Confusion over wiring of the pickups - LP

[Zandit75]

I've been doing some research on wiring up the controls and pick-ups, and came across this LP DIY build that does things very different from the videos Adam has on his website.

The Capacitors are connected differently, and the Tone pots are earthed the same as the Volume pots by bending the last contact against the pot and soldering it together.
Is one of these incorrect, or are there multiple ways of wiring these systems up?

[wokkaboy]

Hi Zandit, yes there are many ways to wire a 2 humbucker, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch.
I haven't had a look at the video but sure either way should work ok. The wiring diagram for LP kits on the PBG works fine.
Most of the video's with Adam on the site are pretty old.

[Zandit75]

Thanks Wokka. I spoke with my Boss who has some experience with electronics, and he mentioned one set-up is in Sequence, and the other is in Parallel, would have any effect on the operation?

[wokkaboy]

Hi Zandit, I think there will be minor differences in the operation, but best wait for wiring guru Weirdy to answer that. I haven't got time to study the video of the other setup at work

[Zandit75]

No worries Wokka, thanks for answering anyway.
Hopefully Weirdy can shed some light on the subject.

[WeirdBits]

Essemtially there are two ways to wire it:
1. The capacitor comnects between the volume and tone, acting as the link, and the pot is the path to ground.
2. There is a wire link between the volume and the tone, signal goes through the pot and then the capacitor is the path to ground.

With #1 the capacitor is acting as your link between the pots (saving you an extra connection), so the signal goes from the volume through the capacitor (acting as a filter) then through the resistance of the pot and directly to ground on the back of the pot. This typical of Gibson LP style wiring.

With #2 the wire link makes the connection between the pots, so the signal goes from the volume through the wire link to the tone then through the resistance of the pot and then to ground via the capacitor (acting as the filter). This style is more inline with Fender style where you would often have two tone pots sharing one capacitor.

The above video is using style #1... which style you choose is up to you. It depends on the type of caps you are using (if they'll fit etc.), how tight the control cavity is, and personal preference. Some people claim they can hear a difference between the two styles, but only you can answer that.

[Zandit75]

Thanks Mate, most appreciated.
I'm not an electric player, so I'm doing all of this by the seat of my pants really. I have no idea what kind of sound I want, and what changes I will need to make to get it where I want it.
Good ole trial and error coming up!!
Thanks again!

[Brendan]

If you're playing around and trying to find a sound you like, it may be worth looking at this stewmac video.



Even if you're not going to use their resistor / capacitor doohicky (also available from Pitbull), you can use the idea of aligator clips to try out different capacitors & values if you're of the experimental bent.

[Zandit75]

If you're playing around and trying to find a sound you like, it may be worth looking at this stewmac video.



Even if you're not going to use their resistor / capacitor doohicky (also available from Pitbull), you can use the idea of aligator clips to try out different capacitors & values if you're of the experimental bent.

Thanks Brendon, I'll look into that also!

[Alkay]

Thanks Mate, most appreciated.
I'm not an electric player, so I'm doing all of this by the seat of my pants really. I have no idea what kind of sound I want, and what changes I will need to make to get it where I want it.
Good ole trial and error coming up!!
Thanks again!

Hi Zandit,

I'm in the same situation as you with wiring my LP. Did you have any luck with getting this going?

That original video you posted for wiring I have seen. That videos are good however he never gave a demo whether the guitar worked or not after wiring so I'm leaning towards following PBG's LP videos(suggested by wokkaboy) located here: http://www.pitbullguitars.com/videos/

Cheers,

Alkay.