How to Wire a Les Paul Toggle Switch (Using Braided Guitar Wire)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- Step by step tutorial on wiring a Switchcraft Les Paul 3 way toggle switch as found in many high end guitars (not just the Les Paul). In this video we wire the Les Paul switch in the "Gibson" style by using braided guitar wire.
We show you how to wire the Les Paul switch and demonstrate what each lug on the switch does.
The Switchcraft 3 way toggle switch is a top of the range switch and well worth the investment for your Les Paul (Gibson or otherwise).
This switch comes included as part of our Les Paul wiring kit and this video was made in response to customer requests wanting pointers on how to wire it using the braided guitar wire provided.
For the photo guide of this tutorial - visit sixstringsuppl... the toggle switch
This switch comes included in our Les Paul Wiring Kit (short shaft version) available here sixstringsuppl...
Guitar Wiring Videos: • Guitar & Bass Wiring T...
Quick tip if your using this method for a les paul, angle the wires up/down instead of straight out before you solder them. Mine wouldnt fit in the cavity after i finished soldering. Great video none the less
Very good advice. This was the first video I recorded, since then, all prewired toggles that we sell get the wires bent in a downward position before being soldered. Comment pinned.
God, where was this 10 years ago when I discovered 50’s wiring lol
Do you have a video on how to wiring the toggle switch that is like a tiny box? And this tutorial is really helpful! Thank you
Wouldn't that depend if you were using a long or short switch? Learned the long switch is for the LP Traditional types and the short switch is for the studio models and SG's. I have a long switch in my LP now and bought a short one so the 3 wires would fit through the body and into the cavity. Rewired the long switch in a downward position. Long switch looks more heavy duty than the short Switchcraft ones. Yes, you have to angle the wires down to get it to fit in the cavity.
True I did mine like this video and it won’t fit. That being said I love this guys soldering videos, I’ve learned a lot and my soldering is vastly improved.
Everything I needed to know, and the resolution of the video is good enough I can see everything you're doing. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you for a very informative instruction. I tried it out on an old Gibson CS-336 that had been the victim of some very strange rewiring. It worked perfectly and now it sounds much better.
Poul Bjørn Berg glad to hear it Poul, enjoy!
I just want to say thanks for the video I've just done my first switchcraft toggle and the video is perfection considering I've never soldered before.
No problem! Glad it worked for you. Thanks for watching.
@@SixStringSupplieshow long the wire cable for toggle switchcraft To potensio needed. And to the jack output
Awesome. I'm wiring for the first time, p90's w/ 1 vol 1 tone and a 3 way toggle. This helped to clear up a lot of confusion, gonna go at it tomorrow.
No worries enjoy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Just finished my first Les Paul kit today, and your videos were extremely helpful in getting to the finish line!
You are my go to person for soldering, ty so much for sharing your knowledge
Thanks for subbing and watching - it is appreciated!
These Videos are such a great source of knowledge... very hands on. brought me from "know roughly how to do it" to " now i good a pretty good understanding .... " ;) thanks so much now my old Heritage H 150 is waiting for a makeover
Your viddies are excellent, thank you. Not a complaint but an FYI -- the heat shrink tubing on the 3 wires made the bundle too wide to fit my (ancient) Epiphone Les Paul. Thank you again.
nicely done, very nicely done . . . and the best part of the video was that there was no annoying loud ass clown audio track blaring in the background, simple, to the point, and clear and concise, thumbs up . . . .cheers
I can see what is being done and understand clearly. Best visual I've seen. Thanks so much!
some good ideas - just shouldering up my confidence in the stuff before I fix my Gibson; there are no luthiers or electronic shops where I live.
Hi, thank your for this very useful and well done vidéo, what is the thickness of your tinned copper wire please? Thanks!
Why doesn't Gibson do a better job to the likes of something like this, is beyond me especially the price you pay for them. Great vid, helped me out a lot!🎶✌
Best on the internet 👍🏻👍🏻 thanks 🙏
Hey thanks for the lifeline video. Rewiring a guitar that was a mess. You helped immensely
Great videos. Would it be any advantage by having a grounded terminal block?
All the ground wires could go to the block.
Thanks, no advantage, but no harm either
Would have been nice to mark the control cavity ends for location before installing the heat shrink.. Makes it a bit more challenging doesn't it?? ;)
Indeed! But I’ve done enough to have a good feel for it. I Should explain it in the video though. Thanks for watching and your feedback
Thought the same. Great video.
Good video. I appreciate you taking the time to show this. I would add coloring or labeling the two wires that connect to the hot sides of the toggle switch so you know which one connects to the bridge and neck pots
yea I threaded the braded shrink tube and now I have no idea which one goes to where...
Very clear presentation! Thank you. I'll give it another go on my LP.
Patrick O'Brien thanks Patrick - glad you found it useful.
I noticed that you don't use any kind of flux or resin when you solder. I was at the electronics store and they recommended using a 835 Rosin Flux RAtype flux/Non corrosive residue for leaded and lead free solder. If you use a resin core solder, a flux may not be needed but they say it won't hurt.
Thanks! Super thorough and well made vid.
Thankyou! Hope you find it useful.
Thanks for the tutorial. Do you have to ground all braids of the wires coming from the switch individually? Or would it suffice to ground one since they are soldered together right by the ground lug of the switch?
You have to ground the jack connection to the jack, and one of the braids to the volume pot. The other one can float about. Best to sodler it to stop it moving and touching something it shouldn't, but not essential. Thanks for watching
great video! what is the opening music? they sounded really good!
First time building an LP kit and could use your help. I am using braided wire from the toggle switch. I am also using long shaft cts push/pulls on both volumes. Since I will have space under the pots, from the point of entry into the wiring cavity can I wrap the braided wire under each pot, around the back of each shaft, solder/ground to the side of pot then solder to middle lug? There will be heat shrink tubing from cavity entry point to point of ground and again from ground to middle lug. Thank you.
Zabardast cheers from Toronto......My 3 way toggle switch for cherry red Epiphone DOT 3.....in the centre position, the Neck pickup goes off if the Bridge pickup Volume is Zero? Is this normal? I thought in the Centre position, the Bridge and Neck pickups Volumes were independent?
Nice example, just what i needed to know thanks.
How do you get the wired toggle into the cavity? Mine wouldn't go no matter how tight I wired it. Is it easier with the tall frame switch? Even with the tip off, would not fit. The guitar is a 2019 Gibson Les Paul studio.
do you have a video of a wiring a less paul 4 pot push/pull with Seymour Duncan P-rails without the 3 way toggle ( not the pickup switch). Darrel Braun did it in his ultimate epiphone video. That would be quite helpful because the diagrams are confusing and use the 3 way toggles instead of push/pull pots to switch between P90 and rails
Do you have to be super careful to not have the solder leak through the metal braid to the hot wire potentially causing a short? The metal braiding seems annoying to work with when you can just use simpler wire.
EvaSlash yes you do need to be careful. True, though the outer braid shields the inner wire. Long wires (as in travelling from the switch to the jack) are more susceptible to electrical interference and feedback. The outer braid reduces this.
Love the videos, got me thru my first 50's style upgrade (oscar schmidt oe20). But now i need a 2 volume 1 tone with 3 way from toggle to jack. Got a deal on a LTD ec-50 with buggered up wiring. Please help
Thanks spanky. Was it you who emailed this morning? Glad you enjoy the videos and will come back to you regarding your query in a couple of days.
Thanks. This was very helpful.
Do I need to use that ground type bared wire or I can use any normal strained copper wire to do this?
any wire will do
I bought a kit my my kit didn't come with middle ground wire. Does it need to be wrapped around if the ground wire is a plastic wire?
Can you do it with just regular wire? If so, what would the smallest gauge that’s usable?
Thanks
Nice and clean
This is a great video, however, when putting the toggle switch into the LP cavity, make sure that one can bend the wiring harness UPWARDS such that the switch doesn't get damaged working it into the cavity. Once inserted in the cavity, one should then bend the harness DOWNWARDS such that it is now straight. This is VERY important, as it is easy to break the the switch by forcing it sideways and placing too much lateral stress on the toggle control.
May i know the gauge of tinned copper wire ?
Might Be Good To Mark The Wires Before You Heat Shrink ?
Would it make more sense to cut back the ground shield wire from all three wires, tie together and solder to that middle ground large lug?
Njwisenheimer64 CNJ no. That braid is fragile...
Hey! Is there a reason why the two lugs are pushed together?
And I've rewired my lespaul but for some reason the bridge pickup combines itself with the neck pickup once i wire in the neck pickup into the switch - cant figure out the reason why .. any idea?
You don’t have to push them together - but your output wire needs to be connected to both lugs. So bending together makes this easier, t’is all.
And for your issue - most likely a faulty switch
Nice job!
Thanks for the video. Can you tell me if the wiring is the same for a 3-way toggle switch on a Fender Thinline Deluxe?
mheytman hi yes it is the same for Tele Deluxe
excellent video!, what diameter heat shrink tubing are you using for the three braided wires from the switch?
Thankyou! 7mm for the three braided wires and 3.5mm to cover the switch terminals.
Will this effect the sound I’m curious
It wouldn't effect it much, if anything you'd have a clearer signal from the guitar if done cleanly
Hi, I'm rewiring my Firebird, seems braided wire WITH the white woven celanese inside the black waxed coton is hard to find... I have some Gavitt but without the white woven celanese, do you know if it makes a difference?
Are "neck volume" and "bridge volume" the same as volume and tone? Because i have a less paul special II and i need to rewire the switch but i don't know if this tutorial is exclusive for les paul with 4 knobs
Very helpful 👍 cracking tutorial
Great vid, thanks!
Thanks gret video
How do you wire if you don't want to use braided wire?
How would you go about wiring two humbuckers, with braided wire, to a guitar with just one volume and one tone pot?
I have never seen that done on TH-cam because I guess it's not that common.
Run both hot wires from the pickups to the left lug on the volume pot and the ground to the back of the pot. Run a capacitor from center lug of volume pot to center lug of tone pot and a ground wire to the back of each. The left lug of volume and the right lug of tone pot gets bent back and soldered to the pot. Hope that helps. The switch gets wired the same way.
whit this method you don't need a ground wire to the bridge?
Great video really helped
Hi! So How do I install the THREE WAY SWITCH to the top circular hole. Since there is a tunnel of sorts from this down to the main area for the pots, do i a. Try and push to old switch down this tunnel? or b. disconnect the old switch and re solder the three wires to the new switch which would have to be pushed down the tunnel. I ask this becuase I have just bought a complete replacement harness with the 3 way switch ALREADY soldered with wire connected to the pots? This video didnt show how this should be done? What should I do please?
De-solder from pots, put switch through hole and then re solder. Companies should not be supplying Les Paul harnesses with the switch already soldered to pots 👍
@@SixStringSupplies Very helpful, thanks! actually I managed to pull the new switched already attatched to the harness through the tunnel using wire!
Can we make the same to gibson SG?
How do you hook up three pickups? Especially if you only have two volume controls.
Piece of cake
Would it be possible to use conductive glue instead of solder?
paul rawes I’ve never tried to be honest. Wouldn’t have thought so.
How do I know which one goes to the Neck Pickup and which one goes to Bridge Pickup?
David Rain Well you have to figure it. Out. Look at the path in the switch itself. You might not want to attempt this if you can't keep track of something that simple.
Wizzle I figured it out, thanks for the advice though
Awesome some video!
Many thanks!
Hi. Can anyone clarify something for me. Every other wiring diagram I've seen has the earth coming from the other end of the switch (hot to output jack). Does it not make any difference which way round it goes, or is this just for the Les
Paul vintage wiring?
The ground lug on switchcraft toggles is on the the opposite side to generic switches. Same principle
@@SixStringSupplies Thanks for your help and for your terrific videos!
Thank you!
Just wondering if its fit to the toggle hole?
Noli Calunia umyes if course - you may have to drill the toggle hole to 12mm diameter if it's a non US made guitar
What sizes of heat shrink tubing do you use?
EvaSlash 3.5mm on the individual terminals and 7.0mm for the braided wires sleeve.
Nice video
What size tinned copper wire do you use?
Lou Simpson 0.90mm / 20 swg
@@SixStringSupplies outstanding. Thanks so much!
Weird. I've never had a toggle with the ground being next to the two inputs.
it's the switchcraft design - most other manufacturers have the ground on the opposite side
Where does the ground wire go to?????
Andrew Russell wrapped around the three braided wires. As a result, all outer braids become grounded. Ground the outer braid of each wire to the volume pots and jack respectively
great thanks got it
I've seen some of your videos and I've got to say, you put together great videos and your work is very clean. But you need to stop huffing the helium. You sound like Mickey Mouse doing an impression of Harry Potter. LOL, just kidding. Keep up the great work. And thanks for all your videos. My tech is now out of a job, thanks to vids like these. Doing all my own work now. Thanks for saving me hundreds, and showing me a skill that can make me money. Awesome
Dustin MidNyte Driscoll thanks! Glad you like this vids and channel. Yeaj....you’re right. It’s because, all videos are filmed on an iPhone, when the video length gets to around 25 minutes it’s too big to upload (phone can’t handle it) so they have to be “sped up” to make the total size smaller. In the shorter, recent videos, you will hear my deep, growling voice in all its glory!
It can be a right fiddle... That's funny.
thanks I aim to lighten up the videos as much as possible given the tedious content!
2021 calling here. I use a BBQ lighter so I don't burn my fingers.
Volume warning at 13:28
Please work on your audio level.
I can barely hear you.... Thanks good video
That seems like a lot of wiring. It's useless. Why do you need so much material for ground wire?
Be more careful next time, your scratching the guitar up.
I can confirm that no guitars were harmed during the making of this video :) but thanks for the heads up, this is an old video and if done tomorrow, would be different. Thanks for watching, cheers.
This set up will NOT WORK with a Les Paul!!!!! All the leads must run so they trail out the bottom of the switch or you don’t have any room to install the switch into the guitar body! You have the common ground tinned wire stub hitting the side of the switch mounting hole and that common ground bus wire sticking out 90 degrees to mounting direction took up the rest of the space in the hole! This might work on an SG but no effin way will this wiring layout gat that switch in the hole to install! Now I have to buy another switch and more pushback wire! What a hack job!