jhacker5150 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I've attempted searching in this forum amongst others for a specific answer to my question. How does one rewire a Wildkat with 2 volume controls (separate Bridge and Neck), 1 Master tone, with a 3 way toggle switch (Gibson/Switchcraft style). I bought a Wildkat back in March and love the retro look and feel of it, however, being a mediocre guitar player and handyman, I wasn't satisfied just yet. i've read the pdf by the gentleman who measures the capacitance or whatever it was before and after he rewired a Wildkat using some "special" coax cable. I thought to myself, the Master Volume is almost useless, especially considering its proximity to the rest of the guitar's controls. Thus began my quest to rewire my Wildkat independent of a Master Volume control (I may put a false pot or kill switch with in place of the pre-drilled hole). Here's where my problem lies: I bought new CTS 500K pots and a swtichcraft switch (I know it's not a Gibson... ) and some decent 20 AWG wire from a well respected electronics supply store in Kansas City, a.k.a. NOT RADIO SHACK. Anyway, I couldn't find a wiring diagram specific to what I was going for and even with a decent knowledge of basic electronics and circuitry, I'm stumped. A picture is worth a thousand words and I'm the worlds worst artist. If someone would be willing to share their experience, thoughts, advice, or knowledge I'd be most grateful. I've attached a elementary drawing of what the "final" Wildkat would look like from the outside. P.S. Yes, I have a selection of capacitors for the tone pot, 60/40 rosin core (again not Radio Shack!), and a decent hand at soldering (by no means an expert!) Thanks again! Oh, almost forgot to mention! I did wire it up according to what I thought was correct ... try to follow: Volume pots grounded to themselves Tone pot has .223 orange cap soldered to middle lug and grounded to back Bridge wire ground was grounded to tone pot The tone pot provided the final + and ground to the switchcraft jack The volume pots were grounded together my soldering wire that met at a common point (tone pot) The switch was soldering correctly I believe according to Switchcraft means. Anyway, the problem I encountered is that the guitar only works on the Rhythm pickup. Sometimes it works in the middle switch position but it's only coming from the rhythm (bridge) pickup. The treble will not function what-so-ever. I believe I properly grounded the braided wire that are common with P-90's, but I just have a strange feeling there's something funny going on...or more likely, that I'm just overlooking something obvious! (ha) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I'm a bit confused by your post. You say that the guitar has 2 Volume controls, one for the bridge, and one for the neck. It also has a Master Tone and a 3 way switch, you said. But, in your request you say you want to re-wire without the Master Volume. ??? You can see the reason for my confusion....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I'm a bit confused by your post. You say that the guitar has 2 Volume controls, one for the bridge, and one for the neck. It also has a Master Tone and a 3 way switch, you said. But, in your request you say you want to re-wire without the Master Volume. ??? You can see the reason for my confusion....... Gordy, see the attached page from the Epi Owner's Manual on the 'Kat's controls (if it opens on the home page, the 'Kat is on Pg 8). I know as much about guitar wiring as I do brain surgery (well, ok, maybe a bit more than surgery) but not enough to advise him. I'm thinking he wants to do away with the Master Volume. http://images.epiphone.com.s3.amazonaws.com/Media/Manuals/EpiOwnrsManul.pdf I like my 'Kats controls the way they are, but then again, I also own a Gretsch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 You can always leave the Master Volume in place wide open --- same as leaving it out of the circuit tonally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhacker5150 Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 I'm a bit confused by your post. You say that the guitar has 2 Volume controls, one for the bridge, and one for the neck. It also has a Master Tone and a 3 way switch, you said. But, in your request you say you want to re-wire without the Master Volume. ??? You can see the reason for my confusion....... Sorry for the confusion there. I had the day off from work and my mind has been scatterbrained. As one of the folks mentioned below, from the factory, a Master Volume control is standard. Mainly for personal tastes, I find it a bit odd (or silly) to have 3 volume controls for two pickups (single coil relatively speaking) with one master tone. In my humble opinion, I think this guitar would be more tonally impressive from the factory if it was wired like a LP for instance. Granted, part of the mystique of why I bought this guitar is because it's not a LP and that alone is something that intrigues me. If and when time and money permit, I'll get this beast squared away and post some pictures on the board. The next wave of GAS might then hit in the form of the 1966 Epi Wilshire Worn Reissue with Tremotone. Glad to see Epi is branching out without loosing its roots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhacker5150 Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 You can always leave the Master Volume in place wide open --- same as leaving it out of the circuit tonally. True. I don't claim to have golden ears by any means, but I would imagine with the controls of the Kat located at three corners of the guitar, there has to be some discernible loss in tonal quality. This gentleman does a pretty good of documenting the "improvements" if you will with just some simple quality wire replacement. I apologize if this is a repost (it's a .pdf): Wildkat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Sorry for the confusion there. I had the day off from work and my mind has been scatterbrained. As one of the folks mentioned below, from the factory, a Master Volume control is standard. Mainly for personal tastes, I find it a bit odd (or silly) to have 3 volume controls for two pickups (single coil relatively speaking) with one master tone. In my humble opinion, I think this guitar would be more tonally impressive from the factory if it was wired like a LP for instance. Granted, part of the mystique of why I bought this guitar is because it's not a LP and that alone is something that intrigues me. If and when time and money permit, I'll get this beast squared away and post some pictures on the board. The next wave of GAS might then hit in the form of the 1966 Epi Wilshire Worn Reissue with Tremotone. Glad to see Epi is branching out without loosing its roots. I understand why you want to exchange the master volume for another tone control. I did the same thing to a Gretsch G5122. I believe it has the same wiring layout as the Widkat. I was going to change the pickups anyway. So my solution was to make a new wiring harness. The master volume location became the front pickup volume. The other 3 pots became the neck pu tone, bridge pu volume and bridge pu tone. This is a way more useful layout for me. This Duncan diagram should work for you: http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2phatcats_2vol_2t_3way2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.