Nickel 59 neck pickup

greg232

New member
I just picked up a 59 nickel covered pickup for my PRS SE Tremonti for the neck position. The wiring on the pickup only consists of a single braided with cloth and solid center. The center is the hot which goes to the pot. When I connect the braid to the ground what is the best way to do this?? I was thinking of cutting down the center of the metal braid twisting it, then tinning and connecting. Does this sound correct?? Just wanted to double check before installing.
 
Re: Nickel 59 neck pickup

Just run the entire lead over one of the pots and then solder the metal braid to the top of the pot. Of course what you mentioned will also work. :)
 
Re: Nickel 59 neck pickup

I think it may be a better idea to unbraid it, then twist it, and cut it to length. If you cut it, it'll fall apart.
 
Re: Nickel 59 neck pickup

This is why I think all pups should be 4-con as standard...

+1. With braided 'push-back' wire, you have to be careful it doesn't touch the wrong lug on a pot & short out the guitar. It's still used today for nostalgic reasons, but unless you want to keep the vintage look on a '59 LP Burst, I don't see the point in manufacturers still using it (Gibson & Duncan in particular come to mind).

What I do is cut into the braided part, twist it, and then solder on a short piece of standard insulated wire. I solder that to the pot, and it keeps the braided wire further away from the other lugs. I'll usually put a small piece of bubble wrap inside the control cavity, sandwiched between the pots & the wire, so that if the wire shifts around for any reason it won't short out anything.
 
Re: Nickel 59 neck pickup

I carefully cut a small hole in the braid and back out the inner wire thru the hole. Twist the remaining braid then trim some heat shrink tubing to cover the twisted braid but leave enuff exposed for soldering.

This was a trick used by Dan Erlwine. You can get the heat shrink tubing from Stew Mac for pretty cheap and it has dozens of uses.
 
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