Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

LEOVAN83

New member
Hey guys!

A friend of mine just bought a 2013 Gibson LP Custom Lite, the one that is thin, has a rosewood board and has a coil-splitting mini toggle switch instead of a tone knob, so the guitar has individual volumes and a master tone.

He gave me the guitar for me to change the stock Gibson pickups with 2 brand new Seymour Duncans I told him to get because I love them... a Pearly Gates for the neck and an SH-5 for the bridge.

I think it should be a very easy swap, I will just join or solder the new pickups right where I remove the old ones, I believe both brands have 4 wires coming out of each pickup. If you have any advice on THIS part of the process, let me know too!

Now here are some questions:

1) I would like to completely bypass the tone, so the guitar will have no tone control.

2) I would like to change that mini toggle (it looks pretty bad... it's so small that it makes the guitar look as if one of the knobs fell out. I thought of a push-pull pot, but, I dunno if it will work since I just want it to be a "switch", meaning, it wont have any other use rather than split the coil, just like the mini toggle currently does. I am not sure if this is possible, most people do this on one of their current tone or volume knobs, but this is not the case, since the idea is to just use the push-pull part of the pot... Or, will it work if I wire it correctly? I haven't bought the switch/pot yet, I was thinking about the 500k DiMarzio one (well, there are many) but I need to know if it will work for what I just stated.

Could you please help me out with the tone bypass thing, maybe a diagram? Remember it's kinda specific to this model because it has the toggle, so if you guys know about how to do it right without compromising with the coil splitting of the guitar, that'd be awesome.

Finally, and this is less important, but, on top of bypassing the tone, how would I bypass the neck volume and make the bridge volume a master volume for both pickups?

Thanks so much!!!
 
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

First of all...why in the world would your friend give you the guitar to do the wiring since you obviously know nothing about it?

Now, all of your questions are very simple...I'll give you a diagram which gives you one master volume pot and no tone pots. This one splits both pups with a single push/pull volume pot (no need for the "bad" looking mini toggle switch:
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1VppSPL.jpg

If you only want to split one of the pups, just connect the respective red and white wires to the p/p switch and leave the red and white wires of the other pup connected to each other and insulate them with electrical tape so they don't come in contact with anything else. Like in this diagram:
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1V.jpg

But now instead of the mini toggle in one of the tone control holes making it "look as if one of the knobs fell out", you have three empty holes making it look as if three of the knobs fell out. You could just leave those knobs in the guitar, but just don't wire them in the circuit.
 
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

First of all...why in the world would your friend give you the guitar to do the wiring since you obviously know nothing about it?

Now, all of your questions are very simple...I'll give you a diagram which gives you one master volume pot and no tone pots. This one splits both pups with a single push/pull volume pot (no need for the "bad" looking mini toggle switch:
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1VppSPL.jpg

If you only want to split one of the pups, just connect the respective red and white wires to the p/p switch and leave the red and white wires of the other pup connected to each other and insulate them with electrical tape so they don't come in contact with anything else. Like in this diagram:
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1V.jpg

But now instead of the mini toggle in one of the tone control holes making it "look as if one of the knobs fell out", you have three empty holes making it look as if three of the knobs fell out. You could just leave those knobs in the guitar, but just don't wire them in the circuit.

Lol, I actually do know a little, I just believe that asking questions as if I don't, turns out the best results, I apply it in many aspects of life! ;)

Regarding the first diagram, that's basically it, except I don't have the push/pull pot right now. I was wondering if I could do exactly the same and consider the "switch" part of the diagram as the current mini toggle? Or is there a diagram that shows this exact same thing but with a mini toggle? I need to wire the guitar soon, we will get the push pull in a few days, but I do need to make this work for tomorrow.

Now, regarding one of my questions, does a "push/pull pot that doesn't work as a pot" exist? Meaning, like a push pull "switch" that I can cover with a knob?

Thanks!!
 
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

Or is there a diagram that shows this exact same thing but with a mini toggle?

With mini toggle...
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1V_mtSPL.jpg


Now, regarding one of my questions, does a "push/pull pot that doesn't work as a pot" exist? Meaning, like a push pull "switch" that I can cover with a knob?

Yes. A push/pull pot.
Just don't wire the pot, only the p/p switch part of it. Then you can pot a knob on the top, but it will only work as a switch.
 
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

With mini toggle...
http://d2pzqzfqz0w13y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2H_3G_1V_mtSPL.jpg




Yes. A push/pull pot.
Just don't wire the pot, only the p/p switch part of it. Then you can pot a knob on the top, but it will only work as a switch.

You are the man!

So if we get the push pull pot, I'd still use the same diagram you posted on your same reply? Would anything be different than that diagram? Or would I use the mini toggle diagram (since it's basically the same as the push pull, right?)
 
Last edited:
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

Hello,
May I ask how much it weighs?
Steve Buffington
 
Re: Gibson LP Custom LITE - changing pickups and other questions!

A p/p pot and a mini toggle (on/0n) are wired the same.
 
Back
Top