new pickups...is there a real need to replace pots switches and wiring too?

[delek 99]

Hey, soon i will purchase p94 pickups for my sheraton........

my question is how much of a difference will there be between 1. cuting the old ones off and soldering the new ones on the easy way and 2. changing all the electrics wiring and pots and what not. i want to do it the hard way but i dont know where to start can anybody help me out! i really want to hear the full potential of the new pickups:-k

thanks,

 

Derek

[Darren W]

Go the full change of pots, caps and wiring and do the pick ups the "hard way".

 

Replace it all with quality.

 

There are many threads around this site and others that will help you decide what to go with and how to do it.

 

I'm sure some of the learned gurus on this site will reply to this post with some excellent advice soon.

 

Enjoy

[delek 99]

thanks darren, okay i take it there is a big difference more or less the hard way being the right way:)! im on a mission now thanks for your advice ill take a close look around the forum for tips[biggrin]

[TP]

Having quality parts including pots, switches and wiring will make more of a difference in my opinion, than just swapping out pickups. On my Casino, I like the P90's that were stock, but changing out the wiring, pots and switches made a HUGE difference in the guitar.

[delek 99]

thanks TP, but is it tricky can a amateur do this or will i have to get it done professionally i put a bigsby on my guitar that was tricky enough, even just getting the strings on!!! i have a short temper when trying to get stuff up and running:) i really want to DI myself tho?

[StreakyPete]

I'm getting my LP re-wired and pups replaced on tuesday by forum member Alansaab.

I'm pretty hopeless with a soldering iron which is why I'm really delighted and grateful to Alan for offering to do the job for me.

Naturally, it'll be a bit of a learning process for me, so once the job is done I'll give you the 'real duffer's inside info' as to whether it's tricky or eminently do-able!

Pete.

[Pennyman]

I'm assuming that there are no access panels on the back, and that you'll be going (where angels fear to tread) through the F-hole?

 

You'll probably find this thread from *cough* another forum to be very helpful. (I'm about to do something similar to my Wildkat, too.)

 

"How to take years off your life"

[twofeets]

I personally would *not* make my first guitar wiring job a semi-hollowbody or archtop guitar. Pay a few extra bucks and have a tech do it. You'll be glad you did.

[wardog]

i agree with twofeet. I have modded a few guitars and still have not done the dot, which is gone now.

 

if this is your first try at pots and wire work, i would choose a guitar with rear access. makes it easier for corrections. take it to a tech[-(

[New To Strats]

FYI, some Sheratons have a very large access hole in the bridge pickup rout. Also, I think some folks overestimate the difficulty of working on a semi-hollow guitar. It's a bit tedious and it takes a little longer, that's all. If you're generally handy, it's no big deal.

[animalfarm]

I'm assuming that there are no access panels on the back' date=' and that you'll be going (where angels fear to tread) through the F-hole?

 

You'll probably find this thread from *cough* another forum to be very helpful. (I'm about to do something similar to my Wildkat, too.)

 

"How to take years off your life"

 

Pennyman - that is such an EXCELLENT link that I added it to

the Lounge "DIY" Sticky under Guitar Projects for permanent reference.

Thanks for posting it!!!! Well documented, with great step-by-step

commentary...

 

[delek 99]

thanks very much everyone for your input much appreciated, a lot to think about:) had a brief look at that link pennyman looks good:) cant wait for a closer look. very temptes to have a go myself but maybe a pro will save me heartache!..........decisions decisions!

[AlanH]

Different guitar and pickups I know but I put a SD hot-rodded set in my Epi LP Standard plus and left the pots and caps as they were. It made a huge difference for me, although this pup set is known for its clarity and a LP is obviously a 'darker' sounding guitar to start with.

 

My youtube vid below illustrates the differences for various levels of gain.

 

(Unfortunately this post was interrupted half way through by the cat vomiting on the sofa. To top it all off, as I went outside to dispose of the bag of puke, a warm squelchly feeling in my gardening shoes revealed the start of Casper's efforts for the evening! Does this mean I'll be lucky or come in to money?)

 

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

[CajunBlues]

I personally would *not* make my first guitar wiring job a semi-hollowbody or archtop guitar. Pay a few extra bucks and have a tech do it. You'll be glad you did.

 

I couldn't agree more... If were just a cheap dot, I would make my own rear panel by cutting out the back .... no doubt...

 

It is very difficult to work on semi hollow bodies... hollow bodies are no picnic either...

[delek 99]

im going to go for a pre wired RS guitar works 335 harness with everything soldered and ready to load into my sheraton... http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/product_info.php?products_id=531

watched some really good videos on youtube showing how to get them into the guitar mind you it was a semi hollow guitar with a large bridge route so everything went through there. the guy mentions that if you had a guitar with small f holes e.g epi sheratan that the american sized pots would still fit through the f hole, for 185$ i hope hes right!!! between the electrics and pups i will be forking out about 400$ which isnt really cheap about the same cost as the guitar itself hope im happy with the results! i am happy about the thought of having quality right the way through the guitar:)

heres the first video tutorial on getting the 335 harness in it doesnt apply to my sheraton:( no cavity through the bridge

[wardog]

im going to go for a pre wired RS guitar works 335 harness with everything soldered and ready to load into my sheraton... http://www.rsguitarworks.net/rsstore/product_info.php?products_id=531

watched some really good videos on youtube showing how to get them into the guitar mind you it was a semi hollow guitar with a large bridge route so everything went through there. the guy mentions that if you had a guitar with small f holes e.g epi sheratan that the american sized pots would still fit through the f hole' date=' for 185$ i hope hes right!!! between the electrics and pups i will be forking out about 400$ which isnt really cheap about the same cost as the guitar itself hope im happy with the results! i am happy about the thought of having quality right the way through the guitar:)

heres the first video tutorial on getting the 335 harness in it doesnt apply to my sheraton:( no cavity through the bridge

[/quote']

 

 

u do not need to buy it if you have everything you need to do the mod. just duplicate the process. do the wire work post installation( which is what i would do) and all u would need to do is connect the pups.

[New To Strats]

$185???!!!! Absurd....

 

Don't waste your money but do yourself a big favor by buying the individual components and assembling yourself. Mark a piece of stiff cardboard with the component locations, mount them on the cardboard, and do the wiring yourself. Forget the ridiculously overpriced PIO caps and use the pedestrian Sprague brand, which will do exactly the same thing. Total cost will be approximately $50 USD. Take the money you save and buy something useful.

[delek 99]

it sure would be a lot cheaper i just dont want to buy the wrong stuff and screw it up! can anyone give me a complete shopping list with quality pots, what wiring i need and what not. i think i need 250k pots as im going to be using single coil p94s is this right?!!!

[New To Strats]

P90s usually use 500K pots, as opposed to Fender single coil pickups, which use 250K. Here's what I would recommend:

 

Volume: 2 x CTS 500K linear taper (Gibson/Epiphone spec) short shaft pots

Tone: 2 x CTS 500K audio/log taper " " " " "

Switchcraft 3-way switch

Switchcraft 1/4" mono long thread jack

2 x .022 uf caps (Sprague orange drops are very popular and inexpensive)

About 6 feet of 22-26 gauge hookup wire (if you wanna get the vintage cloth-covered push-back wire, go for it)

 

Wiring diagrams are available all over the web, including the Seymour Duncan site. The polarity of the pickup connections doesn't matter, as long as both are the same (otherwise, they'll be out of phase). And you'll need USA type knobs, because your existing knobs won't fit.

 

There may be some reasonably-priced kits online that contain these same components.

 

FYI, I am not a professional guitar tech or a highly-experienced electronics tinkerer. But I am a very good DIY-er, and it took me less than 2 hours (which would be ridiculously long for a real tech) of very methodical work to completely rewire a Strat with new components. I was very careful to follow the wiring diagram and very careful about making good solder connections - everything worked perfectly the first try. I recommend that you assemble the pots/switch/jack assembly first, then temporarily (no solder) connect the pickups, and then plug into an amp to test by tapping with a screwdriver on a pole piece of each pickup in the 3 switch positions. Then reassemble the guitar, keeping in mind that you you'll need to solder the pickup connections in situ with the pickups already installed and their leads threaded through the access holes, so protect the top of the guitar when soldering (this last thing will vary slightly depending on whether or not you'll be going through the F hole.

 

Note: Be prepared for some debate to follow regarding which type of pots (audio/log vs linear taper). What I recommended is what Gibson/Epiphone uses.

 

Another note: If you need to go through the F hole, you may not be able to use full-size CTS pots, because most Sheraton F holes aren't big enough. You may need to get mini pots.

[delek 99]

thanks Mission From God:) appreciate your input just double checking sorry! so im using 500k pots and .022 uf caps even though the p94s are single coil pickups? plus is there going to be difference in tone quality between full size and mini sized pots? the sheraton f holes are pretty small it will be tricky getting all this stuff in there!!!

[New To Strats]

thanks Mission From God:) appreciate your input just double checking sorry! so im using 500k pots and .022 uf caps even though the p94s are single coil pickups? plus is there going to be difference in tone quality between full size and mini sized pots? the sheraton f holes are pretty small it will be tricky getting all this stuff in there!!!

I kept the original 500k pots in my Dot when I replaced the humbuckers with GFS Mean 90s - works/sounds fine. Tone quality will not be affected by any properly-functioning pot' date=' [i']precision[/i] of control is the real issue. Look under your bridge pickup to see what the access hole looks like. It may be a hole big enough for components, or just a hole for wires.

 

Pot resistance value is not as critical as we might be led to believe - more a matter of taste. I replaced the 500k pots in my Squier Strat with 250k, and it sounds fine. Why the Squiers use 500K while other Fenders use 250K is anyone's guess.

[cosmitron]

derextwin> MFG summed up what I could have wrote. But I would add that CTS pots diameter are larger than those used on Asian made guitars. So if you really want to use them you'll have to slightly dremel your guitar (or use a pencil surround it with some sand paper and be patient). Same thing with the toggle switch hole. Nothing naughty, just things to know. :)

[New To Strats]

If you haven't seen this vid already, it'll help:

 

http://www.mojotone.com/iMojo-Videos/Installing-a-Mojotone-335-Assembly

[cosmitron]

I kept the original 500k pots in my Dot when I replaced the humbuckers with GFS Mean 90s - works/sounds fine. Tone quality will not be affected by any properly-functioning pot' date=' [i']precision[/i] of control is the real issue. Look under your bridge pickup to see what the access hole looks like. It may be a hole big enough for components, or just a hole for wires.

 

Pot resistance value is not as critical as we might be led to believe - more a matter of taste. I replaced the 500k pots in my Squier Strat with 250k, and it sounds fine. Why the Squiers use 500K while other Fenders use 250K is anyone's guess.

 

It's those tiny differences that make me change parts on my guitars. Most of them don't require any mod though, but for example, my last guitar has a very rich and beautiful sound unplugged but the stock electronic parts tended to make it sound so dull in my favorite amp! 500k pot and 0.022µ/400V PIO cap instead of stock 250K pot + 0.044/1000V gives all the brightness and grit I've missed.

But it's a matter of taste.

 

derextwin> why would you consider changing your electronic? Too dark? Too Bright? not solid enough?

[delek 99]

thanks again guys:) okay so pickup out and not enough space for components to go through! brings me back to my issue maybe the electronics in the guitar are okay and changing the pickups the easy way would be the best way for me? has anybody done a full clean out and replacing of electrics and pickups using the f holes? i can imagine its testing but how difficult is it?