Dougefresh91 Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Hi, So, I have all my new pots and stuff for my Epi Strat, but I'm confused about some things, and I want to be good and sure I get this right the first time. The diagram that GuitarFetish sent me shows each pickup should have two wires. Well, this is true of the middle GFS pickup(yellow and black), but the neck and bridge have three wires each. White, red and a bare wire. Neck and bridge wires. Pickups. So, the first question is what goes where? Which wire is which? I think I'm straight on everything else, except for the pickups. I'm also wondering if I move the volume pot to the middle position, would that pose any kind of problems(outside of making things more confusing)? And lastly, what size strings should I put on this? I'm guessing 9's, like my Fender? However I'm wondering if I could put 10's on this guitar, and if so what difference would that make in the sound? Thanks, as always I appreciate any help or suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Regarding the pickups, one wire will be the ground. You would hook the "extra" wire up to the back of the pot just like the other wire that goes there. It only serves to add a lttle extra shielding to the pup and make it quiter in some conditions. In a typical strat wiring, you should notice that they are next to each other and share the same cap. Most poeple don't know this (or care) but the way the strat is wired is kind of a genious way to provide a continuous attenuation for each pup: the bridge pup get only a volume, followed by progressively more for each pup by use of the tone control and the wiring scheme. There is certainly nothing that says you cannot modify or change locations, but I have noticed that in doing so, there are some strat tones that don't happen as much, in particular that middle "quack" sound with two pups at once. so, unless you know excactly what you are hoping to achieve or change, you might want to start with the origional wiring diagram, just so you don't loose something you are unaware of. Feel free to ask more questions if you wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Most single coil pups come with 1 hot, and 1 ground wire. Sometimes, as it sounds like in your case, there is an additional Case Ground. [bare wire] As Stein said, simply solder both ground wires to ground. The other goes to the switch. As for switching the position of the knobs, it makes no difference as long as the wiring stays the same. On my Strat I have gotten rid of one of the tone pots entirely, and moved the volume knob down one hole. I found that I was hitting the volume knob as I played, causing all kinds of volume issues. I then simply capped the extra hole in the pg. My controls are - 1 volume, 1 master tone. 1 - 5 way switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disaster Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I suspect as the other replies have stated there are 2 coil wires: a "+" & a "-" (this is where the signal is detected) plus a ground "shield" wire to the pickup shell (or back-plate). The "-" & shield will connect to ground. Just to be sure you should contact the guys at GFS. They are VERY helpful. They helped me figure out their boost circuits on my strat. Can't hurt to ask. You should also check out a few other guitar fourms: the Seymour Duncan Forum. They have a great gang over there, lots of wiring freaks. Also check out the Warmoth Forum. Also several great forums over there on wiring & mods. You name it, they mod it. Lastly check out the GuitarNuts.com site. LOTS of helpful info over there on Strat wiring, mods, grounding, you name it. They also discuss the correct method for grounding to prevent ground loops (one of the contributors of "Hum"). Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thanks for all information. I went to get guitar strings last weekend and I left with a new amp, so of course I spent the rest of the weekend playing with that. So anyway, I was determined to get this done today. But I've already run into a problem. The stock switch is about a 1/4 narrower than the one sent to me by GF--the holes don't line up. Even if I were to drill another hole in the pickguard, the switch would not be able to move to all five positions. I could carve out the switch slit, but with what tool, I dont know. Not to mention, it might end up looking like crap. So what should I do? Could I even find a proper switch for this guitar, or am I going to need a new pickguard? I'm tempted to just order the pre-wired pickguard at this point, but who knows if those holes will line up right either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I ordered a new pickguard from Guitar Fetish for my S-500 and it fit just fine. It was a little tight around the neck and I had to carve out the bridge area for the Floyd Rose, but the screw holes lined up right. You already have the parts, just get a pickguard....unless you really dont want to be bothered with all of the assembly, that is. Nothing wrong with that either. Just make sure you get the right pickguard. They sell strat pickguards with different hole configurations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe you can help me ID this guitar? It has no serial number, so I'm not really sure which model it is. The new pots are actually a lot larger, too. Shouldn't be a problem, I don't think, but the posts are a bit longer, so the knobs stick up higher than they should. The pickguard has 11 holes and they seem to be in the same places as on my Fender Strat. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/2011-02-27%2011.19.18.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/2011-03-19%2011.54.35.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/2011-03-19%2011.56.10.jpg GF is out of stock on the black SSS pickguard. Bluurg! I like the Warmoth version because you can move the volume hole over a bit with the Delonge volume position. But $40... meh. I've already spent around $30, so it will be kind of annoying to spend over $70 when I could have just bought the all-in-one wired pickguard to begin with. Not really a big deal because I can always use the new pots in my Fender. I'm just indecisive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 AWWWW, BABY!!!! Hell Yeah! Thats an S-300, 1986 or 87. In a collectors market, they dont even register on the radar, BUT...they are pretty rare. Especially the early ones like yours. You are more likely to find later S-300s without the Epiphone By Gibson logo that also came in a players pack. Yours did not. Damn fine guitar you have there. Now, like any typical Epiphone strat, the pickups are not so great, and the body is laminate. But the necks on those 1980's strats were astronomically SUPERB! They are worth owning for that alone. Seriously, you'll be hard pressed to find a guitar these days with a neck that good without paying through the nose. You can just feel the quality when you hold it. My 1986 S-500 is by far my favorite guitar just because of the neck. Those necks easily compare to the 1980's Kramers and Charvelles. Just the neck, mind you...not the rest of the guitar. Man, thats awesome. I hope you get it playable soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Awesome! That's really cool to hear, thank you! I paid $100 on ebay. The guy was asking $200 and I offered $100. Much to my surprise he accepted. I really do like the neck on this guitar, but I've not spent much time playing it. The body is ply-wood or some sort of particle board that's pressed together. I figure I just want to get this playable before I spend more money. So, I decided to just cut the pickguard and drill a new hole. I used a razor knife and it worked out really well. Now I just need to drill the new hole, once my Dremel is charged. I'm about to start soldering, and I'm wondering about the ground wires from the pickups. Do I ground all three to the volume pot? I'm assuming yes. The wires from the stock pickups are so thin I can strip them with my fingernails. I've never seen that before, and it doesn't inspire much confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Lunatic Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Yes, ground them to the back of the volume pot, as that will be the closest ground point. Just be sure that all ground points are ultimately connected to the jack ground. Routing/order doesn't matter, so long as all the grounds are connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I cant answer your wiring question. I havent done any in quite some time, and I have never done that much to begin with. I can tell you that the body is an Alder laminate. Possibly Alder/Mahogany or Alder/Maple. I am not too impressed by the body on mine, and I have been considering swapping it with a Fender body or some other solid wood body. But, Mine has a Floyd Rose on it and would take some modifications to make it work. One of these days it will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 This is getting confusing. I've got the pickup wiring figured out, I think, but the grounds are confusing me. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/mess.jpg Is the way this was wired correct? He's got the input grounded to the main ground wire. So from there I run the input to the volume pot, and the main ground to the volume pot? Is this right? Ignore the stupid plug pieces he (or she, I suppose) has on there; they're getting cut off. I guess after I'm clear on that I'll start soldering. I have very little wire left on the bridge pickup, so I may only get one or two tries at this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Lunatic Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 What do you mean by "input"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 The input jack. The grey wire on the right is from the input jack, and the black wire on the left is the ground. Then there's the wire that runs between them, that I'm assuming is to ground the input jack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 This is getting confusing. I've got the pickup wiring figured out, I think, but the grounds are confusing me. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/mess.jpg Is the way this was wired correct? He's got the input grounded to the main ground wire. So from there I run the input to the volume pot, and the main ground to the volume pot? Is this right? Ignore the stupid plug pieces he (or she, I suppose) has on there; they're getting cut off. I guess after I'm clear on that I'll start soldering. I have very little wire left on the bridge pickup, so I may only get one or two tries at this. It is essentailly correct what you have stated. It seems there is just extra length of wire to make it easier to wire with the pickgaurd removed. I find it easier to wire and solder those 2 wires last. Have you already drilled for the switch yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 So this is what I have so far. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/2011-03-19%2014.51.06.jpg All that's left to do is the grounds, which I'm confused on. I think I need to run a wire from pot to pot, as a ground, correct? And lastly I'll run the main ground wire(from the bridge) to the volume pot, and the hot input jack wire to the volume pot. I'm going to put this on hold until someone can clear this up for me. Thanks for all the help. For the most part it's been pretty easy so far. Once it's all wired is there any way of testing whether or not it works before putting the strings back on? EDIT: Fudge, I soldered the cap wrong, didn't I? I just noticed there's TWO wires coming from the input jack. One is hot, the other goes to the main bridge ground. This is why I was confused, I think. So the question remains, should the input be grounded as in this pic: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/mess.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 The tone controls are wired differently than what fender does but it looks to me that it will still work. I see there is foil shielding on the pickgaurd. There should be a ground wire connecting that back of all 3 pots together. however, if the foil on the pickgaurd is conductive, you will not need it and it will cause a ground loop (it is not a big deal and will still work if you out the ground on the pots, it just may be noisier). If you have an ohm meter you can check by checking continuity between the pots at the shafts or the backs. if not, check to make sure the shafts of the pots are making good contact to the foil shielding. I am unclear on the pic of the jack wires. But, it should be as follows: there should be one wire (+) from the jack to the volume pot, one wire (-) from the jack to the back of the volume pot, and one wire that is a ground fron the bridge to the back of the volume pot. in some cases, it may be wired with the ground wire to the bridge connected to the (-) wire from the jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Thank you for your help. I'm pretty certain the pots are making a good contact to the foil, as there's a metal washer in there, but if you recommend I add the ground wire, I will. I just want it to work right, as I'll be an unhappy camper if I restring this guitar and it doesn't play. As for the input jack, I have a red(+) that I will run to the volume pot. And I suppose it's the black(-) that's grounded right to the bridge ground, instead of the volume pot. I'm guessing either way will work, but again, I'd prefer to go with whatever you recommend. This is the diagram I followed: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9361394/2011-03-19%2015.42.25.jpg I'm pretty confident that it's right, with the exception of the cap, which I will fix. I'll go to Radio Shack tomorrow and pick up a voltometer, or an ohm meter. Or both, if they're different things. Will the ohm meter be able to test this out before I restring? I can't wait to get this working. Thanks again, to everyone that's helped me get this far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Usually, a voltmeter and an ohmmeter will both be in the same device you get. An ohmmeter can be used to check continuity. As for checking to see if it works, you could do that by plugging in the assembly to an amp and tap the pickups with a screwdriver and go through the different switch positions and roll the tone back and forth and hear things work. I do that anyway before I reassemble and string up. You could also take the jack off and check which wires are which to see if they are the same color, as well as the back plate the covers the tremelo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 Ok, thanks. I'll get a voltometer tomorrow. Do you think I should add the extra ground wire? I don't know electronics that well, but with car stereos if an amp's not grounded, it won't work period. If it's a lousy ground you get things like engine noise coming through your speakers and other annoyances. Are grounds similar with guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Are grounds similar with guitars? In a word....yes Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 In that case I guess I'll just solder away and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Doug, For ground between pots all we are talking about is a wire (or two) connecting the backs of each pot. A bare (stripped) solid wire. Then you are sure that the pots are grounded together. Just make sure when you solder anything to the back of a pot that the pot is set to 0. It is not easy to burn a pot ...but it can happen. If you create a dead spot you want to do it at 0. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Lunatic Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Doug: Like I stated before, as long as all grounds ultimately make it to the ground post of the output jack, directly or indirectly, you're OK. It's not unlike a car, where the negative battery terminal is connected to the car's chassis, which is ground for virtually every circuit in the car, regardless of location. If you think about it that way, maybe it'll be easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougefresh91 Posted March 20, 2011 Author Share Posted March 20, 2011 Doug: Like I stated before, as long as all grounds ultimately make it to the ground post of the output jack, directly or indirectly, you're OK. It's not unlike a car, where the negative battery terminal is connected to the car's chassis, which is ground for virtually every circuit in the car, regardless of location. If you think about it that way, maybe it'll be easier. Ok, that makes sense. I tested it las night before I went out and it made a high pitched noise when plugged in. No reaction when I tapped the pups with a screwdriver. So, I'm going to add that extra ground wire to the pots, and rewire the input Jack. Hopefully that will fix it. If not it's off to get a voltometer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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