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Vintage wiring vs modern wiring for SG


hi13ts

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Hi friends,

 

I've had an SG Original for a few years now and it's a good guitar, but I think I've been spoiled tonally by this 333 and a Les Paul I have. The 333 was modded with '57 classics and old vintage style wiring with bumblebee caps and the whole nine yards. The Les Paul has modern wiring, but with PIO caps, and just the overall sound of it is throaty and powerful. I removed the backplate of my SG to compare and it looks so much more complicated than the Les Paul's. I'm thinking of trying one of those Emerson pre-wired kits to make it super easy on myself, but my question is how much of a difference do you think it would make? I know that if you wire the Les Paul in a vintage way, you lose less treble when rolling down the volume pot and the tone pot is more responsive. I assume it'd work the same in an SG. Is it worth it, though? Will it really make the SG "warmer", more throaty yet transparent?

 

I suspect I'm just playing mind games with myself on the whole vintage thing, but it'd be nice to have some opinions from those who have their SG wired that way. Thanks!

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My suspicion is that the tones and sounds you get out of your SG (and the other two guitars for that matter) are what they are, and they are a function of the pickups and the physics of the thin solid-body guitar construction for the SG, the chunkier construction of the Les Paul, and the semi-hollow body construction of the 333.

 

When playing a gig, I will use one guitar for certain songs, and another guitar for other songs in the set, based upon what each unique guitar is capable of.

 

I'm not sure I would ever want to monkey around with wiring in order to make all my guitars sound the same.

 

But then again, I'm not one to ever stray from bone-stock configuration on any of my guitars.

I did have a Les Paul with an after-market bridge pickup, but it came that way when I bought it used.

 

I say leave it be.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

:)

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I dont know if it will transform the sound in the way you describe, but to me an SG doesn't sound like a Les Paul.

 

I used to think that pickups were responsible for the largest part of a solid body's sound. I've changed my mind. Since hearing Strats & Teles with Humbuckers and putting trad (Fender spec) single coil pups into my Esprit, I'm compelled to think that the design & build of a solid body is the main determiner of its timbre.

 

SGs do sound similar to LPs, but (to my ears at least) have less definition.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi there,

hope I'm not way too late in replying. All I wanted to add is that I read a study recently in which stock (i.e. pcb board) wiring was replaced with vintage wiring kits and none of the test subjects could tell the difference. I wish I could remember where the heck I found it!

Other than that, I think I agree with the other posters TBH; an SG doesn't sound quite the same as a Lester, and to me that's part of its charm.

cheers :-)

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When playing a gig, I will use one guitar for certain songs, and another guitar for other songs in the set, based upon what each unique guitar is capable of.

 

I'm not sure I would ever want to monkey around with wiring in order to make all my guitars sound the same.

 

I totally agree with what Sparky said. I have certain general sound parameters I'm after, but within that I like a bit of variation in order to give me a little 'range'.

 

H.

 

 

 

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I don't think switching the wiring in the SG will give you what you're after. It will probably change the tone some, but not to a more throaty mid-range. As you say yourself the vintage wiring will loose less treble when the tone is rolled off - I don't think that's what you're looking for.

 

SGs are great for screaming (think AC/DC) but they are not as good for the jazz tones that a LP or a semi-hollow can produce. I say if you want more bass and mid-range play your 333 or Les Paul. If you want more bite and high end use the SG. Not to say an SG isn't versatile, but I don't think a wiring change and caps is going to get it to sound like a LP or a semi-hollow.

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