P90 mod going in. Wiring suggestions?

[XpensiveWino]

OK guys, I've got my usual #1, Les Paul, 2011 Traditional switched to 57's with 50's wiring and PIO caps.

Now I have a 2004 standard that I am switching over to a P90 guitar. No routes don't worry. At the moment a set of Phat Cats going in. If I don't like 'em they'll hold me over until I land a set of Lollars.

So, is there a P90 equivalent to '50's' style wiring for responsiveness? My playing isn't very flashy, I constantly use my tone and volume knobs to control gain and overall tone. I do not just sit with everything dimed. Pretty much have three settings, clean, dirt, and dirtier. That's about it. New CTS 500k pots, .047 Russian PIOs.

Any must do ideas, or just stick with the 'stock' SD diagram?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[ARandall]

The p90 equivalent to 50's wiring is......yep, you guessed it - 50's wiring.

You have the same components and the same method for wiring them up. To be quite frank, p90's are a more authentic subject for 50's wiring than a humbucker.

 

[XpensiveWino]

Perfect. I've done lots of humbucker work, and tons of Tele mods and builds for that matter, but the P90's LP style are a new avenue for me. I'm glad to hear the 50's style will yield benefits.

Any other thoughts?

 

[ARandall]

Well, the wiring simply changes the way the pots and their various loadings work. It is independent of what pickup is soldered to the volume pot.

And 50's wiring is simply changing the tone circuit attachment on the volume pot from the pickup (in) lug to the switch (out) lug.
You can also go for independent volume controls if you like to blend in the middle position. This stops the signal dropping out if you get close to 0 volume on one pickup.

 

[XpensiveWino]

I'll post some before and after clips. All of my HB guitars I switch to 50's wiring given my playing style. I see there's a following for using it with the P90's too. I just ran across Jonesey's sound check vids on youtube running through various caps and values. I'm sold. I really want to go run do it now, but I'll be patient and cut a 'before' video tomorrow.

 

[XpensiveWino]

OK, as promised, here is the 'before' video. As I note in the video, the dynamics of the stock electronics are really poor. The sound quality is phone camera, but it will at least be relative to the next one I record with the mods done.

If nothing else you can mute the video and just watch the Les Paul ; )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doTmms4v9yU&feature=youtu.be

 

[Papa]

OK, as promised, here is the 'before' video.....

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doTmms4v9yU[/ame]
Keep 'em coming.
What kind of amp did you use in the vid?
How about some pics as the mod goes forward?

Papa

 

[XpensiveWino]

"Keep 'em coming.
What kind of amp did you use in the vid?
How about some pics as the mod goes forward?

Papa"

Thanks! The cell mic didn't handle the sound all that well, playing wasn't best, but, we all know how that goes...

The amp is a Fender SuperSonic 22 watt tube amp. 6L6 and stock 12AX7's.

I will for sure post pics of the mod and setup work. There'll be an 'after' vid as well. Thank you for embedding it for me. I have no idea how to do that.

 

[XpensiveWino]

Started the operation tonight. All went very smoothly, no surprises. It's the first I've really inspected the guitar inside and out. I had checked the cavity codes prior, but that's all. Looks to me like at some point the bridge pickup was fiddled with or replaced, although the pot solder looked untouched. There is an odd screw that came out of the pickup ring, and I see at some point a ground wire (bridge possibly) was soldered to the wire mesh of the bridge pickup, but not currently. Certainly no harm done, just odd. No markings on the pups other than the remnants of the patent stickers. Could these be non original pickups? 2004 should be BB pros, right? Anyway, onto the pics. I got the phat cats dropped in, 2 strings back on to hold things in place, and got the harness soldered up on a template ready to drop in tomorrow. We should hear some new R'n'R coming out of this thing by this time tomorrow!

 

[XpensiveWino]

The harness...