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November 2009

Wiring up the Jack

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This is part 5 of the video series on wiring up guitar electronics.

In this video, I show how to wire up the jack.  I’m replacing the original Epiphone jack with a Switchcraft L12A.  The L in the part number indicates a longer 3/8” bushing, which is just a bit longer than the Epi jack.  I’m hoping this well allow me to fit a lock washer in addition to the regular washer and nut, so the jack will stay tightly in place rather than falling into the body of the guitar so much (as I showed in my Don’t Know Jack video). More

More Necks

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I’ve posted an update to my Neck and Neck article, which now includes comparisons of the Epiphone Riviera P93, Sharaton II, Dot Studio and Casino, Les Paul 100 and SG G-400.

In summary, the necks of the Sheraton II, Dot Studio, Casino and Riviera P93 are all basically the same: 24 3/4” scale, 12” radius, 15/16” thickness at 12th fret, 1 11/16” width at nut, 2 1/16” width at 12th fret.  There are small variations between the guitars, generally less than 1/32”.  I guess different binding styles and materials account for the neck width differences.

The SG and Les Paul have slightly thinner necks (about 13/16” thickness at 12th fret), but are the same in every other dimension (width, scale, radius).

I must’ve looked pretty funny in the corner of Best Buy, pulling down guitars from the wall and measuring them with my calipers and radius cards.

A Bloody Mess

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Update Feb 4, 2011: I wrote up a number of ideas for solutions in this blog post.  And I wrote up my final mods in this post.

Before plunging into the details, here’s the abbreviated version: the Epiphone Riviera P93 guitar has 3 pickups and 3-way selector switch.  There’s no way to turn off the middle pot other than turning it all the way down. Because of this, the volume pots must be wired with independent (aka decoupled) wiring, which results in bad treble loss when turning down. And because of this wiring, there’s no way to use a treble bleed cap since turning down one will result in loss of high frequencies in the other. This problem can be avoided on a typical two pickup 3-way switch (traditional Les Paul style) guitar since it can use non-indendent (coupled) volume wiring.  Read on for details…More

Connecting the Tone Cap

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This is part 4 of the video series on wiring up guitar electronics.

In this one, I show how to wire up the tone capacitor to the tone pot.  I’m using a .01uF Orange Drop, which I selected for a slightly narrower range compared to the typical .022uF.  I never turned the tone all the way down with the .022, since it turned the sound into mud.  So with .01uF cap, it won’t be as dull when turned all the way down – making the full range of the pot more useful.

Tone Pot Tapers

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This is a quick video comparing linear and audio/log tapers for a tone control.  I’m comparing a Bourns 500k audio taper pot (PDB241-GTR01-504A2) with a Philmore PC27 500k linear taper pot.  The capacitor is a .022uF Orange Drop (225P100V 223K).  I’ve wired the neck pickup directly to the jack with the tone pot in parallel, just like a normal guitar circuit, but with no volume pot. More

Organizing Wire, Connecting Volume Pots and Switch

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Here is part 3 of the video series on wiring up guitar electronics.

In this video, I talk about how to lay out wires in a semi-hollow body so they aren’t ugly through the f-holes, using shrink wrap tubing to keep things organized.   I also show how to connect a volume pot, soldering the braided shield of a wire to the back of a volume pot that already has other wires connected to it (using needle nose pliers as a hold-down).   Lastly, I start wiring up the switch, and show what to do if you’ve lost track in the tubes of which wires are which.  If your multi-meter doesn’t have continuity mode (beeps when a connection is made), you can just use resistance mode and look for connections on 0 resistance.  Another idea to avoid confusion is to use different colored wires for each volume pot, or try to label them before running them through the tubes.

Soldering Pot Backs

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This is part 2 of the video series on wiring up guitar electronics.

All the metal parts of the guitar need to be tied to a common ground, including the pot bodies.   If you don’t do this, you end up with noisy ground problems.  A good place to wire the ground is to the back of the pots.

There’s a few tricks for successfully soldering to the backs of the pots.  First up is a hot iron.  I’ve tried with a 25w iron, and it just doesn’t cut it.  40w works, but be sure to let it heat up for 10 minutes or so before trying.  I use a cheap Radio Shack iron which switches between 25 and 40w.  Also, you need to roughen up the surface of the pot to get off any oil or grease, and to give some good grooves for the solder to adhere to – I just use 100 grit sandpaper. 

Wire It Up

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At last, after what seems like an eternity of video editing, I’m ready to roll out this new series of videos about wiring up guitar electronics.   In these videos, I demonstrate how to lay out the components, select wire, strip and tin shielded wire, solder the backs of the pots, arrange the bundles of wires inside tubing, wire up the pots, the switch, the tone capacitor and the jack.

Here’s the first part of the video, covering initial preparations, component layout and wire selection and prep.

Riviera P93, Limited Run Nearly Done?

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I was just checking in at GuitarCenter.com, and it says today that the P93 is sold out or no longer available.  Perhaps it’s nearing the end of its limited edition run?

Musician’s Friend still has it, with the free case.   If you’ve been on the fence, now’s the time to decide.  Get it while you can!

[…update November 8 – I see they’re back in stock at GC, so maybe they’re still in production…]