Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

ZoSo0789

ZoSo0789

New member
Okay yall, I cant fully decide how I want to wire up my Les Paul before long when I get new pickups for it. But I want to know ahead of time how I'll want it wired before I get the pickups so I gather the parts I'll need in the meantime. Here's what I'm looking at at the moment:

Phat Cat in the neck
Pearly Gates in the bridge position
2 volume (both 500K)
2 tone (neck 500K with .002 uf cap for sure, but not sure about the bridge)
Coil split set up for the bridge (slug coil active)

This Les Paul is my main guitar and will be mainly used for blues (from Hubert Sumlin to Cream), and old 60s British blues. I generally like a full, bold, warm rhythm sound from my bridge, and a thick, clear, smooth ringing tone from my neck pu for leads. This isn't how I'll always use them, but 80% of the time I will.

Are there any more 'tricks' you guys think would be worthwhile to wire into it like series/parallel, oop, or whatever? I want to keep the controls simple, but 100% useable. If it's a tone I'll use basically never and more or less a gimmick, I dont want it. I want this to be a simple blues machine, but I want it to cover some ground.

Another question, are the existing pots worth ripping out and replacing? And if so, I want to do so with full size CTS pots. I'm used to using those stew-mac pots, but those things just feel cheap and crappy when using the controls. I like the tight feel to the pots that are already in it. I think I wanna use cloth push-back wire and orange drops caps in it too... are they really worth it over normal rubber wire and metal film radioshack caps?
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

ZoSo0789 said:
Okay yall, I cant fully decide how I want to wire up my Les Paul before long when I get new pickups for it. But I want to know ahead of time how I'll want it wired before I get the pickups so I gather the parts I'll need in the meantime. Here's what I'm looking at at the moment:

Phat Cat in the neck
Pearly Gates in the bridge position
2 volume (both 500K)
2 tone (neck 500K with .002 uf cap for sure, but not sure about the bridge)
Coil split set up for the bridge (slug coil active)

This Les Paul is my main guitar and will be mainly used for blues (from Hubert Sumlin to Cream), and old 60s British blues. I generally like a full, bold, warm rhythm sound from my bridge, and a thick, clear, smooth ringing tone from my neck pu for leads. This isn't how I'll always use them, but 80% of the time I will.

Are there any more 'tricks' you guys think would be worthwhile to wire into it like series/parallel, oop, or whatever? I want to keep the controls simple, but 100% useable. If it's a tone I'll use basically never and more or less a gimmick, I dont want it. I want this to be a simple blues machine, but I want it to cover some ground.
Click to expand...
Sounds awesome.
You might want to consider a series/parallel for the PGb instead of the coil cut simply to keep hum down.
Of if you do a coil cut, see if you can't wire some variation on Arties "virtual humbucker" mod(Hermetico seems to have the best grasp of all this with pictures) so that when you select both the Phat Cat and the PGb slug coil they're humbucking.
Other than that, if you're not one to use OOP or Series/Parallel between the two pickups, then I'd say you're good to go with on push/pull.

Another question, are the existing pots worth ripping out and replacing? And if so, I want to do so with full size CTS pots. I'm used to using those stew-mac pots, but those things just feel cheap and crappy when using the controls. I like the tight feel to the pots that are already in it. I think I wanna use cloth push-back wire and orange drops caps in it too... are they really worth it over normal rubber wire and metal film radioshack caps?
Click to expand...
If you like the feel and sound of the pots in there, then keep 'em.
But look into RSGuitarworks. Amazing quality and bang for the buck when it comes to pots and caps.
You might need to call them about a push/pull pot, tho.
The guys at the MyLesPaul forum swear by paper-in-oil(PIO) caps. Look for them on eBay... they're typically old Soviet military surplus.
Otherwise, orange drops are fine.

Good luck.
MM
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

hermeticossgx2sdxf3.jpg

i had my SG wired up like this for the longest time. it gives you almost every option you might want; series(both pickups together), out of phase, and coil cut for the bridge. when you switch the phase on the coil cut, it cuts to the other coil so you actually have two coil cuts. btw i had the same pickups you've got there, but with different magnets and all 500k alpha/cts pots and .015/.033 orange drop caps.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

how do you like that setup? Do the pickups combine together very well? Did you change the magnets out of necessity or just preference and experimenting?

I was also almost even thinking about getting rid of the neck tone (cant imagine I'd use it much being as it's an A2 in the neck) and using that pot as a spin-a-split for the bridge. That'd be pretty awesome
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

^bridge spin-a-split=meh. it's kinda cool, but not worth it unless you've got a higher output pickup than a PG. in my case of magnet swaps, it was both preference and necessity. an SG needs more output in the bridge than a LP, so i put an a8 in mine. as for the neck, i hated how dull the dual a2/a2 magnets were so i put an a5/a3 originally, and it was pretty cool. lots of treble/mids/chime. it was a bit thin though, so i replaced the a3 with a4 for more meat and allaround punch. with both pickup together, it's pretty cool. with out of phase, you get sort of a fatter strat-notch sound. personally i don't use my tone controls much, but i do use them, for both pickups since they've got more range than they would with the stock a2 magnets. of course, this is my experience with an SG, so take that with a grain of salt:fingersx:
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

hm... I'll chew on that for a bit. Could you explain why the spin-a-split on the PG was just 'meh?' I wouldn't think it'd be any worse than a normal coil cut PG but it could be fatter depending on how much is rolled off.

I've considered changing out the magnets in the Phat Cat to an A3/A5..... I like the sound of my A2 (stock Epi Pups) in the neck now, but I would like a bit more chime and open-ness to it which the other magnets would give me. It would be a first time changing magnets for me too... I'll have to practice on some old junk Ibby pups I have lying around.

I was also considering (an idea theodie gave me awhile back) wiring either the Phat Cat or the Pearly Gates OOP to give the OOP tones in the middle position since that middle position is something I dont use much of to begin with.... put that along with a coil cut for the PG and a switch for series/parallel and should be alright.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

well, i expected a lot more out of the spin-a-split, and it didn't do what i thought it would, which is fade the screw coil's volume in and out in small increments, which it didn't. i was hoping to get some p-90 flavors out of it, but it wasn't happening. it may have been the taper on the pot i was using though:scratchch

as far as magnet swapping goes, check this out:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=164088&highlight=magnet+novice

as far as wiring up out of phase, i think if you really want it to be permanantly out of phase it's easier to just go in and flip the phat cat's magnets around than to do the wiring, but that's just me.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

I think I'm going to attempt a mag swap for the first time..... can't learn something without grittin your teeth and trying it out. I'm feeling a A2/A5 or possibly A3/A3 combo...

I'm not sure if I'm feelin the whole OOP thing though.. i dont want a bunch of switches/gimmick-tones and stuff on this thing. OOP for the most part seems kind of a use once-or-twice type of thing. I wish i had a guitar around I could get my hadns on wired with OOP to see if I like it. I sure dont want wires going every which way in the cavity; I want a simple looking vintage-vibe wiring job... I'm wanting this to be an original/vintage bluesy vibe to it. A butt-ton of push/pull switches (ie more than two) with ten million special tones is in the opposite direction
 
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Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

If you are not sure about the OOP wiring you try it with a few crocodile clips to start with. I often do it this way to experiment before I decide to committ to soldering and reinstalling everything properly.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

Yeah thats definitely an idea...

Anyone know of any advantages with using cloth push-back wire over normal PVC covered wire? Is it just personal preference to work with, some slight tone variation, or is it just part of the vintage 'mojo?' Anyone else wanna chime in on the variations form difference types of caps?
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

different wire type doesn't really matter. personally, i used to use the pre-tinned 22awg pvc stuff from stewmac, but that stuff is a rip off. now i use radio shack 22awg copper wire; i got 3 50ft rolls for around $7 and it conducts exactly the same as any other copper wire at that guage despite it's non-tinned state. imo what kind of solder and soldering iron you use is more important than guitar cavity wire.

about caps....
some say that ceramics are harsher, orange drops are punchy/more immediate and a bit smoother, pio is way smooth, etc. imo they're all pretty much the same as long as you stay away from crappy import guitar stock caps(you know, those little green chiclets). those sound like total crap when you turn the tone knob down. full up, pretty much every cap sounds the same.

as far as cap values, the lower the value is the less they roll off with the tone down. a .015 will just take off the treble and the highest of the high mids, whereas a .047 cap would take off most of the mids and highs, leaving mostly lows and low mids. personally .015 and .022 orange drops are my favorite caps, .015s rolled down all the way sound great for bridge pickups under distortion to smooth out the sound for a good mid-rangey punch.

btw to check out the OOP sound, the easiest things to do are either flip one of your pickups magnets, or to swap the grounded lead with the hot lead in one of the pickups. either one only takes about 5 minutes to do, and 5 more to switch back;)
 
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Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

ZoSo0789 said:
Anyone know of any advantages with using cloth push-back wire over normal PVC covered wire? Is it just personal preference to work with, some slight tone variation, or is it just part of the vintage 'mojo?'
Click to expand...

I'm not thrilled with push-back wire, I think it's still used basically for the vintage look, don't know that it contributes anything to the sound. I don't like all that bare ground wire dangling around the pots & toggle; sometimes I separate them with a piece of bubble wrap, so that nothing can short out if that wire shifts around.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

While I'm down in there replacing pickups and such, I plan on re doing ALL of the electronics in it. So that means I'll be replacing the pots, switch, jack, etc etc. Problem is with the whole metric/USA schtuff going on. Instead of replacing my second hand import stock electronics with more second hand import electronics, I'm thinking of modding it to where the body cavity will accept USA stuff. Just exactly how much will I need to widen the holes for CTS pots (and what tool do yall recommend for this)? What will I need to do to the switch cavity to accept a normal Switchcraft 3-way? Or is it even worth it?
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

a switchcraft switch should fit, no problem. the holes need to be drilled out 3/8" very carefully, so as to not crack the top's paint.
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

a standard switchcraft?? Everywhere I read people say they have to modify the cavity to be shallower and all that stuff because the true LP switch has very few threads, so a deep thread nut is needed as well. BTW, are all switchcraft switches $20 and up?!?!
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

? i was under the impression that an allparts switch was the same thing, but at $13:scratchch

i interchange allparts and switchcraft nuts all the time, and they come with their own threaded nut so i don't see what the problem is.....
 
Re: Wiring Ideas for my Les Paul?

well on ALLPARTS site, they have switches specifically labeled Switchcraft (they even have it stamped on the switch itself), and the others look just like all of the other imported switches like on other site. They also cost significantly less than the Switchcraft labeled jacks do. But I dunno, could just be labeling issues.... hell if i know lol

As for the interchanging thing, yes they do as does many other things; it's part of standardized threading. But what I'm talking about is that there are two types of straight shaft 3-ways: long and short. The Epi's come with short, but a true LP has the "long" one which is a tad different other than just being long. It's threading on top is significantly less, and uses a recesses deep nut for installation. I read everywhere to put this one in, some is done someway or another to makes the cavity shallower or soemthing another
 
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