2005 Gibson SG Standard original guts ?

[sekoya]

Hi guys,....it's been a long time since I've posted but here it goes,
I just bought a beautiful 2005 SG Standard and was wondering if the inside circuit
is original or was upgraded,. it has Pio .022 caps and 500k pots.
One thing I really don't like right now is that the Neck pickup has not clarity,
very dark and wooly sounding while the bridge is fine.

Any thoughts on this ?

Thanks!

 

[skelt101]

The pots could be stock (they're labeled Gibson), but the capacitors certainly are not. To clear up the neck pickup, you could try:
1. Lowering the pickup while raising the adjustable pole screws.
2. Make sure the pots are 500K. (Gibson may have been using 300K for the volumes at this point in time.)
3. Swap the magnet. Presuming it is a 490, it should have an Alnico 2. You could try something like A3 or A5.

 

[sekoya]

The pots could be stock (they're labeled Gibson), but the capacitors certainly are not. To clear up the neck pickup, you could try:
1. Lowering the pickup while raising the adjustable pole screws.
2. Make sure the pots are 500K. (Gibson may have been using 300K for the volumes at this point in time.)
3. Swap the magnet. Presuming it is a 490, it should have an Alnico 2. You could try something like A3 or A5.

Thanks for the tips ! I mesured the pots and they are 500k , the neck cap is .022 , is there a better value that I could use ?

 

[skelt101]

Some companies like RS Guitarworks offer smaller value caps, e.g. .01, for the neck position. Keep in mind though that the cap only comes into play when using the tone control. If it's always at 10, not so much. Another thing you might try are shorter adjustable pole screws. Like so:
https://www.mojotone.com/guitar-parts/Polepieces/Short-Humbucker-P90-5-40-Polepieces-Nickel
You could also look into a treble bleed circuit and/or "50's wiring" if you use the volume control. However, I'd try all possible adjustments first before making any mods.

 

[Von Trapp]

I have a 490 in the neck of one of my guitars and one of the things with it is that it sounds so nice and clear. The raising/lowering mentioned above should do the trick. Cap values have no impact unless you use the tone control.

 

[OldDog]

I just wanted to say that is one beautiful guitar.

 

[sekoya]

I have a 490 in the neck of one of my guitars and one of the things with it is that it sounds so nice and clear. The raising/lowering mentioned above should do the trick. Cap values have no impact unless you use the tone control.

Thanks , tried it and only brings a tiny but of clarity , will have it setup by a luthier and see what happens.

 

[sekoya]

I just wanted to say that is one beautiful guitar.

Thank you ! it does look good !

 

[Huntroll]

The " LOW SIDE " of each tone pot should not be connected to ground .

In your pics , you can clearly see that they are " folded back " and soldered to each pots case .

That's how volume controls should be, not tone pots.

Also to be on the safe side , put small strips of electrical tape under the pots terminal strip to insure that nothing touches the control cavity conductive paint , tends to happen when everything is tightened down .

 

[Huntroll]

It also looks like the lower selector switch terminal is being shorted to ground.

Not good .

The black plastic tube on the shielded cable needs to be re-positioned to protect the switch terminal .

That's what its there for.

 

[sekoya]

The " LOW SIDE " of each tone pot should not be connected to ground .

In your pics , you can clearly see that they are " folded back " and soldered to each pots case .

That's how volume controls should be, not tone pots.

Also to be on the safe side , put small strips of electrical tape under the pots terminal strip to insure that nothing touches the control cavity conductive paint , tends to happen when everything is tightened down .

Thanks HT for you input , would this be why the neck pickup has no clarity ?

 

[Huntroll]

If it was my guitar, I would remove everything and start over.

Detailing and verifying each component along the way.

And then it would be right.

I've seen these mistakes and sloppy workmanship before.

Likely done by the same person, I suppose.

 

[sekoya]

If it was my guitar, I would remove everything and start over.

Detailing and verifying each component along the way.

And then it would be right.

I've seen these mistakes and sloppy workmanship before.

Likely done by the same person, I suppose.

Again thanks for your help ,...I'll do what you suggest , must be tones of places
on the net that shows how to do it but would you have one that you like better than others ?
Also , the wiring you suggest is 50's or modern ? , i'm good with soldering but not in recognizing circuits.

 

[Huntroll]

Whoever "A. R." is, they did a pretty good job on my 2013 -