Revitalising a 1979 Gibson "The SG"

[TZK321]

Hi Simon,

I just received this harness from 920D. They claim to have corrected the wiring problem. I can see that they did something but I'm not convinced that they actually fixed the issue. Would you please take a look and advise?

[Simon Barden]

They still haven't moved the output wire to the centre tag like the SG50-PIO harness.

[TZK321]

They still haven't moved the output wire to the centre tag like the SG50-PIO harness.

That's what I thought!! What a bunch of clowns! There's a famous saying: Anyone can make a mistake but only a fool makes the same mistake twice.

I can see that they changed the capacitors. I'm not sure what (if anything) else they did. At this point I'll be requesting a full refund. I've already found another company to build the harness for me: https://gunstreetwiringshop.com

Thanks very much for your help.

[Simon Barden]

The wiring is correct with regards to that diagram, but that's not how the wiring is done on their SG50-PIO page.

https://920dcustom.com/collections/p...t-pio-caps-new

As they don't show that wiring diagram on the page, any customer can only expect to get what's on that page by the photographs. So at the very least they are guilty of misrepresentation.

[TZK321]

I've contacted 920D and shown them how the harness is still wrong and doesn't match the photo on their web site. I told them that I want a full refund. Here is their reply:

I see what you mean, although there are a couple of different ways to do 50’s wiring. It’s how the caps are wired between the volume/tone controls that determines if it’s 50’s style wiring. Where the selector leads are attached doesn’t change that.

It wouldn’t be an experiment so long as you wire your hot pickup leads into the center terminal on the volume controls where the caps are attached.

I would say that it’s unreasonable to return this before you’ve given it a try. Since it is wired correctly, it would be susceptible to a re-stocking fee if we decide to go that route. If you give it a shot and it doesn’t turn out how you would like, we’ll be happy to take it back and give you a full refund.

Next, I wrote back and gave them 3 options:

1) Accept the harness and issue me a full refund
2) Refuse to issue a full refund in which case I file a claim with my credit card company.
3) Accept the harness, repair it (i.e. it should be identical to the photo of the 50s wiring harness on your web site) and
promptly send it back to me.

That's where things stand now.

P.S.

Yes, I know I could easily make the small wiring change myself. But that defeats the purpose of buying something pre-made. And it bothers be that they aren't selling what's advertised. BTW, I did a search and cannot find any other company with a 50's wire harness that resembles what they sent me.

[Simon Barden]

It's very strange.

The harness will work, and there won't be any difference in sound with the volumes set on 10. But the volumes will respond quite differently to the normal method. You may or may not prefer it, as it means that in the middle selector position, you can turn one volume right down without killing the output.

But as the caps are connected to the pickup output, not the pot output, you won't get the '50s tone pot response that you are supposed to get with '50s wiring.

Stick to your guns.

[TZK321]

I think they got it right this time. And all I had to do was threaten to kill their firstborn.

[fender3x]

I think they got it right this time. And all I had to do was threaten to kill their firstborn.

That only works with species that don't eat their young.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[Simon Barden]

The neck tone control looks like it may be wrong to me, though the pic is a bit too small and blurred to say for sure. You've also got the output wires to the jack covering the tone pot connections. With the three tabs facing you, connections should be centre (to ground) and right (to capacitor) tabs. Looks a bit like on the neck tone pot, the two outer ones are the ones connected, which means it won't work.

For some reason your pics are all posted as thumbnails, which may be why they are so small. Can you try to not post them as thumbnails?

[TZK321]

These photos should be a bit better. Still haven't quite got the hang of it.
Can you confirm that it's wired correctly?