Pinch Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Hello all. I know you lose some volume from a pup when the tone control goes way down with 50's wiring, but not noticably with just a bit of tone roll-off, am I right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 You are right. I like this wiring because of the tonal details you can achieve with minimal changes to the controls. I max everything out then slowly roll off the volume of one of the pickups to get a nice tone shift. There are almost an infinite combination of tones available. Of course someone will come in and tell you that I'm nuts and don't know what I'm talking about but this is my story and I'm sticking to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 Just now, 10PoundLester said: You are right. I like this wiring because of the tonal details you can achieve with minimal changes to the controls. I max everything out then slowly roll off the volume of one of the pickups to get a nice tone shift. There are almost an infinite combination of tones available. Of course someone will come in and tell you that I'm nuts and don't know what I'm talking about but this is my story and I'm sticking to it. So rolling off volume just a little notches wont lower the pickup volume noticeably? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Just now, Pinch said: So rolling off volume just a little notches wont lower the pickup volume noticeably? Not really. It just sweeps the tone a little. Try it. It's easy enough to go back to whatever wiring you have now (unless it's a 335 or similar). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 minute ago, 10PoundLester said: Not really. It just sweeps the tone a little. Try it. It's easy enough to go back to whatever wiring you have now (unless it's a 335 or similar). Thank you for the almost eerily quick reply 🥰 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 7 minutes ago, Pinch said: Thank you for the almost eerily quick reply 🥰 I just happen to be sitting here at my desk. Glad to help out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 Just now, 10PoundLester said: I just happen to be sitting here at my desk. Glad to help out! Still though. This place is great. Everyone helps everyone out. Call me old-fashioned, but like most of you, I'm old enough to remember a time when that was actually considered a virtue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 I start my Volume & Tone knobs at 5.. Then roll them to the sweet spot for each Pickup position.... It always leaves me the ability to increase or decrease either as needed depending what Pickup I’m on or what song we’re playing.. There is a huge palette of available Tone & Sound. No need to run back & forth adjusting Amps or Pedals.. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 minute ago, Larsongs said: I start my Volume & Tone knobs at 5.. Then roll them to the sweet spot for each Pickup position.... It always leaves me the ability to increase or decrease either as needed depending what Pickup I’m on or what song we’re playing.. There is a huge palette of available Tone & Sound. No need to run back & forth adjusting Amps or Pedals.. Yeah, I'm starting to think modern wiring is a bit of a one-trick pony IME. OTOH, I'm not the biggest treble fan, but I'm thinking it's easier to EQ out excessive treble than to have to adjust tons of knobs on amps and pedals for each individual sound (and they're still a bit samey with modern wiring) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 minute ago, Larsongs said: I start my Volume & Tone knobs at 5.. Then roll them to the sweet spot for each Pickup position.... It always leaves me the ability to increase or decrease either as needed depending what Pickup I’m on or what song we’re playing.. There is a huge palette of available Tone & Sound. No need to run back & forth adjusting Amps or Pedals.. For me, the weird thing is that I've never even considered this. I got my first LP in the 70's. I always played it with everything on 10 and used my amp and/or pedals for the tone. Now that I'm smart(er) I am in tonal heaven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, 10PoundLester said: For me, the weird thing is that I've never even considered this. I got my first LP in the 70's. I always played it with everything on 10 and used my amp and/or pedals for the tone. Now that I'm smart(er) I am in tonal heaven! Or 11! I think we all did! LOL! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 10 hours ago, 10PoundLester said: For me, the weird thing is that I've never even considered this. I got my first LP in the 70's. I always played it with everything on 10 and used my amp and/or pedals for the tone. Now that I'm smart(er) I am in tonal heaven! Did you change the wiring on your recent 60s LP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 21 hours ago, Pinch said: So rolling off volume just a little notches wont lower the pickup volume noticeably? I meant rolling off TONE a couple notches. My bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Okay, boys and girls, one more. Do I have it right when I say that with 50's wiring, volume at ten on neck pup and tone on zero on same neck pup will essentially be the same as with modern wiring, because they're both on "full on or off" positions? I.e., no volume drop on the neck pup if it's on volume 10 and the tone is on 0, zip, nada? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 This might help.. https://www.fralinpickups.com/2020/03/01/50s-wiring-vs-modern-wiring/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 13 hours ago, Pinch said: Did you change the wiring on your recent 60s LP? I have a Standard '50s and it came with that wiring so I didn't have to change anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 3 hours ago, Pinch said: I meant rolling off TONE a couple notches. My bad. I figured as much . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 (edited) On 12/13/2023 at 9:02 AM, 10PoundLester said: You are right. I like this wiring because of the tonal details you can achieve with minimal changes to the controls. I max everything out then slowly roll off the volume of one of the pickups to get a nice tone shift. There are almost an infinite combination of tones available. Of course someone will come in and tell you that I'm nuts and don't know what I'm talking about but this is my story and I'm sticking to it. you're nuts and you don't know what you are talking about There ! I fixed it for you.. Actually, truth be told, I could not agree more. For anyone who says that Les Pauls, (or that config) is not as versatile as a fender setup, has probably never spent any time at all working the middle position and blending neck and bridge pickups using volume and tone. I can get the coolest blues tones with that setup and just a little edge on the tone stack at the amp I wouldn't want a 2 humbucker setup that only had single volume and tone controls, you lose a lot of options that way. Now I'm not sure on the 50s wiring, and volume but I guess it would make sense. I don't have that set up in any of my Gibsons, but I've always been a bit intrigued if I'd like it or not. Edited December 14, 2023 by kidblast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 54 minutes ago, kidblast said: For anyone who says that Les Pauls, (or that config) is not as versatile as a fender setup, has probably never spent any time at all working the middle position and blending neck and bridge pickups using volume and tone. I can get the coolest blues tones with that setup and just a little edge on the tone stack at the amp That'll be me (though I don't make that claim about Fenders). Never felt the need to TBH. However, if I did. I'd want to be able to lock the knobs in those required positions. That's a feature I would like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is there are different quality Capacitors.. Cheap one that go from Bass to Treble from O to 1 & stays there all the way to 10. There are better Capacitors that do a beautiful job gradually roll up from Bass to Treble in small gradual changes from 0 to 10.. The later are usually found on high end Gibsons.. Is 50’s Wiring necessary? Who knows? If so, why did Gibson change it? Here is a pretty good video of 50’s wiring.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 22 hours ago, kidblast said: . . . I don't have that set up in any of my Gibsons, but I've always been a bit intrigued if I'd like it or not. Give it a try, you might just prefer it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 Why did Gibson make a change from this kind of Wiring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 3 hours ago, 10PoundLester said: Give it a try, you might just prefer it. Thing is I don't have the treble bleed issue on my 95 LP Standard. At least not so much that I'm thinking about it, but it's maybe worth a check. on my 2002 standard I add the variable treble circuit on the 500k pot. and THAT worked quite well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 On 12/14/2023 at 8:24 AM, Larsongs said: One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is there are different quality Capacitors.. Cheap one that go from Bass to Treble from O to 1 & stays there all the way to 10. There are better Capacitors that do a beautiful job gradually roll up from Bass to Treble in small gradual changes from 0 to 10.. The later are usually found on high end Gibsons.. Is 50’s Wiring necessary? Who knows? If so, why did Gibson change it? Here is a pretty good video of 50’s wiring.. Oh boy… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 2 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said: Oh boy… I meant Pots! But, the other wiring upgrades do make a big difference in overall quality of sound.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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