Shouldn't be a problem. Your tech would just splice in a short length of additional wire, if the leads have been clipped too short to reach the controls cavity.
I have a line on a set of Burstbuckers. They are out of a 57 VOS Les Paul.
The seller has disclosed that the leads were clipped and may not fit my les Paul. He said I could solder longer leads on and they would work.
I was wondering if new leads could be soldered, and what issues I might end up with. I will have a tech do the work but I don't want to buy them if I will run into problems.
I am not sure what length of lead I might need for a Les Paul. I have heard that some guys "cheat" by clipping the wires and joining new leads to them so they can quickly change pickups. I have not heard if this would cause any problems.
I am hoping to install them in my Les Paul Gold top Classic. I am not sure if I will need to change any of the electronics. I am a little tired of the stock ceramics. The new pickups have the aged nickle covers and are a BB 1, and BB2.
The Blues is alright!
Guitars: 1968 Gibson SG, 2005 Gibson SG Standard, 2006 Gibson LP Classic Gold top, 2004 Epiphone Elitist LP Custom, 1996 Gibson Les Paul Standard. 2001 Epiphone Sheraton II, 2007 Epiphone G400.
Fender Strats: 1996 Fender 68 Reissue CIJ, 2008 Squier CV 50s, 2009 Squier CV 50s Tele Butterescotch Blonde
Amps: Blues Junior Special edition Jensen in Brown Tolex with Wheat front, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue,1970 Sonax reverb by Traynor, Avatar Custom 2/12 Cabinet with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers,
2008 DSL100 Marshall Amp , Fender Super Champ XD,Fender Vibro Champ XD
Effects and Pedals: Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe, Fulltone Fat Boost, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss DS1, Boss DD20 Giga Delay, Boss TU2 tuner, Boss BD2, Ibanez TS9 Tube screamer, Zoom 505. Radial tonebone hot british.
Shouldn't be a problem. Your tech would just splice in a short length of additional wire, if the leads have been clipped too short to reach the controls cavity.
DVM's Ever-Expanding Gear List:
Guitars - W-A-A-A-Y-Y too many to list. Check 'em all out HERE
Amps & Cabs - "Kap'n Kerrang-aroo" BYOC 18W TMB kit amp head; Mojave Coyote head; Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Lacquered Tweed Ltd. Ed.; Allen Sweet Spot kit amp; BYOC Tweed Royal kit amp; Epiphone Valve Jr. combo + mods; Drive 2x12 cab / Celestion G12M Greenback + G12H30; AB Custom Audio 1x12 cab / Celestion Alnico Blue
Pedals/Effects - ZILLIONS, including DVM's Home-built Pedals - See some HERE and HERE, TOO!
DVM's Gear Photos
Visit MY WEBSITE!
Thanks: On another note, how hard is it to get the bumblebee caps. .022s.
I have been told that they work well with the pickups I am looking at.
I would like to get it all done at once.
The Blues is alright!
Guitars: 1968 Gibson SG, 2005 Gibson SG Standard, 2006 Gibson LP Classic Gold top, 2004 Epiphone Elitist LP Custom, 1996 Gibson Les Paul Standard. 2001 Epiphone Sheraton II, 2007 Epiphone G400.
Fender Strats: 1996 Fender 68 Reissue CIJ, 2008 Squier CV 50s, 2009 Squier CV 50s Tele Butterescotch Blonde
Amps: Blues Junior Special edition Jensen in Brown Tolex with Wheat front, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue,1970 Sonax reverb by Traynor, Avatar Custom 2/12 Cabinet with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers,
2008 DSL100 Marshall Amp , Fender Super Champ XD,Fender Vibro Champ XD
Effects and Pedals: Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe, Fulltone Fat Boost, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss DS1, Boss DD20 Giga Delay, Boss TU2 tuner, Boss BD2, Ibanez TS9 Tube screamer, Zoom 505. Radial tonebone hot british.
There are good and better ways to splice wires. Since these wires go from guitar pickups they need to retain the original signal of the pickup. I believe that a shoddy soldering job can change that signal, and probably the resultant sound you will hear from the amp.
There is a "right" way, or ways, to do this, and a wrong way.
Also regular lead wires are covered with insulation, so the joint should be insulated.
Some people use "quick connects" to swap out pickups relatively quickly. I'm not sure how much signal degradation happens at the quick connect.
The more connections, jacks, cables, effects boxes, etc., that you put in line to the amp will degrade the original signal adding up at each connection. That's why a straight, uncoupled guitar cable is better than coupling two or more guitar cables into one long one; and a shorter cable is better, assuming of course that all cables are of high quality to begin with.
A good solder joint should always be a better connection than a quick connect or other crimped connection.
Because solder is not copper, I don't know how much of an affect on the sound solder will have; but I would twist the copper wires together well and use a minimum of solder. But I still don't know what affect the solder melded with the copper will have, if any appreciable amount.
Some of the engineers on here will definitely know and be able to suggest the best approach to take, if they see your post. I'm not sure if a regular guitar tech would know about splicing pickup leads and the affect of the solder joint on the sound.
One thing you have going for you though, is, you won't have any sound to compare it to. Sometimes we wish we didn't know what experience has taught us.
No matter what you do to splice it should be sufficient though, even a less than perfect job will be as good as a lot of guitars out there, brand new.
Duffy
South Williamsport, Pa.
"So let us stop talking falsely now, the hour's getting late." (as by JH)
I have a '58 historic with Burstbuckers. Some days I love 'em but a lot of days I hate 'em. They're awfully bright to me.
I have a few other PL's. One is a '91 Custom from the custom shop. For a long time I loved the way it played but it just wasn't very versatile by using the pots. I figured I needed to change out the pups. I got a WCR American Steel set and one of Jim's wiring kits. They sounded great. About a year later I read a thread somewhere about how much some guy loved his stock Gibson pups. It intrigued me so just for fun I popped the stock pups back in. WoW!
Did they ever sound great. I think the wiring kit I got made all the difference. When I installed the kit, I wired it up 50's style which I have been enjoying a lot too. I ended up selling the WCR pups and kept the stock ones in there. So I guess what I trying to get at it here is that it might be a good idea to swap out the pots and caps and see what you've got with the stock pups. Even if you get the Burstbuckers you might not get the most out of them with the wiring in your guitar at present.
Yes I am thinking about getting the RS Guitarworks kit. I have been told that the 300k pots in the classic and the ceramic caps hold the guitars tone way back.Originally Posted by otaypanky
Your 91 custom, did it have the 490/498 set? I have them in a Standard and an Epi Elitist Custom, they do sound really good. In the Gold Top Classic it has the Ceramic 496/500 set and they are pretty high output especially in a chambered body. I am hoping they will give it a more vintage tone.
Still in the process of gathering bits and pieces, and waiting for replies.
What caps were in the kit you purchased. RS uses a .015, and .022 bumblebee repops that they contracted Jensen to make.
Update:
I talked to the seller and he has the bumble bees. The pickups came out of a 57 historic Les Paul. He installed Lollars and an RS guitar works kit. So all I need is some 500K Pots and we are off to the races.
Last edited by ZMAN; April 2nd, 2010 at 12:01 PM.
The Blues is alright!
Guitars: 1968 Gibson SG, 2005 Gibson SG Standard, 2006 Gibson LP Classic Gold top, 2004 Epiphone Elitist LP Custom, 1996 Gibson Les Paul Standard. 2001 Epiphone Sheraton II, 2007 Epiphone G400.
Fender Strats: 1996 Fender 68 Reissue CIJ, 2008 Squier CV 50s, 2009 Squier CV 50s Tele Butterescotch Blonde
Amps: Blues Junior Special edition Jensen in Brown Tolex with Wheat front, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue,1970 Sonax reverb by Traynor, Avatar Custom 2/12 Cabinet with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers,
2008 DSL100 Marshall Amp , Fender Super Champ XD,Fender Vibro Champ XD
Effects and Pedals: Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe, Fulltone Fat Boost, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss DS1, Boss DD20 Giga Delay, Boss TU2 tuner, Boss BD2, Ibanez TS9 Tube screamer, Zoom 505. Radial tonebone hot british.
I picked up a set of BB1 and BB2s out of a 2007 Historic VOS. The guy put a set of Lollars in it. I picked them up for 70 a piece. They have the aged nickel covers as well. I have an RS Guitarworks Vintage kit on it's way to my daughters and I will pick it up when I am down there next week.
So when I get back I will have it all installed in my Classic Gold Top.
The Blues is alright!
Guitars: 1968 Gibson SG, 2005 Gibson SG Standard, 2006 Gibson LP Classic Gold top, 2004 Epiphone Elitist LP Custom, 1996 Gibson Les Paul Standard. 2001 Epiphone Sheraton II, 2007 Epiphone G400.
Fender Strats: 1996 Fender 68 Reissue CIJ, 2008 Squier CV 50s, 2009 Squier CV 50s Tele Butterescotch Blonde
Amps: Blues Junior Special edition Jensen in Brown Tolex with Wheat front, 65 Deluxe Reverb reissue,1970 Sonax reverb by Traynor, Avatar Custom 2/12 Cabinet with Eminence Legend V1216 speakers,
2008 DSL100 Marshall Amp , Fender Super Champ XD,Fender Vibro Champ XD
Effects and Pedals: Fulltone Fulldrive II, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe, Fulltone Fat Boost, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss DS1, Boss DD20 Giga Delay, Boss TU2 tuner, Boss BD2, Ibanez TS9 Tube screamer, Zoom 505. Radial tonebone hot british.