No tone on my Epi G400!

[DMC59]

Interesting -- just after responding to the last two posts, I opened up the back of my G400 again, checked the wiring and capacitors again, pushed things around a bit and used a flashlight for a better look-see and then put the cover back on and plugged it into my little Fender 15G. Not only is the buzzing still there, but I had audio reception for what sounded like TV -- even more so when set on GAIN. This buzzing, etc.. occurs only when I hold or have some sort of contact with the guitar - -like a complete a circuit/

[Hungrycat]

Interesting -- just after responding to the last two posts, I opened up the back of my G400 again, checked the wiring and capacitors again, pushed things around a bit and used a flashlight for a better look-see and then put the cover back on and plugged it into my little Fender 15G. Not only is the buzzing still there, but I had audio reception for what sounded like TV -- even more so when set on GAIN. This buzzing, etc.. occurs only when I hold or have some sort of contact with the guitar - -like a complete a circuit/

 

 

Sounds like it's probably the bad wiring being compounded by a cheap guitar cable.

 

Of course sometimes gear will just pick up random interference. I have a talk-box that will, under certain weather conditions, pick up a local AM radio station for no discernible reason.

[i Can Tuna Guitar]

As people have mentioned, there is a diagnosable problem in the guitar circuitry. An experienced person could isolate the problem in short order. An inexperienced person would take considerably longer, and perhaps never be able to diagnose the problem. But an inexperienced person can replace reasonably suspect components with known good ones, and produce the desired result in not a lot of time. Fortunately, the type of replacement we're talking about here is reasonably cheap and easy.

 

If the O/P is interested, he can examine the old components in his leisure time after the guitar's fixed.

[jerrymac]

I think biting the bullet and upgrading the electronics makes sense as long as I have to buy a soldering iron (no, I don't have friends who own this stuff to borrow) and a few other odds and ends -- like that cheap multimeter in the earlier eBay link. I want it fixed the first time so I can go back to learning to play!I'm pretty detailed oriented, so I believe I can do this but not as fast as some of the other folks in the forum Just a second thought: could it be as simple as bad capacitors?

 

Sounds like it's probably the bad wiring...

 

 

As people have mentioned, there is a diagnosable problem in the guitar circuitry. An experienced person could isolate the problem in short order...

 

As I stated in the beginning of this thread, you have a wiring problem. Your tone controls don't work, it's not the capacitors, the odds of two failing at the same time is astronomical. The volume is pathetically weak. Your strings buzz when you touch them, an indication that they're hot and not grounded as they should be. You're picking up Rush Limbaugh on your guitar. Changing the components would be cool because you're starting fresh, but not necessary. What's important is to rewire the guitar correctly.

 

Now you want to get your guitar working as soon as possible so you can get to play it??? And with little outlay of money??? Here's the way to do it. Stop playing Hamlet, and just rewire the guitar. Go to Radio Shack, buy a cheap soldering iron and some solder. You got the list, you got the wiring diagram. Don't bother diagnosing the problem, just disconnect everything and start over. A couple of hours, 20 bucks, problem solved.

 

For a couple of bucks, you might want to pick up two replacement capacitors when you're at the Shack. Heat could fry the old ones when you're disconnecting them.

 

Let's get it done. If you have questions, we're here...

[brianh]

For a couple of bucks, you might want to pick up two replacement capacitors when you're at the Shack. Heat could fry the old ones when you're disconnecting them.

 

Let's get it done. If you have questions, we're here...

Amen to that.

[DMC59]

As I stated in the beginning of this thread, you have a wiring problem. Your tone controls don't work, it's not the capacitors, the odds of two failing at the same time is astronomical. The volume is pathetically weak. Your strings buzz when you touch them, an indication that they're hot and not grounded as they should be. You're picking up Rush Limbaugh on your guitar. Changing the components would be cool because you're starting fresh, but not necessary. What's important is to rewire the guitar correctly.

 

Now you want to get your guitar working as soon as possible so you can get to play it??? And with little outlay of money??? Here's the way to do it. Stop playing Hamlet, and just rewire the guitar. Go to Radio Shack, buy a cheap soldering iron and some solder. You got the list, you got the wiring diagram. Don't bother diagnosing the problem, just disconnect everything and start over. A couple of hours, 20 bucks, problem solved.

 

For a couple of bucks, you might want to pick up two replacement capacitors when you're at the Shack. Heat could fry the old ones when you're disconnecting them.

 

Let's get it done. If you have questions, we're here...

OK Houseband, Tuna - I'm ordering it all today. Capacitors come in the upgrade kit. Thanks!

[KX36]

I'm not here for an argument, I just don't like to see people misinformed by people regurgitating common misconceptions based either on poorly controlled anecdote or 2nd, 3rd, ... nth hand data. While I agree that there is an aspect of personal preference in wiring guitars, there's not much room for personal preference in physics. The physics has been the same since way before 1965, what's true now was true then. I'll just point out what my problems are with your original post. Also, I know this has no relevance at all to the original post.

 

Not to get too technical, but if you have a linear volume control, 1/2 way will be 1/2 volume. But the human ear doesn't hear in a straight line. Audio taper controls emulate the way the human ear perceives sound so 1/2 way sounds like 1/2 volume, but if you measure it, it's not actually 1/2 volume.

Well this is the usual pseudoscientific explanation of volume that comes from real science but doesn't account for the whole picture. The basic science in it is that in an ideal speaker, volume increrases by 3dB for every doubling of the amount of energy put into the speaker. Perceived volume is called loudness and it's not an exact relationship to volume, it varies depending on frequency, a lot of the variance is to do with the complex shape of the pinna of the ear, which of course varies widely between individuals. The point is this: this explanation is trying to explain a phenomenon which is not there in a guitar's controls. If you do your own practical experimentation, as I have, you will find that an isolated potential divider between a pickup and an amplifier (volume control on its own) will produce an even change in loudness if it is linear, but will be skewed to the high end of the control if it is logarithmic. There is no need for any justification here, the results are observed and whoever's wiring their guitar can replicate it.

 

The problem comes when you introduce a second resistor in parallel with the first (i.e. a tone pot), each pot distorts the other. A volume pot will be at its natural curve when tone is at half resistance (R=50%), but if the tone is R<50%, the volume pot will effectively be more logarithmic; if the tone R>50%, volume will be effectively made more exponential. A tone pot at 10 making a log volume pot more exponential will make it near linear, so it will sound right, but if the tone pot is anything less than this, volume will be too logarithmic and when tone is very low, volume is extremely logarithmic with most of the change in sound up between around 8-10. However, anyone doing thier own tests with a tone at 10 will incorrectly find log volume to produce linear loudness; which someone must have done and tried to explain later with the relationship between energy and volume in an ideal speaker. I had simplified this to saying most people would be better off using linear volume controls, the exception being people who leave their tone control at 10 and rarely touch it.

 

Volume controls are almost always Audio taper (usually marked with an A, Linear pots are marked with a B),

This isn't really true either. As I say, Gibson and Epiphone both use linear taper pots as standard and they're not the only ones. Various companies have used log volume pots in the past and present, but it certainly is not "almost always" the case. Also, the marking for linear and log has changed over time and has varied by location, but at the moment, through most of the world, A is log and B is linear as you say, it's still worth testing each individual pot on a meter.

 

but tone controls can be either.

If you do your own tests with a pickup, a tone control and an amplifier, you will find that a linear tone control is skewed to the low end of the knob, whereas a log tone control is far closer to even throughout the movement of the knob. The reason for this is apparent if you look at an attenuation curve for any RC filter, you will see that if the declining curve is a straight line, the frequency on the x-axis is logarithmic.

The way guitars are wired up, the volume affects the tone and the tone affects the volume as they're resistors in parallel. In order to get a linear tone control to get near to a smooth transition, you would have to turn the volume down too low to hear the guitar. While personal preference can come into wiring guitars, can you think of a realistic reason why someone would want this effect in their guitar? I had simplified this by saying "tone should always be logarithmic."

 

It was the same in 1965 as it is now. Having decades of experience undoubtedly will make you a far superior musician to me, but physics is physics, it hasn't changed and being a professional scientist, I am most likely better at it than you. But that's the great thing about science, it's not subjective; someone can come in with no experience and point something out and if it's right, it's right for everyone to see.

[jerrymac]

I'm not here for an argument, I just don't like to see people misinformed by people regurgitating common misconceptions based either on poorly controlled anecdote or 2nd, 3rd, ... nth hand data. While I agree that there is an aspect of personal preference in wiring guitars, there's not much room for personal preference in physics. The physics has been the same since way before 1965, what's true now was true then. I'll just point out what my problems are with your original post. Also, I know this has no relevance at all to the original post.

Not to get too technical, but if you have a linear volume control, 1/2 way will be 1/2 volume. But the human ear doesn't hear in a straight line. Audio taper controls emulate the way the human ear perceives sound so 1/2 way sounds like 1/2 volume, but if you measure it, it's not actually 1/2 volume.

 

Well this is the usual pseudoscientific explanation of volume that comes from real science but doesn't account for the whole picture. The basic science in it is that in an ideal speaker, volume increrases by 3dB for every doubling of the amount of energy put into the speaker. Perceived volume is called loudness and it's not an exact relationship to volume, it varies depending on frequency, a lot of the variance is to do with the complex shape of the pinna of the ear, which of course varies widely between individuals. The point is this: this explanation is trying to explain a phenomenon which is not there in a guitar's controls. If you do your own practical experimentation, as I have, you will find that an isolated potential divider between a pickup and an amplifier (volume control on its own) will produce an even change in loudness if it is linear, but will be skewed to the high end of the control if it is logarithmic. There is no need for any justification here, the results are observed and whoever's wiring their guitar can replicate it.

 

The problem comes when you introduce a second resistor in parallel with the first (i.e. a tone pot), each pot distorts the other. A volume pot will be at its natural curve when tone is at half resistance (R=50%), but if the tone is R<50%, the volume pot will effectively be more logarithmic; if the tone R>50%, volume will be effectively made more exponential. A tone pot at 10 making a log volume pot more exponential will make it near linear, so it will sound right, but if the tone pot is anything less than this, volume will be too logarithmic and when tone is very low, volume is extremely logarithmic with most of the change in sound up between around 8-10. However, anyone doing thier own tests with a tone at 10 will incorrectly find log volume to produce linear loudness; which someone must have done and tried to explain later with the relationship between energy and volume in an ideal speaker. I had simplified this to saying most people would be better off using linear volume controls, the exception being people who leave their tone control at 10 and rarely touch it.

 

Volume controls are almost always Audio taper (usually marked with an A, Linear pots are marked with a

 

This isn't really true either. As I say, Gibson and Epiphone both use linear taper pots as standard and they're not the only ones. Various companies have used log volume pots in the past and present, but it certainly is not "almost always" the case. Also, the marking for linear and log has changed over time and has varied by location, but at the moment, through most of the world, A is log and B is linear as you say, it's still worth testing each individual pot on a meter.

 

but tone controls can be either.

 

If you do your own tests with a pickup, a tone control and an amplifier, you will find that a linear tone control is skewed to the low end of the knob, whereas a log tone control is far closer to even throughout the movement of the knob. The reason for this is apparent if you look at an attenuation curve for any RC filter, you will see that if the declining curve is a straight line, the frequency on the x-axis is logarithmic.

The way guitars are wired up, the volume affects the tone and the tone affects the volume as they're resistors in parallel. In order to get a linear tone control to get near to a smooth transition, you would have to turn the volume down too low to hear the guitar. While personal preference can come into wiring guitars, can you think of a realistic reason why someone would want this effect in their guitar? I had simplified this by saying "tone should always be logarithmic."

 

It was the same in 1965 as it is now. Having decades of experience undoubtedly will make you a far superior musician to me, but physics is physics, it hasn't changed and being a professional scientist, I am most likely better at it than you. But that's the great thing about science, it's not subjective; someone can come in with no experience and point something out and if it's right, it's right for everyone to see.

 

First of all, you are arguing the point with someone that agrees with you. In addition, you went back to my post to the OP where I was trying to explain to him that it's not the value of the pot but the taper that might make it seem like it's not doing much. And notice that I started it by saying Not to get too technical. I was trying to explain the concept, not give a scientific dissertation. But by going back to my original post, you're skipping over the fact that I have already addressed these issues in a later post.

 

Now try to digest what I said about using linear taper tone pots:

 

But if somebody feels linear taper works better for them, that's fine by me. Everybody has the right to be wrong...

 

Let me break it down for you:

 

You can use either audio or linear for your tone control, either will work. But audio taper will work better. However, if someone feels linear tone pots work better for them, mazel tov!!!

 

As far as Gibson & Epiphone using linear taper for volume, I addressed this already. Vintage Gibsons (the ones everybody wants) used audio taper. It wasn't until the 1990s that they switched to 300K linear for volume. They use CTS 500K audio tapers on the Historic models. Epiphones do not use linear taper exclusively, in fact my 2009 Faded Wilshire has 4 full sized audio taper Alpha pots. And their Sheraton II diagram shows 500 K audio tapers for all four.

 

Notice that the USA Sheratons used the standard Gibson pots.

 

When I said Volume controls are almost always Audio taper I'm taking the gazzillions of Asian made guitars into consideration. In fact, Fender uses audio taper, Gretsch uses audio taper, Guild used audio taper - just about every guitar I ever worked on used audio taper. Gibson seems to be the exception, not the rule.

[brianh]

Having decades of experience undoubtedly will make you a far superior musician to me, but physics is physics, it hasn't changed and being a professional scientist, I am most likely better at it than you.

[DMC59]

Okay - - I've gutted the cavity on my Epi G-400 SG. Last night I installed a copper shielding kit. I soldered the caps to the tone pots -- one end to the middle tab and the other to the top of the pot. That's how it was done in the original wiring. However, I am confused because now I've seen some other wiring diagrams that show one end of the cap soldered to the middle tab of the tone cap and the other end to the corresponding volume cap. Would that be better? Also, I know some caps are better than others, but if I need to buy another pair, would my local Radio Shack have what I need for guitar usage or do I have to wait a few shipping days to get "special" caps from Stew Mac or elswhere? Thanks!

[jerrymac]

Okay - - I've gutted the cavity on my Epi G-400 SG. Last night I installed a copper shielding kit. I soldered the caps to the tone pots -- one end to the middle tab and the other to the top of the pot. That's how it was done in the original wiring. However, I am confused because now I've seen some other wiring diagrams that show one end of the cap soldered to the middle tab of the tone cap and the other end to the corresponding volume cap. Would that be better? Also, I know some caps are better than others, but if I need to buy another pair, would my local Radio Shack have what I need for guitar usage or do I have to wait a few shipping days to get "special" caps from Stew Mac or elswhere? Thanks!

 

You're fine, that's the way I do it most of the time. It's just a different way of doing the exact same thing. You can use caps from the Shack, either .047mf or .022mf are pretty much the standard values, voltage doesn't matter. The .047mf will have a darker tone than an .022mf. The Shack should have Mylar caps that work pretty good

Ceramic disk caps will work as well, but I prefer the mylar.

 

[DMC59]

You're fine, that's the way I do it most of the time. It's just a different way of doing the exact same thing. You can use caps from the Shack, either .047mf or .022mf are pretty much the standard values, voltage doesn't matter. The .047mf will have a darker tone than an .022mf. The Shack should have Mylar caps that work pretty good

Ceramic disk caps will work as well, but I prefer the mylar.

 

Thanks for the answer! This is actually getting fun.

[i Can Tuna Guitar]

This is actually getting fun.

Told ya!

[audiomitch]

Thanks for the answer! This is actually getting fun.

 

Uh oh. Now the rest of us are going to have more competition for those "broken" guitars on Craigslist!

[KX36]

Okay - - I've gutted the cavity on my Epi G-400 SG. Last night I installed a copper shielding kit. I soldered the caps to the tone pots -- one end to the middle tab and the other to the top of the pot. That's how it was done in the original wiring. However, I am confused because now I've seen some other wiring diagrams that show one end of the cap soldered to the middle tab of the tone cap and the other end to the corresponding volume cap. Would that be better? Also, I know some caps are better than others, but if I need to buy another pair, would my local Radio Shack have what I need for guitar usage or do I have to wait a few shipping days to get "special" caps from Stew Mac or elswhere? Thanks!

 

The 2 different places to solder a cap make absolutely no difference to sound. Wiring between volume and tone pots is the traditional way to do it from when capacitors were massive components and that's where they would fit; wiring piggyback on a tone cap is easier for mass production as the whole harness can be made more flexible with only flexible wire between components and therefore less likely to be broken on installation as the whole harness is made outside and then put in, pickups soldered on and switch clipped in.

 

It may make a difference where you solder the tone pot and cap combination to the volume pot, soldering on the volume pot lug that joins the pickup is the standard modern way to do it, soldering on the volume pot lug that joins to the switch is the "50s" way to do it. Some people say the 50s way reduces the treble loss when the volume is rolled off, and it may do, but I haven't seen any decent controlled study to verify this.

 

Different capacitor materials have a different frequency response. It doesn't make a massive difference in guitars, it's in high frequency radio and computing that it can cause problems. Generally, though, most people would say it's best to avoid ceramic capacitors. Sprague 'orange drops' are popular, caps aren't really expensive anyway, you could probably find a couple online for £5 with free postage. Just be careful about the value; it makes more difference than material.

 

Also, its not 0.022mF as HouseBand says, it's 0.022uF( or written another way, 22nF). Millifarads (mf) are a large unit of capacitance and a 0.022mF (= 22uF) cap would be unsuitable. If you buy caps from a guitar supplies shop, they would know what you really wanted and probably wouldn't stock 22uF caps; but radioshack will stock them (albeit probably in the electrolytic form, which is also unsuitable), so be careful.

[DMC59]

The 2 different places to solder a cap make absolutely no difference to sound. Wiring between volume and tone pots is the traditional way to do it from when capacitors were massive components and that's where they would fit; wiring piggyback on a tone cap is easier for mass production as the whole harness can be made more flexible with only flexible wire between components and therefore less likely to be broken on installation as the whole harness is made outside and then put in, pickups soldered on and switch clipped in.

 

It may make a difference where you solder the tone pot and cap combination to the volume pot, soldering on the volume pot lug that joins the pickup is the standard modern way to do it, soldering on the volume pot lug that joins to the switch is the "50s" way to do it. Some people say the 50s way reduces the treble loss when the volume is rolled off, and it may do, but I haven't seen any decent controlled study to verify this.

 

Different capacitor materials have a different frequency response. It doesn't make a massive difference in guitars, it's in high frequency radio and computing that it can cause problems. Generally, though, most people would say it's best to avoid ceramic capacitors. Sprague 'orange drops' are popular, caps aren't really expensive anyway, you could probably find a couple online for £5 with free postage. Just be careful about the value; it makes more difference than material.

 

Also, its not 0.022mF as HouseBand says, it's 0.022uF( or written another way, 22nF). Millifarads (mf) are a large unit of capacitance and a 0.022mF (= 22uF) cap would be unsuitable. If you buy caps from a guitar supplies shop, they would know what you really wanted and probably wouldn't stock 22uF caps; but radioshack will stock them (albeit probably in the electrolytic form, which is also unsuitable), so be careful.

I appreciate the detail KX36. I used the caps that came with StewMac's kit - orange drops. If all goes well, I'll be done tonight or possibly tomorrow.Based on what I've read online, some people are very particular about the caps they use, depending on the character they are looking for. I don't (yet) have any appreciation of the differences at this point, but at least they are cheap and easy to install if I want to switch later.

[jerrymac]

Also, its not 0.022mF as HouseBand says, it's 0.022uF( or written another way, 22nF). Millifarads (mf) are a large unit of capacitance and a 0.022mF (= 22uF) cap would be unsuitable. If you buy caps from a guitar supplies shop, they would know what you really wanted and probably wouldn't stock 22uF caps; but radioshack will stock them (albeit probably in the electrolytic form, which is also unsuitable), so be careful.

 

Yes, I've always used uf but most of the online stores (including StewMac) use mfd. I originally typed uf, but thought it might confuse him so I changed the u to m but didn't add the d at the end. So I ended up confusing everybody including myself!!!

[KX36]

ah right; i understand. Doctors also do something similar, they tend to use "mg" for milligrams and "mcg" for micrograms even though the SI unit for micrograms is "ug". It helps to prevent accidental overdoses; but if you're going to do that, try not to use "mg" as it's already used for something else.

[jerrymac]

ah right; i understand. Doctors also do something similar, they tend to use "mg" for milligrams and "mcg" for micrograms even though the SI unit for micrograms is "ug". It helps to prevent accidental overdoses; but if you're going to do that, try not to use "mg" as it's already used for something else.

 

It's like strings, I always want to type .09 instead of .009. I guess it's because I say do you use tens or O-nines... Just be thankful string manufactures don't make silly mistake like that:

 

[bigneil]

Yup, if someone has messed around with the guitar electronics at some point in the past, then at a quick glance, the solder joints all seem fine.... but who's to say they are in the right place?

 

your tech sounds like a bit of a guitar snob if he reckons a G400 is a beginner guitar that should be sold for a better one ... If a person likes their guitar and enjoys playing it, what ever their skill level or what ever the guitar is, then why worry about changing it.

 

if i was in your shoes, i would start by drawing a diagram of your existing wiring and comparing it to the diagram in the earlier post, if all appears to be present and correct with no loose or short circuited wires, then i would perhaps just go over all the solder joints with a soldering iron in case there are any dry (cold) solder joints. if the problem still persists you might need to buy/borrow a multi meter [unsure]and come back for more advice.

 

I once had this problem while fixing up an LP copy for a friend..... it turned out that underneath the chrome hubucker pick-up covers, there were not two coils at all, but instead there was a really shitty low output single coil...cheeky!

 

I hope you you get to the bottom of your problem, post back and let us know how you get on.

[DMC59]

It's done! After doing it wrong once and starting over, I now have TONE and more VOLUME! ;) A word abut the StewMac Gibson (they say) SG Electronics Upgrade Kit. As I posted earlier, they advised me by phone the kit is actually for an Epiphone SG in that it is metric -- so the hatbox knobs I ordered from them will fit the new pots. However, the jack is simply too large to fit in the existing hole on my G-400. No biggie -- I really can't observe a quality difference between theirs and the original. Then there is the pickup toggle switch. The StewMac kit gives a right angle switch as opposed to the original straight one. It wasn't possible to use the right angle unit because it takes up too much space in the cavity. Is it possible this was for a LP? After "playing around" with both switches. I -- again -- couldn't tell them apart in terms of quality. Oh well, If the old switch goes out up the road, at least I know it's easy to replace. So I could have got by with just new pots (which fit the original holes perfectly), but hey, I'm seeing it all as a learning experience. In retrospect, the Guitar Fetish upgrade kit is a better price and I see it comes with the correct toggle switch. Don't know if the pots are of better or the same quality or if the jack is a fit.

 

Soldering was new to me and tho I suppose I could have practiced on the old pots first, I didn't (!) but one thing I do know, the connections look good and seem solid. For any beginners like me reading this, I would carefully consider whether or not to buy the soldering iron at Radio Shack. My frustration with ALL of their soldering irons is none of them (except a cordless, low-powered one) had the option of a chisel tip. Two sales people acknowledged that after I searched online as well. If memory serves me, the Guitar Fetish iron for $19.99 has an optional chisel tip. I think a small chisel tip would have made the job easier to do well.

 

I appreciate everyone's input here on the forum. If anyone has questions, I'll try to answer. I am still NOT an electronics kinda guy, but if a person is determined and does some research (I used the Forum, and looked at several SG/LP diagrams online, read up on soldering techniques) then you'll do fine! Some of you may have thought I went overboard in simply replacing all the pots instead of going through a process of elimination with them one by one or simply re-doing soldering joints, but I also wasn't interested in having to order parts multiple times if I didn't solve the issue the first time. I have to say I wonder if the pots I put in are of any better quality than the originals.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[Whitmore Willy]

DMC59,

 

Glad to hear everything worked out well.

From your posts and sensible inquiries, I'm sure everyone here had the confidence that you would be successful.

 

Second, now you can help others as others have helped you. (Not to mention the informative thread that has been created.)

 

Third, Look at the tech fee's you saved! Probably paid for the parts.

 

Congrats on a job well done!

 

Willy

[brianh]

However, the jack is simply too large to fit in the existing hole on my G-400. No biggie -- I really can't observe a quality difference between theirs and the original. Then there is the pickup toggle switch. The StewMac kit gives a right angle switch as opposed to the original straight one. It wasn't possible to use the right angle unit because it takes up too much space in the cavity. Is it possible this was for a LP? After "playing around" with both switches. I -- again -- couldn't tell them apart in terms of quality.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Awesome DMC, glad it all worked out.

 

I'm kind of annoyed that Stew Mac sent you a switch and jack that didn't fit though. Despite outward appearances, Switchcraft parts are much higher-quality and should be installed.

 

The jack hole can be enlarged, but if the swtich doesn't fit into the cavity, I'd make Stew Mac send out the right one. They have the best customer service out there and should do this without complaint.

 

PS: The GFS stuff is not nearly as good, you'd just be replacing one set of cheap parts for another.

[DMC59]

Awesome DMC, glad it all worked out.

 

I'm kind of annoyed that Stew Mac sent you a switch and jack that didn't fit though. Despite outward appearances, Switchcraft parts are much higher-quality and should be installed.

 

Thanks brianh - I contacted StewMac thru their website (easy to do here at work) and mentioned the toggle switch and jack. They seem like a good outfit and I'd like to use them in the future, so hopefully they will be responsive.

[amx05462]

had the same problem with a 56 gold top epi. re wired it to gibson specs and replaced everything accept the pickups. changed the caps to .033s.

 

is now sweet.