LP Wiring Help!

[Indie P Bass]

I've wired P-basses & Strats up with no problem... now I'm wiring up a LP and I can't do it. I did it according to three differant schematics and used two sets of wires... it won't work. I know the pickups work, cuase, if I wire the picks straight through, they'll work... I sure as hell hope I didn't fry the pots cuase... CTS long shafts are 6 bucks a shot and I don't have that kind of money... ugh. damnit. Any tips?

 

[Indie P Bass]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

With the shafts down and the lugs facing towards you we'll number the lugs on the volume pot 1,2 & 3.
#1 is your input lug-this lug is were you solder the live line from the pickup and the live line from the tone.
#2 is your output-this is were you run the line from the pots to the switch.
#3 is your ground-this lug gets soldered to the back of the pot

With the shafts down and the lugs facing away from you we'll also number the lugs on the tone pot 1,2 & 3.
#1 is your live line to the #1 lug on the volume pot
#2 is for the cap.Solder one leg of the cap onto the #2 lug and solder the other leg onto the back of the tone pot
#3 is not used,just leave it and don't solder it to anything.

Each live from volume lug #1 goes to one side of the switch.(2 volumes-2 sides).the middle live lead on the switch goes to the live lead on the output jack.
Then you attach the bridge ground to the back of one of the pots,and run lines from the back of each pot to the other.Then solder a ground from the switch to the back of a pot and finally attach a ground from the output jack to the back of the pot.The grounds from the pick-ups also get soldered to the back of the pots.

ok... a) what if I run the cap from the lug 1 of the volume pot to lug two of the tone pot
&
b) what if I ground lug three on the tone pots?

I've actually found that it works intermittantly from the volume pots & tone pots, but, once I try to wire in the switch, it wigs out. Which lugs should I use on the switch? (CTS) Should I wire the distanced ones on the ground side in and the closer ones on the live side out? Cuase, that's what I've been doing.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

www.seymourduncan.com/website/support/schematics/2hum_2vol_2tone_3way-w-spl.html
Ignore the split option, and just solder the bridge white & red wires together and insulate them (like the neck pup is done). The schematic is correct, is the 3way switch has a 5th lug that's a ground lug for the switch body, if you can't see, pull the switch out and look, but it should be easy to see with it in place.

 

[Indie P Bass]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

my bridge pickup is ONLY red with a braided sheild and the neck is blue with a braided sheild. Then a yellow wire with shield and a red wire in it go to the switch. Then from the switch comes a grey wire with shield... it's just so forkin' confusing in this thing... and no matter how I wire it, the only way to get it to work is to wire the volume pots straight to out. I'm thinking of taking it in somewhere to find out what I've been doing wrong, but AFTER I put in a whole new wiring system.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

my bridge pickup is ONLY red with a braided sheild and the neck is blue with a braided sheild. Then a yellow wire with shield and a red wire in it go to the switch. Then from the switch comes a grey wire with shield...

Well, then that makes what you have even simpler ... man you know all the braids go to ground, and the coloured wires are the hots (whether it be pups or switch) , it sounds like you are missing a switch lead ... How is *one wire going to the switch* going to carry two different signals from two different pups ...? If it's a single conductor lead it can't, and don't even think about using the braid to carry a signal ... That in itself should throw up a big red flag! The wire coming from the switch is the switch output (goes to the output jack of course).

I'm thinking of taking it in somewhere to find out what I've been doing wrong, but AFTER I put in a whole new wiring system.

I think you should take it BEFORE you mess with it, to find out what you've been doing wrong. It sounds like you a missing a switch lead, or a conductor has broken off inside the *to switch* wire (indicating that it could be a dual conductor lead to simplify things).

 

[Indie P Bass]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

I think you should take it BEFORE you mess with it, to find out what you've been doing wrong. It sounds like you a missing a switch lead, or a conductor has broken off inside the *to switch* wire (indicating that it could be a dual conductor lead to simplify things).

No, the leads to the switch are awkward... the way it works is a big yellow wire with a braid, a white and a red wire in IT. I think somewhere down the yellow wire, it wore out or something, cuase all I gotta do is run some wires through the body to make it work (like new wires) and it works. So, I figured it out. I'm gonna do that tomorrow, since, I'm lazy today.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: LP Wiring Help!

No, the leads to the switch are awkward... the way it works is a big yellow wire with a braid, a white and a red wire in IT. I think somewhere down the yellow wire, it wore out or something, cuase all I gotta do is run some wires through the body to make it work (like new wires) and it works. So, I figured it out. I'm gonna do that tomorrow, since, I'm lazy today.

Well, that's probably what happened ... laugh, but I have in the past run two wires, plus a bare wire spiraled around them; wrapped them in aluminum foil, and then electrical tape to make a replacement for a shield conductor ... but really just go buy some two conductor plus sheild conductor cable, and you should be set ... might be a good idea to replace all the runway cables in there while you're at it.