Any tips on wiring a semi-hollow body?

[Notyethendrix]

How on earth can I change the pots and wires?  Say on a 335 body  :icon_scratch:

Anyone online guides/right tools/your thoughts will be appreciated

Cheers

 

[Orpheo]

solder the things you want to solder on the pot, and use wires and tongs to pull the pot through the hole. its a fidly job, I know. but it works.

 

[jackthehack]

I've had to do this twice in my guitar career and it's a total pain in the ass...

Basically the safest way to do this is to pull both PUs, undo all mounting screws and pull the entire wiring harness out of the guitar through the PU hole(s). Replace whatever components need be; if working on a non-vintage Epi 335, just go ahead and replace ALL the pots with CTS's while you've got it apart. Make sure you don't shorten ANY of the wiring leads. To get it back together, run pieces of monofilament fishing line back through each control hole and tie it around the screw surface of each pot/switch/input jack with the same type knot you'd use to tie a fish hook with, and use those lines to pull each component back into it's hole.

 

[Soloshchenko]

I've always wondered that.

Nightmare!

 

[Funky Phil]

Indeed it is a nightmare to do!

I've tried various methods, and the end result is always the same...bad language and even a little blood! 

There is a DVD from Stew Mac which shows how Dan Erlewine does it...
It involves dental tools and a bit of luck.

jackthe hack is right...you might as well chang any cheap bits to top quality ones, as you won't want to be doing it again any time soon!

 

[jackthehack]

Dental tools? Try the fishing line technique; use the knot shown in the link below and pull it real tight. The pot shafts/toggle switch pole will pull through and you can wiggle them to get the screw threads through pretty easy, the input jack's a little trickier, you can use a small screwdriver in the input hole to line it up once it's pulled close.

http://www.lake-link.com/anglers/knots/knotdetails.cfm?KnotID=1

 

[-CB-]

Fishing line works. 

One drop of super glue to hold the star washers in place on the pots.  ONE drop.  ONE.  A small one at that.

Make a template from the guitars layout, using cardboard.  Get the spacing EXACT.  Assemble the pots on it, do all the hookups and wiring.  Take the pots off, get the strings thru the body holes and onto the correct pots. 

Some guitars stuff thru the f/hole, in which case you need to get the pickups on, and solder the wires as they stick up thru the f/hole. 

Some guitars have a hole in the bridge pickup route.  You'll need to get the neck pickup lead sticking up from that hole, solder it in place and then stuff the controls in.  Keep in mind, you need to stuff the jack in there too.  On a 335, the switch goes in there too.

Gibson uses shrink tubing "unshrunk" to cover the various braided leads so they wont touch things like the switch... or hot leads. 

When you got it all mechanically in,  do like Gibson, take a wire and wrap up the extra braid and keep it in a safe place (they actually solder the wire to both braids - each pickup cable... keeps the noise down). 

And thats that.  Its not a total pain in the ass.  More like a root canal. :laughing7:

 

[Notyethendrix]

wow, thanks a lot!

I'm trying the fishing line method now!  :headbang:

 

[Notyethendrix]

the input jack's a little trickier, you can use a small screwdriver in the input hole to line it up once it's pulled close.

I did it, but I hope I don't have to do it again, this is THE worst part of the job

 

[Notyethendrix]

I just did a second time..... changing pickups.....

it took me 2 hours..... after soldering everything  :confused4: :confused4: :confused4: :confused4: :confused4:

 

[-CB-]

Did I fail to mention that some people actually LIKE root canals?

 

[stubhead]

Some people actually resort to making a solidbody sound the way they want it to instead.... :toothy12: