What have I gotten myself into...?

[erogenousjones17]

Alright, so I'm working on an LP double-cutaway, and I'm very confused at the wiring stage.  Here are my issues right now:

1) Shielding: Copper tape?  Shielding paint?  No shielding?  I've heard various arguments for all of these.  Which is best?
2) Capacitors: I've got two Duncan Phat Cats, two volume pots (500k), no tone controls, and a three-way switch.  What value capacitors (if any) do I need?
3) Grounding: How do I ground a TOM bridge/tailpiece?
4) Wiring: Can someone lead me to a wiring diagram for my setup?  I can only find diagrams which include tone controls, and I don't want to modify any plans myself.

Also, I know that this isn't really the place to ask, but can anyone give me advice on installing TOM bridge posts?  Should they be hammered or pressed into a body?  I've seen tools to install the threaded posts, but what of the hollow "outer" posts?

Thanks.

 

[onedrop]

No tone controls, no capacitors.

For the tom posts, the general consensus seems to be tapping them in LIGHTLY with a small hammer (maybe covering it with a piece of cloth or cardboard to prevent damage). Before tapping in the posts, strip about an inch of insulation off a wire, and pound one of the posts in on top of it, this will be your bridge ground wire. If anyone knows a better method, I'd like to hear it too..

For the most part, you can just remove the tone pot from a wiring diagram (and any components connected to the tone pot - usually just a capacitor). Maybe there is a diagram on the SD site for this.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Thanks so much!  It's always great to get a nice, concice answer.  Any advice on shielding?

 

[dbw]

Shielding is a never-ending argument.  Orpheo says it's not worth it... on the other hand, it can't hurt.  If you're not sure, you can always add copper tape later.  Sounds like you're not much of an electronics guy... you may want to skip the shielding for now and add it if you feel the guitar is noisy.

 

[onedrop]

Everyone has different advice on shielding... So I think that's pretty much your call...

I have had guitars with no shielding and had no issues with hum (using humbuckers)... With single coils maybe you will notice more of an effect. There is a thread on here, Jack did some testing in a controlled hi-tech environment and shielding had surprisingly little (close to zero) effect.

That said, I ordered some shielding tape before reading up on all of this, so will probably use it...

Since you're using humbuckers and a very simple wiring, you probably don't need it, is my opinion for what it's worth..

Edit: whoops, phat cat is a p-90, but they have metal covers, which will help shield the pups, shielding the control cavity may not make much difference, your call...

 

[ildar]

Just to stir the pot a bit, you can use caps for a treble bleed application. This is to retain some treble (brightness) as you turn the volume down. It's most helpful with the neck pickup, imo.

 

[Johnhamdun]

Alright, so I'm working on an LP double-cutaway, and I'm very confused at the wiring stage.  Here are my issues right now:

1) Shielding: Copper tape?  Shielding paint?  No shielding?  I've heard various arguments for all of these.  Which is best?
2) Capacitors: I've got two Duncan Phat Cats, two volume pots (500k), no tone controls, and a three-way switch.  What value capacitors (if any) do I need?
3) Grounding: How do I ground a TOM bridge/tailpiece?
4) Wiring: Can someone lead me to a wiring diagram for my setup?  I can only find diagrams which include tone controls, and I don't want to modify any plans myself.

Also, I know that this isn't really the place to ask, but can anyone give me advice on installing TOM bridge posts?  Should they be hammered or pressed into a body?  I've seen tools to install the threaded posts, but what of the hollow "outer" posts?

Thanks.

For your consideration, I just ordered a wiring kit from AcmeGutiarWorks - can't comment on it yet as I literally ordered a few seconds before navigating back to this page, but the set seems pretty complete. They may not have your configuration available but its worth looking at

 

[erogenousjones17]

Thanks a lot folks!