SG-1: One bridge pup and a kill switch

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barnesjd

barnesjd

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Tomorrow I'm picking up a 1990-something Gibson SG-1. I've been gassing for one of these for a while now. My main guitar at the moment is an SG Special, but I literally never use the volume or tone pots. I use the neck pickup occasionally because it's there, but I really just use the bridge. So I thought it would be fun to own a guitar a little closer to what I actually need. :)

I have three questions for everyone. I'm going to remove all of the controls and install nothing but a kill switch. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for 1 pickup and 1 kill switch? Google didn't turn up any results. I'm handy with a soldering iron, but I don't know what I'm doing beyond that. :D

Assuming I successfully convert the electronics, what are some good ways to fill in the holes left by the other two controls? The guitar is finished in black.

Finally, what's your favorite bridge pickup for an all mahogany guitar? In my aforementioned Special, I have a Tom Anderson HN3+ and it is just killer. Your suggestion doesn't have to be a high-output pickup necessarily. My amp has loads of gain on tap. It just needs to be ballsy and loaded with mids.
 
Cool, thanks! I think I'm gonna bust up another thread to get some feedback regarding pickup suggestions. I think I ran everyone off with my topic title.
 
Do you think I could rig up the splitter switch to be my kill switch?
 
Certainly don't mean to tell you what to do here...but I've wired a few of these up for friends years ago by converting the coil tap switch into A/B switch. One switch position routes the pickup signal direct to the jack; the other routes the signal through the vol/tone controls. Keeps the guitar looking stock but allows for variations...including on/off if the vol knob is turned all the way down. Just a suggestion.

Should have a 500T pickup in it if it hasn't been changed. Hot pup with a mound of mids. Might be too muddy sounding. Try it.
 
BackCrack":151rlcf9 said:
Certainly don't mean to tell you what to do here...but I've wired a few of these up for friends years ago by converting the coil tap switch into A/B switch. One switch position routes the pickup signal direct to the jack; the other routes the signal through the vol/tone controls. Keeps the guitar looking stock but allows for variations...including on/off if the vol knob is turned all the way down. Just a suggestion.
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I really dig old pics of Van Halen and the Young brothers flat out missing neck pups and stuff they don't use. Not having the stock look is cool with me. But your suggestion is a pretty good one, too. It's an inexpensive guitar that doesn't get much love, so I definitely hope to do a lot of experimentation with it.

BackCrack":151rlcf9 said:
Should have a 500T pickup in it if it hasn't been changed. Hot pup with a mound of mids. Might be too muddy sounding. Try it.
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Definitely will do. He says he thinks it's still the original. I wasn't going to replace it by default, but I must admit that I've never owned a guitar that I didn't change out the pups in short order.
 
barnesjd":2seb2hfs said:
Do you think I could rig up the splitter switch to be my kill switch?
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What is a splitter switch? You want an SPDT or DPDT switch. The diagram I linked has a DPDT switch shown.

Also, you might want to put a 470k resistor between the switch and the pickup. It'll be bright as hell and have ridiculous output otherwise.
 
Code001":1weie1sj said:
What is a splitter switch? You want an SPDT or DPDT switch. The diagram I linked has a DPDT switch shown.
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Right... I understand what you're asking and saying. The vague statement I made was referring to the switch that an SG-1 comes stock with, which serves to split the coils of the humbucker. I'm too n00b in guitar wiring to know if it is a SPDT or DPDT switch. :)

Code001":1weie1sj said:
Also, you might want to put a 470k resistor between the switch and the pickup. It'll be bright as hell and have ridiculous output otherwise.
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I have read that brightness can be an issue with writing a pup straight in. It sounds to me like an opportunity for more experimentation. Maybe I should add "dark" to my description of pups I'm interested in.
 
I picked it up earlier this afternoon. This thing is super clean. The serial dates it to early 2000. The guy bought it new for learning to play guitar, and I can tell he didn't get very far. It's super clean. Not even scratched. It will definitely be the most pristine in my collection of used axes. Now to find time to whip out the soldering iron and mutilate! I mean... mutate!
 
It's possible the switch in there will work, but I much prefer using a proper DPDT switch like the one shown in the diagram to ensure that the switch is grounded and prevent any electrical shock hazard. Don't forget the bridge ground needs to be included in that circuit, too. If you just want to hear what it'll sound like without any pots, you can wire the pickup directly to the jack. That'll give you an idea if you want to use a resistor or not.
 
Here's a pic for anyone interested. Gotta change that gold truss rod cover, tho. What a mismatch.
 

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I replaced the stock pickup with a Bill Lawrence L500-XL and rewired the guitar to only have a kill switch. This pickup is already on the bright side, so having no tone knob or a resistor has definitely made it bright as hell. I'll be experimenting soon. At the moment, I'm thinking about getting a pickup that's on the dark side, such as a Rio Grande BBQ. I don't much like this L500-XL even without the brightness.
 
The BBQ has solid mids which will tame highs, but another option would be the Suhr Aldrich.
 
Cool guitars, I believe the sg-x is same thing or very similiar. I believe these came with 500t pickups and some had coil tap. I like the 500t a lot and it kicks ass still with this guitar. As far as a kill switch, I think its a good idea and I use that a lot on two pickup guitars but I would just use the hole from tone knob to run a toggle switch as the kill.
 
Mudder":1qoi3smw said:
The BBQ has solid mids which will tame highs, but another option would be the Suhr Aldrich.
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Very cool. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one of those. Never tried one before. When I get back home from being out of town, I plan to put my Tom Anderson HN3+ in there. Not that I've tried many pups, but it has been my favorite thus far.
 
joepete77":20g9ucql said:
Cool guitars, I believe the sg-x is same thing or very similiar. I believe these came with 500t pickups and some had coil tap. I like the 500t a lot and it kicks ass still with this guitar. As far as a kill switch, I think its a good idea and I use that a lot on two pickup guitars but I would just use the hole from tone knob to run a toggle switch as the kill.
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Yeah, I believe the SG-X and the SG-1 are the same, with the X's being the later ones. Given that this one is a 2000, I'm betting it was branded as an SG-X.

As for the 500T, it's not terrible, but I don't like it much either. It lacks the clarity I'm looking for. I rewired the coil tap to be a kill switch. I absolutely hate single coils in the bridge position. For me, it was a garbage toggle switch. :thumbsdown:

Now she's the simplest possible straight-up rocker. :rock: Just gotta find some plugs for the two pot holes (ha!) at a hardware store.
 
Been trying to post pics, and I finally figured out that they were too large. So here they are. The first pic is all stock. The second pic is after the mods and changing the 500T for my Tom Anderson HN3+ :rock:

Before:


After:
 

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