Olafd Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Hi I intend to upgrade my Epiphone Broadway Jazzbox by replacing the Epi-Pickup by a Gibson P57. But of course on archtops you have to do most of the wiring work through the f-holes which is a bit like heart surgery. The cable coming out from the old pickup vanishes after 20cm in the depth of the guitar’s Body. From a clamp of the bottom a bunch of wires returns to the surface and then spreads to the pots. Actually the easiest way to connect the new pickup was to cut the wires of the old pickup after about 10cm, do the same to the cable of the new humbucker and insert it at that point with soldering it. But on the other hand there's the chance to keep the shielding of the pickup's cable to connect it directly to the pot - to avoid any humming and to keep the original length of the cables. But that would mean that I had to pull out the whole electric system. What's the better way? Any help appreciated Olaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joevacc Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I would say that the hassle of trying to splice the pickups in would be just as bad as pulling the pots and making a nice new clean connection. The shielding is the most important bit in my experience. Good luck, jv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I would say that the hassle of trying to splice the pickups in would be just as bad as pulling the pots and making a nice new clean connection. The shielding is the most important bit in my experience. Good luck, jv Share this opinion. Complete disassembly and reassembly are the way to go. Some finesse and appropriate use of twine will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'd also agree that it's probably best to do everything over. Here's a guy on YouTube that has a tutorial on some of the "tricks" if you will, to re-doing the wiring on an archtop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Either way has it's advantages. If you do a splice, you are not really hurting much, and it's not like you can't come back and rewire the whole thing later. Of corse, the sacrifice is in cutting the leads of the pups. Not a big loss cutting the lead length on the epi pup, and you could keep the lead long on the Gibby pup and roll it up-tie it off for later use. If you do pull the pots/wiring harness out, it MIGHT makes sense to replace/upgrade the pots and the switch. I would. On the other hand, if you pull it out to wire the pup and don't replace them, you could STILL do it later. You don't really loose except effort and time...but you gain practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olafd Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Either way has it's advantages. If you do a splice, you are not really hurting much, and it's not like you can't come back and rewire the whole thing later. Of corse, the sacrifice is in cutting the leads of the pups. Not a big loss cutting the lead length on the epi pup, and you could keep the lead long on the Gibby pup and roll it up-tie it off for later use. Yes, that would do it. But I'm not sure how to solder the lead of the PUP on the rest of the old lead without loosing the coaxial shielding for half an inch or so. Is there a good way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Yes, that would do it. But I'm not sure how to solder the lead of the PUP on the rest of the old lead without loosing the coaxial shielding for half an inch or so. Is there a good way? The "shield", the outer wire, can be slid back. It's a bit of an effort, but because it is braided, slipping it back also makes it wider. Same is true with the cotton/cloth insulation. So basically, you spend a little time sliding these back until you know you have enough to cover the splice you will solder. Solder the center, slide the cloth over, slide the shield over, and solder the shield. A helpful note: it IS a good idea to use a little tape around the cloth, or as a replacement for it at the splice. The cloth "splice" has a tendency to want to slide away from each other with movement, allowing the inner and outer wires to touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchtopBill Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 When I rewired mine, I completely tore the guitar down. The fore mentioned use of surgical tubing is very helpful for reassembly. I made a cardboard template of the top to wire the pups, pots and caps with little slack in the wires. I then pulled all into place with the surgical tubing. Worked like a charm, the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 To the OP - Were you able to use the stock pickup surrounds with the Gibson Classic 57s? Ive been thinking about changing pickups on my Broadway. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olafd Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 To the OP - Were you able to use the stock pickup surrounds with the Gibson Classic 57s? Ive been thinking about changing pickups on my Broadway. Thanks I'm still at work but on a first glance everythting seems to fit properly. I will inform you when it's finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I would appreciate it. Thanks, Olafd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olafd Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Operation successful, patient is alive and sounds better than before. Experiences? Okay, first of all: the pickup change doesn't transform the Epiphone into a 1956th Gibson L5. The sound improves by, lets say, 30 percent. The tone is getting more thick or more fat than with the original Epi's PU's and is of course approaching to the well known sound of really good Archtop Guitars. It makes more fun to play now but don't expect a wonder. The pickup change itself wasn't that hard. I removed the old PU, opened the little cable-holding clamp at the bottom of the inner body and pulled one volume-pot out (I only changed the neck PU). The wire of the original PU leads to a little plug and from there to the pots. I removed that plug and replaced it by new ones. With them I connected the leads of the P57-pickup with the cables going to the volume pot. Thats it. Less humming than the original PU, no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCPuma Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Just swapped out my pickups and harness (both pots/caps) in my Sheraton II today. Including the restringing, waxing/polishing it took me around 3 hrs. I'd experience with soldering, but not with anything else other than swapping out a toggle switch. Last year I purchased a Epi ES-175 with similar changes and it inspired this mod. I have no regrets and it sounds so good! Scariest part was drilling/enlarging the holes for the US (standard) hardware. I already own 2 Gibsons and may never buy another based on the success of these. Seriously, I'm looking forward to getting couple of other models and upgrading them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchtopBill Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 To the OP - Were you able to use the stock pickup surrounds with the Gibson Classic 57s? Ive been thinking about changing pickups on my Broadway. Thanks In my case I was able to use the stock surrounds with the Classic 57 and Classic 57 +. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 In my case I was able to use the stock surrounds with the Classic 57 and Classic 57 +. Thanks, Archtop Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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