How to Wire a Les Paul Classic
The distinctive tone of the Gibson Les Paul Classic electric guitar has as much to do with the specific components it uses as it does with how these electronics are wired. The Les Paul guitar, which first came into prominence in the 1950s, has had several wiring schemes over the years, each creating it own unique tone, but the Les Paul Classic attempts to emulate the wiring of the original production guitars. The Classic wiring centers on two humbucking pickups and the placement of a set of tone capacitors.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Humbucking pickups
- 4 500k potentiometers
- 2 0.022uF/400-volt capacitors
- Screwdriver
- Soldering iron
- Rosin-core solder
- Insulated copper wire
Instructions
-
-
1
Wire the outputs from the neck and bridge pickups to terminal "1" on their respective volume control potentiometers. Solder the connections in place securely. When holding the pots so that the terminals face towards you, they will be numbered, from left to right, "1," "2," and "3."
-
2
Solder the ground wires from the neck and bridge pickups to the chassis of their respective volume pots.
-
-
3
Bend terminal "3" of each volume pot back so that it makes contact with the chassis of the pot. Use solder to make a secure connection between the terminal and the chassis, grounding the potentiometer. Do the same for each tone potentiometer.
-
4
Solder an insulated copper wire to the chassis of one of the volume pots. Solder the free end to the second volume pot chassis. Repeat this process to a run a wire between each set of volume and tone pots, and a wire connecting the two tone pots. This will complete the grounding circuit for the Les Paul Classic guitar's potentiometers.
-
5
Solder one end of a 0.022uF/400 volt capacitor to terminal "1" of one of the volume pots. Solder the other end to terminal "2" of the matching tone pot. Repeat this process for the second volume/tone pot set.
-
6
Connect the output from terminal "2" of each volume pot to the respective outside terminal on the pickup selector switch, and solder in place. Route a grounding wire from the selector switch through the body of the Les Paul and solder to one of the pots to ground the switch.
-
7
Bend the middle two terminals of the selector switch together and apply solder to the joint. Solder an insulated copper wire to the joined terminals and route this wire to the output terminal on the output jack.
-
8
Run a grounding wire from the ground terminal of the output jack to the chassis of one of the pots and solder in place.
-
9
Drive a screw into the side of the body cavity and solder a wire from one of the pots to the screw to complete the grounding circuit.
-
10
Plug in the Les Paul Classic to an amplifier and test for proper sound output. If there is static or hum, check that all the ground connections are secure. If sound cuts in and out or is not produced at all, make sure all the input and output connections are soldered securely to the correct terminals.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Use color-coded wires to help keep the wiring organized. The wires coming from the pickups should be a heavier gauge that is well-insulated to prevent noise interference and produce a clear sound.
