Nyarlathotep Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hey guys, I just tried to replace the pickups in my 2010 Epiphone G-400, but did an awful job with the wiring. To be honest the wiring was pretty messy to begin with, but at this point I think I need to replace everything pretty much. The guitar works but the volume of the neck pickup is much higher than the bridge. Anyway, I was wondering what parts I should invest in. I learned my lesson trying to change pickups and will take it to a guitar tech. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Nyarlathotep, Are you looking to replace the original parts with similar parts or are you looking to modify? (either quality, taper or both) The stock wiring is "Modern Dependent". Stock pots are most often Alpha. (always metric as opposed to imperial) The knobs are also metric spline. Epiphone uses 500k Linear pots for volume and 500k 10% taper Audio pots for tone. The pots are short shaft. The jack and toggle switch are Epiphone. Their longevity is hit or miss. Switchraft is a popular replacement for both. The toggle switch hole would need to be opened up slightly. The capacitors are inexpensive .022μF (microfarad) at 100v. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 Nyarlathotep, Are you looking to replace the original parts with similar parts or are you looking to modify? (either quality, taper or both) The stock wiring is "Modern Dependent". Stock pots are most often Alpha. (always metric as opposed to imperial) The knobs are also metric spline. Epiphone uses 500k Linear pots for volume and 500k 10% taper Audio pots for tone. The pots are short shaft. The jack and toggle switch are Epiphone. Their longevity is hit or miss. Switchraft is a popular replacement for both. The toggle switch hole would need to be opened up slightly. The capacitors are inexpensive .022μF (microfarad) at 100v. Willy Well I'd be looking for improvement. Unfortunately I'm not experienced at this so I don't know what I would get to do that. You said a popular choice for the input jack and toggle switch is Switchraft. Where would I be able to get better quality pots and knobs as well? Sorry for being so vague. As I said, I'm not at all experienced with this. Thank you so much for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Nyarlathotep, We all started someplace so don't feel alone. Unfortunately, I'm teaching the rest of the day. And so...... The members around here can be very helpful. Hopefully, they will share some links for pots, caps, knobs..etc while describing some of their own experiences with replacement electronics. The two main things to understand are tolerances and percentage of taper of the pots you use. This, along with wiring style contributes to controlling your guitar the way you would prefer. Until you have a clearer picture of that, I would hold off on ordering. In the meantime, this may help get you started: (give the page a minute to load) http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/225271-volume-pot-taper-count-ups.html Later, Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I replaced the wiring harness on my Gibson LP Tribute last year with one from: http://jonesyblues.com/ Dramatic improvement. Much better pots, caps, and wiring. And it took me 1/2 hour to install. I think it's well worth the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 I replaced the wiring harness on my Gibson LP Tribute last year with one from: http://jonesyblues.com/ Dramatic improvement. Much better pots, caps, and wiring. And it took me 1/2 hour to install. I think it's well worth the price. I think I might look more into it. I assume I would contact the guy and tell him the configuration. I've currently got a SH-1 '59 in the neck, (single conductor), and a SH-5 Custom in the bridge, (4 conductor). Eventually I'd like to be able to do this sort of stuff myself though, as it doesn't seem complicated. I'm just really bad at wiring/soldering. I'm pretty sure the soldering for the ground and lead wires for the bridge pickup is nothing short of abysmal. Not to mention I didn't put a capacitor in front of the lead for the '59 to the volume pot and the ground wire is wrapped in electrical tape to make sure it doesn't short anything. It's nothing less than a mess, if I do say so myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Jonesy's work is first rate. After installation, it's the cleanest harness I've ever seen. Let him know exactly what you have in the way of pickups, and also what you want. He is very quick to answer all inquiries. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Another excellent option: http://bcsguitars.com/?page_id=1965 I have their wiring kits on both of my SG type guitars. Amazing quality and sound-well worth the investment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Jonesy's work is first rate. Nyarlathotep, No doubt about it! The guy is fantastic. Jonesy gets his pots from WD music. Again, a contributing factor is taper. Jonesy generally uses 550K +/- 10% tolerance ...20% taper pots for both volume and tone. They are a bit more expensive, however, well worth the money) This along with 50's wiring is probably among the most popular for many players. Whether or not this suits you is IMHO a personal taste. If you play on some amps this can give much control for going from clean to dirty utilizing your volume controls. Anyway....If you want to start with the basics, there are 4 basic styles of wiring for 2 pickup/2 volume/2 tone/three way switch: 50's Dependent, 50's Independent, Modern dependent, Modern Independent. Everything else is a variation. Each has it's own characteristics and each can be influenced by the pots you use. The first four diagrams are the above: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/4555-post2.html Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 I'm just wondering how I'd connect the pickups once I've gotten the harness. Unfortunately I just seem to not be able to do the soldering very well. I'm generally very clumsy and end up making really weak solder joints. The small cavity really makes it hard. If I were to go with this option I think I'd still need to get better at soldering/wiring in general. Any tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Nyarlathotep, No doubt about it! The guy is fantastic. Jonesy gets his pots from WD music. Again, a contributing factor is taper. Jonesy generally uses 550K +/- 10% tolerance ...20% taper pots for both volume and tone. They are a bit more expensive, however, well worth the money) This along with 50's wiring is probably among the most popular for many players. Whether or not this suits you is IMHO a personal taste. If you play on some amps this can give much control for going from clean to dirty utilizing your volume controls. Anyway....If you want to start with the basics, there are 4 basic styles of wiring for 2 pickup/2 volume/2 tone/three way switch: 50's Dependent, 50's Independent, Modern dependent, Modern Independent. Everything else is a variation. Each has it's own characteristics and each can be influenced by the pots you use. The first four diagrams are the above: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/4555-post2.html Willy Wow so much information! Thanks a lot for the help. It looks like I'll be doing some research for a bit then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 I'm also seeing that I might need to widen the holes for the pots, switch selector, and the input. Did you have to do that as well when you ordered from him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I'm also seeing that I might need to widen the holes for the pots, switch selector, and the input. Did you have to do that as well when you ordered from him? I've changed many pots, jacks and switches from metric to CTS and Switchcraft. I have always had to open up the holes. I do it by taping over the hole to protect the edges. I then slightly ream the hole and finish with a dremmel. Many just use a piece of rolled sandpaper. Keep in mind, the amount you are expanding the hole is very slight. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 I'm also seeing that I might need to widen the holes for the pots, switch selector, and the input. Did you have to do that as well when you ordered from him? Just give Jonesy a call or email. He'll answer right away. jonesyblues@yahoo.com or Call 1-574-540-9777 and ask for Jonesy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Just talking to Jonesy and ordered his SG premium wiring harness. Seems like a really nice guy and offered to help me review the wiring once I get the harness before I put it in. Also has tons of videos on his site showing how to do the install. Looking forward to this and thanks for the recommendation. I'll show before and after photos for the guitar cavity so you can see what I meant earlier. One more question though. For the '59 neck pickup (ground braided around the lead) should I put a capacitor in front of the lead to brighten the tone and if so how large of a capacitance? Thanks again for all the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Excellent. I'm sure you'll be happy with Jonesy's work. And it sure looks first rate. I know his harness comes with PIO caps. Are you asking if you should install an additional cap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyarlathotep Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 Excellent. I'm sure you'll be happy with Jonesy's work. And it sure looks first rate. I know his harness comes with PIO caps. Are you asking if you should install an additional cap? Yeah from the Seymour Duncan insert that I got with my pickups it recommends putting a capacitor in front of the lead for single conductor pickups, right before the connection to the volume pot. Should I do this or will the '50's wiring be enough to brighten the '59 in the neck? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I suggest installing the Jonesy harness as is. If you feel you need the extra cap, you can always add it in later. I'd be surprised if you do, though. My guitar is a Gibson Les Paul with P90 pickups. I was surprised by how much clearer and more articulate the guitar sounds now. Let us know how you like the new harness. By the way, the harness was very easy to install. I had it done in about a half hour. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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