Hi all,
Recently acquired a 2003 PRS Santana SE. It plays great but the volume pot is past its best and I'm thinking about rewiring from scratch. I got an Oil City wiring loom for my Les Paul and that is the most wiring I've done. I'd quite like to do this from scratch.
Any advice on parts, etc.? Does anybody have a diagram for a 3-way switch, one volume/one tone setup?
Biggest question is: how much can I do outside of the body? I.e. Create my own loom/harness.
Also looking to acquire new pickups and do it all in one. Not fussed about coil-tapping, as I have done it on numerous guitars and never used it!
Thanks!
Comments
Once the original controls are removed, make a cardboard template of the pots and switch hole layout. Mount the new components on the template. Orient them to suit the control cavity. Pre-solder as many of the connections as is practicable.
Do not solder anything into the selector switch ground lug at this stage.
I replaced the stock p'ups with the Blues Engine / Dirty Torque set from Iron Gear. I bought a few IG p'ups in those days. Most of the IGs are now gone, usually replaced with Oil City units, ut I've kept that set in the Santana SE. You can probably take that as a recommendation.
As long as you've got a decent soldering iron and a reasonable technique, you shouldn't go too far wrong.
The Seymour Duncan site has just about every wiring diagram imaginable. Great resource.
Something like this worth getting?
https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Wiring-Kit-HBHB-3-Control-p/3ctrlprssewiringkit.htm
My band, Red For Dissent
https://sites.google.com/site/phostenixwiringdiagrams/
I intend to use this diagram (Tesla Sharks are 4-conductor):
http://www.irongear.co.uk/2_x_humbuckers__1_vol__1_tone_switched___3-way_toggle_v03_igwm.gif
My question is, when it says a wire goes to ground, where do you hook it up? Forgive my ignorance!
My band, Red For Dissent
My band, Red For Dissent
My band, Red For Dissent
Sorry ground is the back of the pot.
Just solder all the grounds to the back of the volume pot, just be careful not to cook it.
My band, Red For Dissent
Also, on the tone, what's with the ground on the left? Sorry for being dim...
My band, Red For Dissent
and a blue from the switch to the tone.
The ground on the tone pot is to
1) ground the tone pot
2) ground the pull switch.
Basically when you turn down the volume pot on a guitar, you are sending more and more of the signal 'to ground'
same as when you split a pickup you send half ( or howevermuch) 'to ground'
essentially you have to 'send' the signal somewhere it doesn't just disappear, you are sending it to a part of the circuit that dissipates it to ground (earth)
The yellow and blue - are they just the core of the braided cable?
How does the wire on the tone physically connect?
My band, Red For Dissent
you have 4 wires coming from the pickup.
Red
White
Green
Bare (ground)
i apologise I mistakenly said the braid should go to ground, I had in my head it was a Metal braided cover, it's not.
Just the 4 wires to connect.
Red ones go to your toggle switch one on each of the 'outside' tags.
Green and white you solder together then solder them to the middle tag on each side of your pull pot (tone)
Bare goes to the back of the volume pot.
Now run 2 wires soldered together at one end to the middle tag on the toggle switch, yellow and blue.
Other ends of the two, Yellow goes to the tag on the volume pot, Blue goes to Tone.
Now just connect all the ground points to the back of the volume pot.
one wire to the jack socket outside tag ( note if you mix them up it will still work but buzz like a bitch)
Also note there will be an 'extra' wire going from somewhere in the body to a ground point, that's from the guitar bridge, it's not shown on the wiring diagram, that's where the grounded signal goes..... into your hands!!!
This is why if you completely let go of the guitar, it buzzes, especially with high gain.
Tinning, dry solder joints etc.
Trust me you almost will definitely fuck it up, I did.
But it just be methodical and patient.
Give yourself plenty of time, a good strong cuppa, nice music and take your time.
The blue from vol to jack, again braided cable, split at the jack with the outer as the ground?
My band, Red For Dissent