wiring clarity for LP pup install, please

[MrZen]

Hey guys!

So I am trying to understand what the difference is going to be between what SD recommends and what I see on the other diagrams
for wiring up a couple of humbuckers
(for a '77 Les Paul reissue of the '55 Special Double Cut)

I'll attach all three examples so you can see what I am talking about

to start with I am working with some old-school SD pickups that were put in this thing by Mike Lipe some years ago;

a 59 neck and Invader bridge (smokin' combo btw)

His wiring was a total freakin mess though and doesn't correspond to any of the diagrams so I am redoing the whole thing with some CTS 500k pots and cloth-covered Pure Tone wiring and .047 Orange Drop caps.

• In a 50's style wiring setup, the caps are wired from the center post on the volume pots to the #1 post on the tone pots, the volume pots have the #1 post grounded to the pots and the tone pots have the #2 posts ground to the post and #3's left untouched
• In a 'modern' style wiring setup the caps are wired from the #3 post on the volume pots to the #2 post on the tone pots, the volume pots have the #1 post grounded to the pots and the tone pots have the #1 posts ground to the pots and again the #3's are left untouched
• The SD style diagram shows the caps are wired from the #2 post on the tone pots directly to the top of the tone pots only (no caps are NOT bridged to the volume pots at all), the volume pots have the #1 post grounded to the pots and the tone pots have the ground wires from the other pot tops only (tone pot posts are NOT grounded to the tone pots at all) and the #3's are again left untouched and instead of the caps bridging the volume and tone pots there is just a wire from the #1's on the volume pots to the #1's on the tone pots

The sound I am after is darker/lower, and louder/in-your-face - garage sound - so bright highs are not necessarily what I am going for.

Also, I think I want the volume and tones to be independent of each other (so volume does not affect tone) as I am usually rockin volume at a 10'ish all the time anyway.

I hope this all makes

Which one of these wiring styles should I go follow?

Thanks in advance - I appreciate you all!

 

[MrZen]

sorry for the extra one. not sure what I did there

 

[beaubrummels]

The SD is electrically the same as Modern. The volume won't affect the tone in Modern wiring. Just use the SD wiring.

 

[MrZen]

Thank you beaubrummels !

so the caps not being attached to the volume pots make no difference at all?

 

[MrZen]

also from the looks of it, where I solder the bridge ground makes no difference right?

The SD version has it on the tone pot vs others are showing it on the volume pots

 

[beaubrummels]

All grounds just have to have a path to the ground at the jack. So as long as all grounds can find a path to that ground wire at the jack, it doesn't matter how they get there.

For the tone, the capacitor can be between the volume and the tone pot, or it can go from the tone pot to ground. It will function the same. The result will be either:

Volume + > 0.022uF > 500k > - ground

or

Volume+ > 500k > 0.022uF > - ground

The capacitor sets the corner frequency of the tone rolloff, and the pot (resistor) sets the amount of rolloff. They are doing different things to the signal, so it doesn't matter which is first or second in the path to ground.

 

[MrZen]

got it. I noticed you made the example with .022uF.

Is there any negative from me using a .047uF?

 

[Mincer]

The short answer is that.047uF will roll off more highs. Thing is, there are people that love this... or hate it. It is worth experimenting to see what you like.

 

[Artie]

So the caps not being attached to the volume pots make no difference at all?

No. Not in the sense you mean it. A tone control (pot) is wired as a 2-terminal device. A variable resistor. (aka, a rheostat.) Since a guitar signal is AC (alternating current), the order of those two components doesn't matter. Either the the tone pot, or cap, can be connected to the volume pot.

 

[GuitarStv]

The short answer is that.047uF will roll off more highs.

It's more like a frequency point where the roll off happens. So the point is set something like this:

.01 - in the highs
.022 - upper mid
.033 - mid
.047 - lower mid

Any of them will allow you to roll the highs way way off, the question is how much of the mids you want to kill at the same time.

 

[MrZen]

I don't mind rolling off the highs although I'd probably like to keep some of the mids in there..

 

[beaubrummels]

0.022uF is typical for dual humbucker type guitars. But you can use almost anything you want it if it makes the sounds what you want.

 

[GuitarStv]

I don't mind rolling off the highs although I'd probably like to keep some of the mids in there..

It rolls off everything above the frequency point when you use the tone knob.