Watched many of these in prep for my project.....this is the simplest most straightforward and practical yet....along with some genius ideas!! No one really tackles 'hiding the wires from the f hole'. Well done mate great tut. James in the UK
Really appreciated finding these videos. While your production quality is pretty poor in the age of the RU-vid influencer, your content here was perfect as I started to re-wire an instrument that I just got that desperately needed new pots and cleaned up wiring. I didn't do quite as good of a job as you (practice) but at least your two videos really helped me plan and understand how to manipulate everything.
Why didn't we have this stuff [youtube technology and humble guitar techs] when I was a young padwan? I ruined my old Epiphone hollowbody back in the mid - late 70s because I plodded on blindly with no one to give me guidance!! Bless you, Will Kelly. You're awesome for sharing your luthier's knowledge so freely. Thanks, Man! rja
This is great. I've always worked with Strats & Teles. Only today when I acquired an Aria ii Pro ,with dodgy pots, did I think...Oh, how do I swap these. 😮 I'll sleep soundly tonight and follow your steps tomorrow. Thank you Thank you Thank you.
Very good video, thank you, I always rated working on F-hole type guitars as one of the most annoying jobs in the world, but this video makes it look easy
Brilliant, really Brilliant! I would use Vintage Shielded wire if I did not have Coil splits. That way I would have a nice thin Harness. I love the way you use Ties as a backbone for the Harness and how you made a template with the Sticky laminate! Well thought out. I can tell that you do this for a living!
Awe, this video was painless in watching ! Don't really need all those zip ties since looseness is better than stiff !! Harness I mean !! LoL Nevertheless, these expensive prewire harnesses are wired too tight and stiff for installation ! Love this man's work area !!
great instruction video for this. thanks! you didn't show getting the pots back into the holes but i guess with the great harness you made & their close proximity to the f hole it wasn't to hard to with a little figitting. i have a honer se400 i want to rewrite. thanks again
I find tea spoons are the best way to remove tone controls from guitars, one each side and you don't have to use any force or 'pull the knob up from one side' like the video
Do you take off push/pull knobs the same way? I'm looking to change my Alnico classic pro pups on an epiphone 339 to Seymour Duncan pups, do I need to replace anything else to aid the sound of the pups (pots, capacitors, etc.)? If so, what are the specs and quantity of the replacement parts? My Epi has 2 push/pull volume knobs, two tones and a 3 way switch. Thanks!! You really know your stuff. I wouldn't ask if you didn't.
Ive got issues with a epiphone swingster with the three way switch not switching pick ups from treble to the mid. It will go to the neck but when i go middle it stays at the bridge. Do you think when i take it to the shop that i will need all the pots changed as well or just that threewayswitch.
Thanks Will - I was able to do a great first 335 re-wire thanks to you. One question. I used the Bournes pots and I get a lot of treble loss when I roll back on the volume controls. Just wondering if you noticed that and if you settled on a good resistor and cap value for a treble bleed circuit?
I'm in the process of building my guitar and would love to know what color the guitar in this video is, and if you knew and good places to buy the stains/dyes.
Any reputable woodworking shop, such as WoodCraft, would have Analine Dyes for you.... if you go online, be aware of what type of dyes you're looking for with respect to solvent... ie... Water based versus Alcohol versus Oil based ...
James Bradley You may have found this info already, but a tone capacitor won't have an effect on the brightness of a pickup. All it does is control how much high end is cut when you roll off the tone pot. A .022uf cap will roll off less highs than a .047uf cap. Basically, the lower the value, the less highs get cut. But if your tone pot is wide open, the cap is has no effect. Hope that helps.
The F-holes on my Gretsch (G2655 Streamliner) are too small for the pots to pass through and I have to pull them out through the pickup holes. So I almost stopped watching. I'm glad I didn't, because the shoe box trick for making a harness is terrific. My 3-way is on the upper "horn," so I used a bigger box, but thanks for the instruction!
The whole thing was developed by electrifying acoustic type arch tops in the late 30s and 40s Charlie Christians guitar was wired like this (it's easier with just 1 pickup). I'd recommend using Gibson shielded cable, or another type of shielded cable.
