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Author Topic: Help with P90 wiring........  (Read 8409 times)

russian hammer

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Help with P90 wiring........
« on: April 02, 2011, 06:08:44 PM »
Hey guys, I purchased a set of Stockholms with the bridge made to Pig90 specs. I'm installing them in my Edwards E-LP130-LTE and I've got some questions. First off, I want change the pots and caps. I see a lot of people using 500k pots and others using 250k pots for P90's. Which would be the best choice? There are also 300k pots, is that kind of splitting the difference? Also, should I use .22uf caps for both or .22uf for the bridge and .15uf for the neck? The other question I have is the Stockholms have the 2 wire w/ screen...... does the black go to the pot, white&screen to ground? Black to the pot, white to ground and the screen to nothing? I'm confused. The wiring diagrams on the webpage only show the P90's with single wire and shield..........I'm dumb. :(  I need the tone masters to help here. By the way, I play everything from straight forward rock up through stoner and doom.  My amps are a '78 Traynor YBA-1 and an Electric Amps MVU-120 both through an Electric Amps 6x12.

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Re: Help with P90 wiring........
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2011, 10:35:28 PM »
I had a few problems with teh wiring myself when i got my MQ.

I will take the back plate off tomorrow and tell you which wire is the hot one

Philly Q

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Re: Help with P90 wiring........
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2011, 02:48:16 PM »
I don't think it matters whether you wire white as hot and black as ground, or vice versa.  The black and white wires are the two ends of the pickup coil, the bare wire is to ground the chassis of the pickup.  So just make sure the bare/screen wire, plus one of the others, goes to ground, and the other wire goes to the hot lug of the pot.  And wire both pickups the same way or they'll be put of phase with each other.

The other two questions are a matter of taste.  P-90s are single-coils so you could argue the "conventional" pot value would be 250k, but they're often used with 500k.  I read recently that old Gibson Juniors had a 500k volume and 250k tone, but I've no idea whether they were wired that way as standard or whether they've varied it over the years.  Apparently the current ones have 300k volume and 500k tone, like most new Les Pauls.  I'm going to try the 500k vol/250k tone setup next time I rewire one of my Juniors.

Basically 500k will give you a slightly brighter tone, if that's what you like.

For the capacitors, the higher the value the more treble it will roll off.  If you don't like the neck pickup to get dark with the tone control turned down, try 0.015, but I'd probably start with 0.022 and see how it goes.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2011, 02:52:01 PM by Philly Q »
BKPs I've Got:  RR, BKP-91, ITs, VHII, CS set, Emeralds
BKPs I Had:  RY+Abraxas, Crawlers, BD+SM

russian hammer

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Re: Help with P90 wiring........
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2011, 01:44:38 PM »
Good info so far......... Anyone else?

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Re: Help with P90 wiring........
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2011, 03:27:42 PM »
I cant find my screwdrivers so i cant pull my RGA apart but send Tim a PM he will be able to give you the exact info.

best to get it direct from the source imho