 14.) If everything above gets a green light, I'd then need to route/drill Back: - one "L" shaped cavity to hold the Variax 300 electronics - one rectangular cavity for the battery pack Side: - one bigger cavity for the dual Variax 300 jack Front: - two holes to hold the saddle with the piezos - six holes to hold the string ends - three holes for the Volume, Tone and Selector knobs, respectively - one hole for the humbucker selector switch (neck, n/b,bridge) - one hole for the piezo/humbucker killswitch - one small hole for the piezo ribbon that leads to the mainboard unit - two small holes for all the humbucker wires Is my math correct? --- Thanks again for all the help you are providing and for keeping their legacy products alive... one way, or the other. :) I'm looking forward to your answers. VX