Best idea I think I've ever had

jake_xms3_punk

jake_xms3_punk

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Makes pickup changes in a hollowbody an easy, solder-less 10 second job!

I wouldn't put these in all my guitars but I'm still looking for the right pickups for this guitar so constantly changing them.


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Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

I was thinking about doing something similar with ELCO connectors. Not sure what I'd need it for other than pickup swapping but it could be used in theory to do lots of different wiring schemes without solder
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

Whats the resistance through those? When i was trying to make a quick connect set up i found that some types of crimp connectors have fairly high resistance for guitar signals and can take high end off cause of it.
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

For the OP, quick change connections could be good thing. I don't see Phat Cats staying in that guitar very long. :(
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

Hahaha ok maybe not the BEST idea I've had, but it has made changing pickups easier. I'm not sure about resistance, didn't bother checking. I assumed it would just be a bridged connection with little to no resistance? You are right funkfingers, I took these pics as I was replacing them with a Seth neck and 59 bridge. I'll probably get another Seth for the bridge as the neck is soooo sweet sounding!
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

Nope, you're right. If I were sitting here right now trying to change the pickups out repeatedly in a tight hollowbody, that would be the best idea ever.
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

Nice idea, but yeah. you have to be aware of the resistance they introduce due to material thickness and composition. I'd assume that gold contacts would be the best, even if a tad over-priced. But, you may find a pair you like using this particular piece, only to find the pickups somehow sound different in a bad way once you solder them in and remove the quickie.

Basically, if you have a meter, you can check the impedance of the pickup before it goes into the connector, then stick dummy wires out the other end and note if there's a difference.
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

The worst wiring hell I ever had was the very first Epiphone semi acoustic. Two humbuckers, four pots, an output jack that was rotted into the wood and a missing ground wire. It was like neck surgery. It had been messed with by a previous tech, but this was a new pickups/electronics install. And everything goes in and out via the humbucker route. Grrr.

I sat back when I was done, praying there wasn't a ground off. And then wondered why guitar techs seem to think Floyd Rose bridges are the biggest headache on earth. It took me two evenings to get it all done.

The second time round, I did it properly. I took the control knobs off, made a template of the pot locations on a piece of decent cardboard and mounted the new pots onto the cardboard template and soldered that up instead. It didn't make nudging them back in any easier, but at least I could properly test it before fitting it back up. Despite leaving some room on the harness, it was a headache getting that last pot into position.

I have another Epi semi acoustic I was given years ago in my cupboard. It has a wiring problem, the bridge pickup is dead and the neck is really weak. But I just struggle to get the enthusiasm to set aside a couple of evenings to mess with the wiring mess inside.

That and my 25 year old soldering station went kaput some time ago and I'm struggling to find a decent new one in the UK.
 
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Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

Good points on the resistance, I'll check it when I get a chance. Ye I have two epiphone semi-hollows (Sheraton and 355) and I think they are a lot more of a pain to wire up than full hollowbodies. The output jacks on both is probably the trickiest to put back I think.
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

copper contacts should be fine. If the connectors are normal they should have damn near negligible resistance. I'd say anything under 50 ohms (and that's really high for a connector) is negligible for your purposes.
 
Re: Best idea I think I've ever had

jake_xms3_punk said:
Good points on the resistance, I'll check it when I get a chance. Ye I have two epiphone semi-hollows (Sheraton and 355) and I think they are a lot more of a pain to wire up than full hollowbodies. The output jacks on both is probably the trickiest to put back I think.
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I've got a Jackson Jazz'R that's set up like that (no control cavity covers - gotta go in through the peecup holes) - and thought that if I were to remove/replace anything, I'd tie strings to the pots and jack so I could just pull them back through.
 
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