May 18, 2010

Reinstalling The Electronics

Semi-Hollowbody Electronics Electronics, Epiphone Riviera P93, Video 81

Finally! Time to ditch the cardboard and reinstall the electronics into my Epiphone Riviera P93.

In this two-part video, I demonstrate the trick to getting it all back in though the f-hole. It ain’t easy, but trust me- you can do it. Just be prepared that it may take a few tries to get right. Expect to get everything half way in and then realize that something’s twisted or upside-down, requiring you to pull it all out and start over. It’s no big deal if you’re expecting it 🙂

And how sweet it is to have it all back together again.

81 Comments

avantgarde120
May 19, 2010 @ 3:08 am

Hi John,ur tutorials are great!keep up the good work and btw love ur guitar too!

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Aaron Walker
May 19, 2010 @ 11:07 am

Fucking ace ,man.

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datalaforge
May 19, 2010 @ 8:18 am

Thanks for this video. Was emboldened by you to replace the input jack on my semi hollow body. It works great now.

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nophobia123
May 20, 2010 @ 1:48 pm

im sorry but the first part made me laugh lol

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itsonlyrcknroll
May 21, 2010 @ 7:32 am

Is it easier to use string, or slip some tubing over the shafts of the pots etc to pull them through? Thx.

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DrTahanBlues
May 24, 2010 @ 5:47 am

excelente como siempre………..A1

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zack
May 27, 2010 @ 5:58 am

yeah, this is why i’m not in a hurry to do anything with mine. how long has it been?

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zhivago729
May 29, 2010 @ 2:42 am

is it a boy or a girl?

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zhivago729
May 29, 2010 @ 2:55 am

nice tricks with the jack, very helpful. I might have the stones to do this to my own guitar now.

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James T.
June 6, 2010 @ 5:54 pm

I just re wired my les paul copy and it sounds alot better…i’ve had it for about 9 years, i used fairly thick wire, I wonder does the size or type of wire really matter?

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- John
  June 6, 2010 @ 8:25 pm
  
  Well, I’m sure you could get into big theoretical arguments about this! Yes, heavier gauge wire has lower resistance over extremely long runs, and can carry larger current. But in my opinion as a pragmatist, it doesn’t make too much difference in in a guitar circuit. A typical guitar circuit is very low power and maybe has a total of 30 inches of wire 🙂
  
  I typically use 20 or 22 gauge stranded wire.
  -John
  
  Reply
kgamino
June 12, 2010 @ 9:51 pm

Tools to work with Guitar Jacks and controls:
1. String Swing Guitar Jack and Ferrule Tool $18
2. String Swing Pickup Jack Installation Tool $18

There are some tools for potentiometers and other things. The 1/2″ Deep Socket and an 1/2″ Open Wrench are required for most American Guitars to tighten the nut on jacks. Many Pros use sockets and wrenches covered with plastic on edge or apply plastic or tape to prevent damage to the guitar’s finish “just in case”.

Thanks for the video.

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- John
  June 22, 2010 @ 6:07 pm
  
  @kgamino – man, i’m surprised to see that jack tool — there’s a special tool for everything! 🙂 a bit spendy for the amateur who will probably only need them a few times (and can get by with cheap needle nose pliers, crescent wrench, etc). but looks ideal for a pro guitar tech.
  
  Reply
regisdrift
June 27, 2010 @ 11:19 pm

after seeing that, i will never buy a semi-hollowbody 😛

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Chamir
June 28, 2010 @ 9:50 am

BRAVO! BRAVISIMO JOHN!!!!
how do you use the tremolo without getting out of tune??? everytime i use the trem in miy p93, the guitar get completely out of tune =/

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- John
  June 29, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
  
  Mine stays in tune really well, but I don’t play it too hard (you can hear the mid vibrato I play at the end of the second video).
  
  Are you wailing on it? Are you using new strings that haven’t fully stretched in?
  
  You’re using a roller bridge, so I’m assuming it’s not catching on your TOM saddles. If you’re just doing mild vibrato and it’s still going out of tune, it’s possible your strings are catching on the edges of the nut? Mine was filed down a bit when the tech did the tune up. Try some nut-sauce or other lube?
  
  -John
  
  Reply
Chamir
June 28, 2010 @ 9:51 am

oh, we’ve been talking about this guitar last november when i was in NY. I bought the roll bridge you told me too.. but i can barely use the trem =( if you have a solution, please help me!
thanx!

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HotPocketEXE
July 20, 2010 @ 5:35 pm

This is a great video tutorial for me. I’m buying an Epiphone Dot for 20 bucks that needs to be refinished and rewired and it’s nearly identical to this setup. Thanks for these videos.

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- John
  July 20, 2010 @ 6:16 pm
  
  @HotPocketEXE – sounds like a great project. for $20, you can feel free to experiment and make mistakes. have fun!
  
  Reply
francoprs
September 24, 2010 @ 1:22 pm

Excellent series of tutorial videos.
Thank you!

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richedie
October 9, 2010 @ 9:06 pm

I want to change the pickups in my ES-335 but this looks like a nightmare!!!!!!!! Yikes. Stinks because I want to be able to do it.

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- John
  October 9, 2010 @ 9:09 pm
  
  @richedie – if you just want to change the pickups, without removing any electronics, you can do it relatively easily by removing the pickups, snipping the wires (leaving yourself enough slack to solder the new pickup wires directly to the old wires). Then just screw in the new pickups. if the pickup holes don’t line up though, you’ll need to fill and drill for those (see my other videos in my channel for how to do that). Good luck!
  
  Reply
richedie
October 9, 2010 @ 9:42 pm

Hi, thanks for responding. I hadn’t though of doing what you mention in just solderin in the new pickups. Honestly I do not do a lot of volume and tone roll back, but do once in a while on the bridge pickup. Only problem is I would have to be sure I am matching up the correct wires! Did you do a video on this method? -Thanks

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- John
  October 12, 2010 @ 8:51 pm
  
  @richedie – You’ll be able to keep all the same electronics- you just need (as you say) to pay attention to which wire is ground and which is signal. To see which is ground, you can use a multimeter to test for continuity with the jack shield (see my blog faq for info on using a multimeter). I haven’t made a video about it, but there’s a short youtube video by Dan Erlewine (author of some great guitar tech books) on the subject. Good luck!
  
  Reply
CamiloFrusciante
October 12, 2010 @ 3:47 pm

AMAZING
THX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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EddieB!
October 24, 2010 @ 9:52 pm

Hi, I want to set up a semi-hollow body guitar, an es335 from epiphone with emgs 81tw and 89r´s and i want to know how could i set up the pick ups in and the batteries that feed the emgs… any suggestions will be much appreciated. Could you please have any answer sent to edbl@live.com

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- John
  October 27, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
  
  Changing your pickups from passive to active will require new lower-resistance (usually 25k) volume and tone pots, and a new switched jack. See the installation instructions at EMG’s website.
  You’ll need a battery holder- you could probably just use strong double-sided tape to stick the battery inside the guitar cavity close to the f-hole so you can reach in to change the battery.
  Good luck!
  -John
  
  Reply
acrock21
November 30, 2010 @ 11:55 pm

my question is what is the north start north finish south start south finish wire from the pick ups and what do you do with them ?

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- John
  December 1, 2010 @ 8:17 am
  
  @acrock21 – see the posts “Humbucker Wiring” at my planetz blog on October 9, 2010, and “Splitting the Coils” on November 9, 2010. should have the info you need. (Youtube won’t let me post links here, but you can find them easily)
  
  Reply
youKStates
December 6, 2010 @ 3:25 am

thanks!

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progrmr
December 27, 2010 @ 8:09 am

GREAT videos! I’m going to attempt this with my Delta King today – very helpful and I’m looking forward to tackling it on my own. Be nice to deprive the luthier of $100 for installation and setup! THANKS!

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JazzyJunior
April 1, 2011 @ 11:15 am

Absolutely fantastic. Thanks for the video.

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WelcomeToAlcatraz
April 15, 2011 @ 1:56 pm

you sir, just saved my life…..you are like a life raft in a sea of broken semi hollow guitar parts.

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MTViperGTS
May 6, 2011 @ 8:58 pm

It’s pretty apparent how much effort you put into these videos, dubbing them, and even the snip sound effects haha. Great work, thanks for a cool video 🙂

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westfield90
May 24, 2011 @ 10:26 pm

Superb tutorial thank you

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westfield90
May 24, 2011 @ 10:33 pm

Fantastic tutorial – thanks for the 720p. One question, using that type of wrench to tighten the nuts, doesn’t it run the risk of scratching the finish of the guitar since, wouldn’t it be better to use a screwdriver type of wrench?

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John
May 24, 2011 @ 10:41 pm

@westfield90 -yes, a deep socket-type wrench would better, but I didn’t have one at the time. Stewmac has a nice set.

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nickodood
June 16, 2011 @ 11:15 am

GREAT job! I started watching with your p93 review and got hooked on your pickup replacement tutorials and then electronics tutorial. You have my respect for doing all of that so well and professionally. cheers!

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pellabandgeek
July 10, 2011 @ 2:23 pm

i’m doing a project like this and i have the same type of knobs! They’re cool lookin’ knobs. 🙂

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pellabandgeek
July 10, 2011 @ 2:25 pm

i liked the OH YEAH at the end.

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dukeh62
July 11, 2011 @ 7:24 am

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO! I just rewired my Epiphone Riviera this past weekend, and your videos were CRITICAL to the easy success I encountered. Thank you!

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- John
  July 25, 2011 @ 5:28 pm
  
  @dukeh62 – great! happy to hear it.
  
  Reply
SSGTKILL
August 3, 2011 @ 10:47 am

one dislike……ONE dislike……thats not even cool man…

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jtanaka2
October 14, 2011 @ 6:00 pm

You are a saint for doing this, thank you!

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YouAreAllCrazy
November 8, 2011 @ 9:45 pm

Perfect vid, man! I really needed instructions on how to do this and you delivered! Great job!

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hutch356
February 4, 2012 @ 11:35 am

i gotta tell you this is a beautiful guitar, i want to get one someday, and maybe replace the electronics to my liking. you did a very good job, thanks for the vids man

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- John
  February 7, 2012 @ 3:26 pm
  
  @hutch356 – thanks! Something you may be interested in, when you’re ready to buy: Epiphone recently released the ES-345 and ES-355 which are similar but with 2 humbuckers instead of 3 P-90’s. I probably would have got the ES-355 instead of this, if it had been available at the time.
  
  Reply
Bill
March 14, 2012 @ 9:50 pm

All your videos are excellent! You have solved several problems I had working with my semi-hollow. Also, I came up with the idea to fish my pieces of string through the body with a long zip tie and it worked like a charm saving me from picking up the guitar and shaking the string down.

Thank you so much for your hard work in putting these videos together.

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- John
  March 14, 2012 @ 10:03 pm
  
  Great to hear! Thanks Bill.
  Zip ties- smart idea! 🙂
  -John
  
  Reply
dandorledo
March 23, 2012 @ 10:59 am

Excellent Job AND Demo !!! THX !!! I have to replace my pickups on my New ES 339 VS PRO Epiphone and the 2 volumes pots wich are push pull pots…As I decide to put a Set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cat on the guitar,I ll have to change these two volume pots but cause the wire is so tide inside ,I have to remove also the 2 Tones Pot and The Jack input like on your demo…So,THX for showing us how to do that properly…

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dandorledo
March 23, 2012 @ 10:59 am

(for the Volume pots ,I choosed 2 Mini 500k CTS pots sqo I wont have to refill my holes ,it is 8 mm also…Bye and Keep on Playing Man!! Dan

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dandorledo
March 23, 2012 @ 11:02 am

I forgot one thing : The Seymour Phat Cat P90 are with 2 conductors only so that is why I must change the Volume Pots wich are coil tapping pots…

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hellyahitsnoc
April 20, 2012 @ 11:56 pm

I like this guitar and planning to buy soon. You really pulled off a great job here. Last time I did this with my Ibanez guitar, I did not use any towel to protect the finish and luckily it was not that messy. When I watched this video and saw you used towel, I went “oh yeah right”. Ha ha.

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- John
  April 25, 2012 @ 2:32 pm
  
  I’m constantly dropping screwdrivers, screws, etc. If I didn’t use some kind of dropcloth, my guitars would all be covered in dings 🙂
  
  Reply
woshushe
May 25, 2012 @ 8:32 am

Nice… If I wanted to switch for a 2 volume wiring to a single volume pot should i rewire the whole electronic?

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Dominic Moore
November 27, 2012 @ 11:49 am

Hi, I hope you can help me with this, I have a problem with my Guitar. I’ve got a Gibson ES 335, and it has EMG pickups in (rare showcase edition with stock EMGS). I’ve not been getting any response from the tone knobs, and have wanted to change the pickups anyway.

I’ve watched all the videos on how to change pickups and rewire, but would it be different because it’s got active pickups in now, rather than passive? If so would it be difficult to do?

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- John
  November 29, 2012 @ 1:10 pm
  
  If you’re planning to change from active to passive, you’ll need to replace your pots too. Active circuits typically use low-resistance pots (like 25k), but your passive circuit will need at least 250k or higher pots. If you’re replacing with new active pickups, then you should be able to just drop them in (paying attention to how the preamp is wired, etc).
  
  Reply
  - Dominic Moore
    November 29, 2012 @ 1:36 pm
    
    Thanks for the reply, but yeah I knew about the pots. I found out a little after posting this from another video, it sucks. Shouldn’t be too hard but I’d want the original parts. What I was wondering was if the wiring would be any different?
    
    And I’m wanting to change them to passive really, being stock EMG’s from Gibson they’re pretty top range. I’d just like feeling in it really
    
    Reply
    - John
      November 29, 2012 @ 1:51 pm
      
      Yes, a passive circuit is wired differently from an active one (e.g. there’s no preamp). Search for a schematic / wiring-diagram of each type and compare them. Passive circuits are simpler, and you should be able to see what you need to do from a wiring diagram.
      
      Reply
DrTallahassee
November 29, 2012 @ 3:10 am

thanks for your videos, they’re my favourites!…only I don’t get one thing: how did you connect the electronics with the humbuckers without soldering? Maybe I’ve lost some step…
thank you!

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- John
  November 29, 2012 @ 1:05 pm
  
  I had already soldered the pickups to the volume pots before this video. I’m not sure if I showed that step anywhere, but you can see my channel for my “Wiring Up Guitar Electronics” video series.
  
  Reply
  - DrTallahassee
    November 29, 2012 @ 11:54 pm
    
    I’ll check then, thank you very much!
    
    Reply
DrTallahassee
November 29, 2012 @ 3:10 am

thanks for your videos, they’re my favourites!…only I don’t get one thing: how did you connect the electronics with the humbuckers without soldering? Maybe I’ve lost some step…
thank you!

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JACKSONLEWISOFCANADA
January 17, 2013 @ 9:56 pm

cant imagine my plans difficulty for my cheap epiphany pup change…

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- John
  January 18, 2013 @ 2:22 pm
  
  Yeah, working on semi-hollows is way harder than solid-bodies.
  But it’s all doable, with patience. Good luck!
  
  Reply
Sixty Herbie
March 8, 2013 @ 5:03 pm

The dude knows what he’s talkin’ bout. Supafly!

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taxisteve929
March 29, 2013 @ 5:58 pm

Geez…gotta have the patience of a saint to do this stuff!!! My hands are shaking with frustration watching you do this….not to mention I have horrible dexterity. No problem with the “What do to” puzzle, but the “do it” part….why I never became a brain surgeon and decided to just drive a cab.

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- John
  April 7, 2013 @ 9:33 pm
  
  Yes, working in a semi-hollowbody is a lot like that old game of “operation”. Frustrating indeed 🙂
  
  Reply
novoxxx
April 28, 2013 @ 2:34 pm

Sooooooooo helpfully!!! Thanks a lot for the explanations!!!

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Sébastien Froidevaux
July 7, 2013 @ 11:43 am

Great vid’ thank you ! You helped me!

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Didier Cáceres
August 4, 2013 @ 5:19 pm

Many thanks, very useful video !

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Dale
August 5, 2013 @ 11:35 am

Your video’s are the most informative I have ever seen. Thanks

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spoonido
September 2, 2013 @ 8:17 am

Great. At first I was skeptical because you’re just sitting on the floor instead of a “proper” workbench, but that makes it all the more real. I mean, the floor is where I work on my guitars!. Thanks for the upload.

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- John
  September 4, 2013 @ 3:33 pm
  
  In reality, the floor is where most stuff gets done 🙂
  
  Reply
David Massie
September 15, 2013 @ 9:37 am

Great. Thanks. My jack broke off and was hanging loose inside the body of my guitar. I could not work out a way to fix it. But i found this and it worked a treat. Took about an hour and a half.

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ERIC TUAZON
November 2, 2013 @ 1:56 am

great video,,, do you have a video for ES 175 reinstalling electronics.. thanks

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KP11520
November 12, 2013 @ 8:04 pm

Hi John, I use 20 pound test fishing line. A little more difficult to feed
through, but worth it when pulling the parts into their respective holes.
And you never know… Maybe you’ll catch a nice Salmon for dinner! I was
thinking about using a lock washer on the Jack (below the guitar top) as
well, to really insure locking it down. Tired of them eventually coming
loose. Excellent job walking us all through the steps! Thanks again!

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John Cooper
November 15, 2013 @ 9:52 am

@ERIC TUAZON- no sorry, I don’t have an ES-175. The ES-175 is fully
hollow, so you may be able to work more easily through the pickup holes
(remove the strings and pickups and reach the electronics through there).
Or you may find it is still easier to work through the f-holes as I show
in this video. Don’t be intimidated- just give it a try.,

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Rick
December 3, 2013 @ 8:20 am

Great video series! Yr wiring diagram was very helpful also. Thanks for putting this together and inspiring ideas and confidence in so many people to make this guitar more right!

I, too, installed a roller bridge immediately and the vibrato works perfectly now.

Recently I installed 500K CTS pots for neck, bridge, and tone. Put a 0.015 Emerson cap on the tone.
I switched the neck and middle pups so that neck/bridge would hum cancel, the wired the middle to a 500k Alpha push-pull pot, with push=off. Now, the middle pup is out of the circuit unless I “pull” it on. I also replaced to metal P90 covers with plastic ones and raised the pole pieces to 1/8″ from strings. Guitar sounds bright and tight, plays great, looks great, yeah!

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- John
  December 3, 2013 @ 4:43 pm
  
  Hi Rick,
  Excellent suggestions- thanks for sharing! I also put a push/push pull on the middle, but it didn’t occur to me to swap the neck and middle. Smart move!
  -John
  
  Reply
Chickenbone Genome
January 1, 2014 @ 11:05 pm

Thank you John.
All my mentors live on YouTube.

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YoloSwag Bana
January 10, 2014 @ 7:41 am

I’m not really looking at the loot crate….

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William Glover
January 25, 2014 @ 11:02 am

Interesting series of videos.
Thank you.

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Paul Kibler
February 13, 2014 @ 7:07 am

Awesome.

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大雅中山
March 1, 2014 @ 6:50 am

行きますこ

Reply
Jefferson de sousa
March 7, 2014 @ 4:01 pm

thanks for teaching us

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Jefferson de sousa
March 8, 2014 @ 5:42 pm

thanks for teaching us

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luvdablz
March 14, 2014 @ 10:10 am

Excellent instruction! Very clear and understandable for even me with
little knowledge on doing this.

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elbenaso
March 22, 2014 @ 6:24 am

great vid!!!!

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mad parentone
April 15, 2014 @ 1:05 pm

Great! thank you for your time!

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backey69
April 29, 2014 @ 8:04 am

手持ちのセミアコの改造を考えていたのでとても参考になりました。英語は分かりませんが、動画を見れば何とかなりそうです＾＾
このセミアコ弄りシリーズは全部見ますよ＾＾ｖ

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bikingsamsara
July 6, 2014 @ 9:02 am

Hi there – thanks for the nice video. I have found the best string to use
is waxed sewing thread for stitching leather. It is thin, strong, and
best of all the wax gives the string a close-yet-snug grasp around the head
of the pot so the string doesn’t pop off at the last crucial moment and you
watch the pot dropping back through the hole. Thanks again!

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WCPhotographyStudios
July 23, 2014 @ 7:44 pm

Excellent!! Thank you!!!!

Reply
Steven Zosso
August 8, 2014 @ 2:40 pm

I recently got his very same guitar, so finding this series was pretty
awesome.

Reply
81Gamerdad
August 31, 2014 @ 4:28 am

Pliers are the enemy,… A 1/2 inch socket works perfectly and 100x faster
on all CTS pots and Output jacks.

Reply
Trey Dempsey
September 3, 2014 @ 12:27 am

Rubber tubing is a great way to do this. It’s rigid enough to guide as you
push it and it slides over the tops of the pot shafts allowing you to pull
them up and in to place.

Reply
k2purp
December 23, 2014 @ 10:02 am

How would yall soder the input jack in a dot. Mine doesn’t work only when u
pull the guitar cable to one side. Any suggestions.

Reply
Jon Watkins
December 29, 2014 @ 10:49 am

Bought a SH self-build kit, love the kit but the instructions are useless.
Project for me and my 14YO son – your videos for the wiring are fantastic –
thank you for taking the time.

Reply
Marco Aurelio Faial Rodrigues
February 12, 2015 @ 10:21 am

Thank you so much John for this video! You help me a lot with it. Following
your method I changed pickups of my Samick hollow body without problems!

Reply
Andreas Berger
February 25, 2015 @ 6:36 am

Thanks for a great and instructional video! 🙂

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davecooper360
April 21, 2015 @ 10:13 pm

Nice!! I have an old 2000 Epiphone Dot which sounds great at home.. but a
little bland and muddy on the gigs with a full band. I plan on installing
new pickups and electronics. This video is very helpful so thank you very
much for posting it! 🙂

Reply
mark brighton
April 22, 2015 @ 9:21 pm

Murray lieing here he wanted his team to finish last to get first or
second!!!

Reply
Ng Oneseven
June 14, 2015 @ 7:44 am

Great vid! I have a 335 just come in today that needs an electrics overhaul
so this video is a great help. Cheers 🙂

Reply

Reinstalling The Electronics

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