Les Paul Rewire Kits?

Mr_Bluesman

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a Les Paul Rewire Kit for a 2013 Standard, looking to get rid of the PCB board

I found stuff like this Guitar Kits by Axetec - Wiring Kits for Les Paul / SG / 335 or here http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Les-Paul-St...Kit-s/1874.htm

Would this be a good start? I'm just not sure what to go for as I haven't done this before. I'm fine with soldering etc and have all the equipment, I've just never re wired a Les Paul and Fancy a little project to replace my pickups without all the Molex connectors etc

Thanks

Stu

chrisj1602

Going in that guitar, I'd get make sure you are replacing it with quality pots and parts, so be weary of some of the kits that don't mention what brand they are.  There are a few options to consider, such as whether you want linear or log, 50s or modern style, what caps, and check out some of the "custom" pots you can get like the Bare Knuckle CTS, and CTS True Vintage Taper.

Mr_Bluesman

chrisj1602 said:

Going in that guitar, I'd get make sure you are replacing it with quality pots and parts, so be weary of some of the kits that don't mention what brand they are.  There are a few options to consider, such as whether you want linear or log, 50s or modern style, what caps, and check out some of the "custom" pots you can get like the Bare Knuckle CTS, and CTS True Vintage Taper.

Thanks , yeah thats what I don't know enough about on this side of things, whats manufacturers to look at, differences in wiring styles etc.
I just know I wanna get rid of the PCB and have something more standard that I can switch pickups out easier with etc. Someone (on another forum) mentioned 50s wiring is the way to go, I know it's all subjective but knowing where to start when looking at options and the differences would be useful when researching etc

FelineGuitars

We occaisionally make up harnesses for people 

These were the ones for the 20th anniversary guitars but no reason we can't make on to order

Cost will be about cost of components(£65 as shown) plus about 1/2 hr labour(£24) (plus shipping)

These are wired 50s wiring, have long shaft CTS 550k ohm pots and Jensen PIO caps

We can substitute orange drops and also use short shaft pots if that is what you'd need and reprice it accordingly

thermionic

Hang on, 4 pots and two capacitors cost £65?

 

Not having a go at your pricing or anything - I was thinking of upgrading the pots and wiring in my Epi LP and I'd want quality pots, just surprised they'd cost that much.

chrisj1602

thermionic said:

Hang on, 4 pots and two capacitors cost £65?

 

Not having a go at your pricing or anything - I was thinking of upgrading the pots and wiring in my Epi LP and I'd want quality pots, just surprised they'd cost that much.

The Bare Knuckle caps were £16 each last time I looked, so it can be done a lot cheaper. 

GuitarMonkey

And a decent Switchcraft switch is £20 which I'm sure is included

chrisj1602

GuitarMonkey said:

And a decent Switchcraft switch is £20 which I'm sure is included

Doesn't look like it.  The OP shouldn't need a new switch anyway.

Mr_Bluesman

They are a little out of my budget at the mo but thanks for the heads up, I just wasn't sure on what manufacturers I should be looking at having never modded a Les Paul before

ICBM

chrisj1602 said:

The Bare Knuckle caps were £16 each last time I looked, so it can be done a lot cheaper. 

Don't get suckered into paying that sort of price for caps - no matter what you might read on the net or elsewhere, they *do not* affect the tone of the guitar in any way. And even the expensive types don't cost anything like that anyway. They're nice to have for 'mojo' or whatever, but you can get a cap which performs *exactly* the same for a few pence or something with 'mojo' for a pound or two.

Buying a complete kit means that at least someone else has done the work of ordering the right parts (which are not always easy to buy individually) and done the basics of assembly, so I don't think the complete looms are necessarily overpriced.

Mr_Bluesman

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Gibson-Les-Paul-Wiring-Kit-High-End-p/gibsonwiring1.htm These seems reasonable, CTS pots, orange drop caps, switch craft switch etc. I'm a little unsure on what cap to get i.e 0.015@100v and so on, what's the difference, how does it alter the sound? Also I understand Log pot for volume, but what about tone - what's the best to give me a smooth tone control which I like to use?

ICBM

Mr_Bluesman said:

I'm a little unsure on what cap to get i.e 0.015@100v and so on, what's the difference, how does it alter the sound?

The larger the tone cap, the lower the frequency range which is rolled off - it's not actually the amount of treble, it's how far down into the midrange it goes. It's dependent to some extent on the type of pickup - traditionally, humbuckers and P90s which are more middy anyway) use .022uF or .015uF caps, Fender-type single coils .047uF (.05uF) or .1uF, but you can experiment with different ones with either pickup type. A larger value can make pickups a bit muddy or 'woofy' when rolled off, which is why some people like to use smaller ones.

The voltage rating makes no difference, it's for applications where a high voltage is applied to the cap, eg in an amp. The maximum voltage in a guitar is around 1V.

Mr_Bluesman said:

Also I understand Log pot for volume, but what about tone - what's the best to give me a smooth tone control which I like to use?

Log. A linear will give almost no change from 10 down to about 3, then a sharp cut-off almost like a switch. The only exception is if you're using very low value tone controls (eg 50K or 100K) which some makers did, because essentially they're starting from where a 250K or 500K log pot is at around 3 anyway. But for normal values you always want Log, no matter what you might sometimes read elsewhere!

Volume pots can actually be either Log or Lin depending on what type of roll-off taper you want.

Mr_Bluesman

ICBM said:

Mr_Bluesman said:

I'm a little unsure on what cap to get i.e 0.015@100v and so on, what's the difference, how does it alter the sound?

The larger the tone cap, the lower the frequency range which is rolled off - it's not actually the amount of treble, it's how far down into the midrange it goes. It's dependent to some extent on the type of pickup - traditionally, humbuckers and P90s which are more middy anyway) use .022uF or .015uF caps, Fender-type single coils .047uF (.05uF) or .1uF, but you can experiment with different ones with either pickup type. A larger value can make pickups a bit muddy or 'woofy' when rolled off, which is why some people like to use smaller ones.

The voltage rating makes no difference, it's for applications where a high voltage is applied to the cap, eg in an amp. The maximum voltage in a guitar is around 1V.

Mr_Bluesman said:

Also I understand Log pot for volume, but what about tone - what's the best to give me a smooth tone control which I like to use?

Log. A linear will give almost no change from 10 down to about 3, then a sharp cut-off almost like a switch. The only exception is if you're using very low value tone controls (eg 50K or 100K) which some makers did, because essentially they're starting from where a 250K or 500K log pot is at around 3 anyway. But for normal values you always want Log, no matter what you might sometimes read elsewhere!

Volume pots can actually be either Log or Lin depending on what type of roll-off taper you want.

Thanks ever so much, makes sense after all the reading I've done, much appreciated and I know now which route to head down