Gibson SG Standard Mod pt 1 capacitor & pickups = Maximum Sustain

[BlueberryNinjas]

Do you believe that a Fender Squier would also benefit from these modifications? I recently had a mini-humbucker installed to make it sound more like a Strat. This guitar is my baby and I would hate to have to move on to a nicer guitar.

[patfurlan]

@BlueberryNinjas ummm the 300k to 500k conversion is for Gibsons made from 1970 on wards ... if I want more power out of a strat I will change the volume from 250k to 300k or 500k ... tough you gain treble along with power when you do this

[BlueberryNinjas]

@patfurlan Thank you. I think I'll just have to do that.

[patfurlan]

allparts are what I go with ... but the tonepros may be better

[Radhazardman]

Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but is this just a hobby for you or do you make a living as a technician?

[patfurlan]

@Radhazardman this is a hobby but I do take it seriously, the goal is to get the best guitar sound I can and share it with others so that more people can make great music

[Radhazardman]

@patfurlan Awesome. You just seem well versed in this. I appreciate the informative video. I'm looking into some aluminum stopbars and bridges for my SG. I'm considering Tonepros locking set, but they are a bit pricey. Do you have any recommendations?

[JakeHoyle92]

Do you have any advice on extracting the bridge and tailpiece studs?

[patfurlan]

@JakeHoyle92

google

Stew mac Knob and Bushing Puller

[JakeHoyle92]

@JakeHoyle92 Thanks for the advice

[Binglung]

Well put Professor.

Grade A Instruction.

Veteran Techniques.

[rhye999]

nice cat

[patfurlan]

smartest & sweetest cat ever

[patfurlan]

 TP-3407-001

[Grim177]

Great videos! Could you possibly tell me the part number for the tailpiece? I'm trying to find the same one on the UK Allparts?

[Bossa4Sol]

Hi,

Can you explain me why do you add a paralel 500K res to the 500K pot?

It will create a 250K pot as I see.

What's the reason for using this low resistance with powerfull humbuckers?

Regards

Sol

[patfurlan]

the 500k is not across the entire pot ! it it connected between the hot wiper and the hot terminal...

it halves the resistance the signal sees making the pickup sound less thin when the volume is below 10

When the pot is full up those two wipers are parked on top of each other & the resistor is out of the circuit

and you have 500k to ground as would be normal ...

[Binglung]

@patfurlan similar to a treble bleed with a disc cap.

[patfurlan]

I change the resistor value used based on the taper I want...

250k was probably too fast a taper with these pots and pickups

[SonicOasis]

First off, great video instruction, I got a lot out of it. On some of the guitar forums, when recommending a volume taper mod most say to use a resistor at about half of the value of the pot value. Could you explain why you use a resistor of the same value as the pot. I've been wanting to try this mod out for a while now.

Thanks,

[EHXGUY]

You should of used .02mf bumblebee capacitors. But the ones you're using are good too.

[patfurlan]

The old SG's used disc caps...

I chose not to use bumble bees for the same reason I did not use PAF's

or Vintage Pots...

Its about what you can do with average gear and a few choice parts

anyone can get

[slovan]

What pots did you use in this video?

[patfurlan]

allparts 500k I believe they are made by CTS

[JakeHoyle92]

Why did Gibson stop using the 500k pots?

[patfurlan]

they didn't tell me ! But I think they did this in the 70's so that the guitars would not make the amp distort ... and to make the volume changes smoother.

[GuitarRocks23455]

Wow, your a smart guy. you really know what your doing. I know nothing about this stuff!

[patfurlan]

not really I learned a lot from the world of Hot Rod car guys ... they look at every detail of their machine and "blueprint" or perfect every little detail in the interest

of better performance ...

The same process has great results when applied to good quality available guitars

[MrBcoolday]

Hey great video!!! I replaced the 300k pots on my SG to 500k. I have a compensated bridge on my guitar any sugestions for a better bridge? What about the space under the bridge screws?

[IAMASCIENTISTgbv]

Is it possible to do the same Mod on a gibson Flying V?

[patfurlan]

yes, all gibsons from the 80's to 2009 used this setup... the newer ones have smaller pots and a circuit board but could be adapted

[stirfrycomedy]

Great video.

Could you explain again why you use a 500k resistor on the 500k pot? Still confused...

[patfurlan]

The 500k resistor is in paralell with the carbon strip on the signal side of the pot.

This makes the pot roll up faster when doing swells it also reduces the TONE change that happens when you turn down the volume slightly. Its the same result as expensive boutique replacement guitar pots... but resistors only cost 3c

[fretboarder]

hi, i just got soem 50's bumblebee caps from ebay..is there anything i should be watching out fro before i try and install them? cheers..

[patfurlan]

nope just make sure you measure everything...

I look at it just like building a hi performance car

detail detail detail

[fretboarder]

the guy said the were 22f 400v..think thats the normal rate for bb's for a vintage lp. plus he said they were tested my a local guitar tech,not that i can take that as gospel being ebay but il get the guy who'l install the to check them..what device do you use to check caps? cheers..

[patfurlan]

I don't check caps other than by ear but I do measure all of the pots carefully since you always find huge tolerances

[diveplane]

love my sg special limited edition all stock , cream with gold hardware

[KevinFL]

Great Video. As a fellow Luthier I recognize those mods & I can tell you, it really improves the sound of the guitar. If I ohm out a pot that's a bit low, I put it on the rhythm tone. Again, nice video

[patfurlan]

yep and you can go the other way 1 meg pots

if you want to hit the amp input really hard ...

[troyguitarist]

Great stuff Pat! I changed the pots on a SG supreme to 500K, changed the pickups hi-end PAFs and out in paper&oil caps. Worlds of difference! Here's another idea: my SG was a bit bright sounding (ebony board, maple top), and I didn't want to change the pu's or the 500k volume pots (I would loose some clarity that way), so I changed the bridge tone pot from 500K to 250K. It sounds just a bit warmer and it didn't effect the clarity =)