proudhon Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I've got an older epi Lucile that one dead pickup and switches that are going to hell so I've decided to upgrade I'll probably go with 490 or 57 PUP Im going to go to some better switches to so I'm just going to rewire the whole thing I bought an aftermarket variltone (mine goes half dead when I try to turn it) The orginal Lucille had 100k and 300k pots and some resistors (couldn't figure that out at first) I was thinking of trying that,,,, I've read the new Gibson Lucilles shipped that way (then again I've read they are shipped with 500k) any drawings of the lucille I've found are real bad and tough to read I was wondering if anyone can see any real draw back in the lower value pots I don't play loud and I'm fairly sure that with the 500k pots its going to sound like any other 335 If anyone has any idea about the resistors or a good reason not to try I think I' ll give the lower value pots a try. (can always switch them out later) any and all ideas apreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug music Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hey proudhon, welcome to the forum. I know exactly which drawing you are talking about, the hand-drawn Gibson one from their website, it is almost unreadable . I found this site that has made that Lucille schematic a bit easier to read as well as the Varitone schematic. As far as the Varitone you have now is it just a volume drop you are experiencing or does it cut out altogether ? Unfortunately the volume drop is a normal part of how the Varitone functions, it is a passive (non-powered) filter, so some volume drop is normal. That being said, I've found using a compressor can pretty much eliminate any noticeable volume drop between settings. AFAIK the aftermarket Varitone circuits connect in series with the output of the guitar, so you would lose the stereo output capability (if that matters to you). As far as the pickups go, are you sure the pickup is dead, or could it just be the switch ? When I first got my Lucille, I found the pickups to be allright, but kind of dead and muffled sounding. I was also looking at putting 57's in it, but being a brave and sometimes foolish person (O.K. cheap as well). I unpotted the pickups the best I could with a hairdryer and a pot of boiling water (and heavy insulated gloves of course), there was a LOT of wax on those pickups that I removed, and when I was done the stock pickups now sound as open and airy as any higher end pickup I've heard. The tone has greatly improved, but be warned if you attempt unpotting just be prepared to replace them if you mess up. Definitely replace the switches and pots and jacks with higher quality, and if you can save the Varitone that is also a plus. Believe it or not the stock one is a much better design than the aftermarket ones. Also if the pickups are not dead and you are brave enough to remove the better part of that 10 lbs. of wax that is choking their tone, they are pretty close to the Gibson pickups. There I'm done rambling, hopefully this helps, as always just my $.02 YMMV. - Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Flick Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I've got an older epi Lucile that one dead pickup and switches that are going to hellso I've decided to upgrade ...The orginal Lucille had 100k and 300k pots ...I was wondering if anyone can see any real draw back in the lower value pots My Lucy was very dull sounding' date=' I tried at least four different sets of pickups trying to brighten it up, no luck. So I decided to rewire the entire guitar. I put in 500K Alphas, rewired it in mono, simplified the wiring. Greatly improved. The neck is great, now it sounds fantastic (settled on GFS Mean 90s), one of my favorites. As for the original pots, I never checked their values. If I remember correctly, 2 were minis and two were full sized so it kinda makes sense that they were different values. There was shielded wire running all over the place, all attached to the top of the pots - I couldn't see what they were. [center'] [/center] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudhon Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Thanks alot got the pots and new switches thought about the GFS but I can get a good used set of 490/s used for 110 vs 80 for the gfs (I may try melting the wax and use the pickups on another project glup_ I've been curious on the GFS I tried two sets on different friends guitars one was fabullous the other was garbage.... hmmm I may try the 90s out later Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudhon Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Forgot to say thanks for the great site with the diagrams and advice Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bug music Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 No problem. I've had good luck unpotting a couple of sets of humbuckers I thought were dull sounding, the improvements varied from slightly noticeable to totally different sounding, but in each case it was an improvement. Another warning about potting pickups : Originally I used a metal screen mesh strainer over a pan of boiling water and let the steam melt the bulk of the wax off Unfortunately Dr. Jays potting lab was shut down by the authorities after the incident concerning the "good" saucepan. Even though : A.) none of the wax sticks to the pan while it is floating in boiling water ... B.) I wash the pan with boiling water again after the original water/wax is dumped, removing 100% of any residue and ... C.) it's wax for god sakes, it has no taste, no harmful effects, and I'm sure she's eaten more from melted candles on birthday cake than I ever ... ... But I digress... Mrs. Bug Music wasn't too happy with my first method, so I would suggest full disclosure to the owner of the cookware before beginning any such operations. ( An alternative method, which I was strongly suggested to find, was to use a disposable aluminum pie pan in the oven at very low heat somewhere about 200F. Just watch any plastic parts very carefully. ) Good Luck ! - Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudhon Posted February 5, 2008 Author Share Posted February 5, 2008 Now I know why I never married over 60 years its been close a few times but..... but I can still store my best motorcyle in the Livingroom Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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