Wiring Review - Feedback Welcome

ICBM

Looks about right!

As usual, what makes a beautifully simple and logical system to use is an absolute rat's nest inside .

Amigo

Amigo

A more manageable solution, easier to wire up, only three single wires:

ICBM

That's looking quite neat .

The output jack cable needs to be shielded, unless it's an SG-type guitar with the jack in the same cavity as the controls - and especially if it's a Les Paul-type arrangement with the switch a long way away, all the wiring to the switch must be shielded. For the rest, I would probably shield the whole cavity (I prefer copper foil) as it's easier than doing everything with shielded cable, and takes care of the single wires as well.

Amigo

It is an SG-style, with all bits in one cavity. The cavity is painted inside with some black shielding paint, which might just about do it. I will devise a shielding scheme though.  I will be devoting time to getting it sorted over the next few days.

Amigo

If I take the shield of the pickups, take it to the respective volume pot casing, from there to the tone pot casing, and then to the output jack sleeve, that should work, I take it? There will then be two shields and one ground going to the output jack sleeve. Unless I also shield the cable from the switch output to the output jack.

ICBM

Paint isn’t as effective as foil in my experience, but it should be adequate. If so and all the components are in the same cavity, you don’t actually need any other shielding. Obviously the cover needs to be as well.

Amigo

Any copper foil, or are there specific brands you would recommend?

ICBM

Amigo said:

Any copper foil, or are there specific brands you would recommend?

Copper is copper… as long as the adhesive is good it doesn’t matter.

I never rely on the supposedly conductive adhesive though - it seems to lose its conductivity over time. I always spot-solder across every joint - just one spot between any two pieces is fine.

Amigo

Am I right in thinking that the pickup cavities need not be shielded for humbuckers, as opposed to single-coils?

ICBM

If the pickups have metal baseplates they don’t really need it, and if they have full metal covers then they don’t at all.

Amigo

The guitar is SG-style, i.e. quite bright. The pickups are Wolfetone Dr Vintage, 7.5k neck, 8k bridge, and quite clear. I have a couple of Orange Drops, but 33nF, would they darken the sound a lot? I can put the smallest value pot I have for tone.

ICBM

There won’t be a huge difference between 33nF and 22nF even with the tone control down, and almost none with it up full - at full up, if you switched the two values on the fly, you might *just* be able to hear it change, but no more than that.

Don’t use too low a value for the pots, it will just give a muddy tone when you don’t want it. The point of having a rotary tone control is to be able to dial in the sound you want .

Amigo

A new challenge: A three-pot 2 x HB guitar: 2 x VOLUME, 1 X TONE. Tone pot and cap go after everything, right before the output jack, 50s style wiring, if I am not mistaken, correct?

Dave_Mc

Amigo said:

A new challenge: A three-pot 2 x HB guitar: 2 x VOLUME, 1 X TONE. Tone pot and cap go after everything, right before the output jack, 50s style wiring, if I am not mistaken, correct?

Yeah I think so

e.g.: http://www.irongear.co.uk/2_x_humbuckers_4-wire___2_vol__1_tone__3-way_toggle__no_coil_switching_v03_igwm.gif

EDIT: Not sure where that link went to. If it disappears again, it's on the Irongear site under wiring diagrams for 2 humbuckers, 2 volume and 1 tone...

Funkfingers

Standard Explorer, Flying Vee circuit. Also, some vintage USA Hamer models.