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Gibson Midtown Standard Classic 57's & pots


Funkyard

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After playing this guitar for a while and liking the the feel of the guitar but not liking the pickup switch location (to be swapped with the tone control position) I'm not really liking the 300K linear volume pot so it will be be replaced with a CTS 500K audio (do these take long or short stem)?. I'm also finding the neck pick up a little to dark I would assume in changing the Volume pot this would help? And finally I'm also noticing the 57 plus to be a less in volume the neck PU. I have raised and lowered the P/U's to try and find a balance is this typical of the 57 combo and will the volume pot change help? Thanks

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..Since the midtown is a hollow-body with a thinner top,I`m pretty sure it is short-shafts ! ;)

..higher value on a volume-pot is a good way to brighten up your guitar-tone! :)

..(and some people also claims the 50`s style wiring will also "opening up" the tone too!..in my 68 V ,it cleared up a little bit the R-496 neck-bucker,but I cannot confirm for sure,since I replaced the pots at the same time too,with a full set of CTS-500k`s ))

 

:)

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The 57 plus on the bridge should definitely have more output than the neck pickup, the thing is neck pickups can get boomy and sound louder because of the bass.

 

If you are having this work done, the guitar tech can measure the pickups to see what's going on.

 

I have an SG with classic 57's (no plus) and they are well balanced, I measured the DC in each pickup to my surprise the neck has a slightly higher reading, it is supposed to be the other way around but it works well this way.

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I have a Craftsman 82139 multi-meter. There are so many models with so many ranges it is mind boggling but I am happy with his one, it also measures Capacitance for amp or guitar caps.

 

Looks like now that model is 34-82139, you can find them at Sears or Amazon for under $30.

 

It is important to have one of this because pickups, pots and caps have +/- tolerances, funny that when people try out a guitar and one sounds brighter or darker they attribute it to the wood immediately.

 

To measure pickups you simply set it to Ohms Ω and measure the DC using the pickup leads, mind you DC does not equal output but...it is a very good indicator and that's why a lot of people go by this.

 

For instance Filtertrons pickups have low readings but they sound louder than the DC reading would imply.

 

To measure potentiometers you set the meter to Ohms Ω and touch the two outside prongs of the potentiometer, like this:

 

(Funy enough this Alpha pot has 10% +/- tolerances and this one measures exactly 500 K-ohms)

 

bb13949d.jpg

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