Les Paul wiring help pretty please

DinoMikeSr

DinoMikeSr

I have the box
I have a P90 LP and it’s a bit bright and I am going switch caps. Looking at these 2 diagrams, you see the caps are wired differently. At the moment, mine is wired up lime the Fralin diagram. Anyone know why the caps are wired differently? Thank you.

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Found it. 50’s, caps connected to volume and tone, stays brighter when knobs are at 5, basically. I get it I think and probably not what I’m looking for.
 
DinoMikeSr said:
Reading more, one must be the “50’s” version.
Click to expand...

Yep... this was going to be my response. I think there is a solid reason that Dave Grissom does dual volume with single tone... the interaction of two volume knobs is enough... when you combine two tone knobs as well, it's too many to adjust on the fly IMO.
 
When I bought my Gibson Tribute LP with P-90's, it had 300K ohm pots. IMO, it sounded quite brittle and harsh. Had a good discussion with Doug Kauer and he preferred 500K pots. While I love the edge of P90s, the 500K pots took the nastyness that I did not like away, Now the guitar screams more and is tamed.

As for the diagram of 50's vs modern,


Modern and vintage ("50s") guitar pickup wiring differ primarily in how the tone capacitor connects to the volume and tone potentiometers, which changes how the knobs interact with each other.

Modern Wiring
Modern wiring keeps the volume and tone controls independent and predictable.
    • How it works: The tone capacitor connects to the input (hot) lug of the volume pot.
    • Pros: Adjusting the tone knob does not change your overall volume level.
    • Cons: Turning down the volume knob bleeds high frequencies to the ground, making your tone sound darker.
    • Hookup wire: Modern pickups often use multi-conductor PVC-coated wire, which supports advanced features like coil splitting.

Vintage ('50s) Wiring
Vintage wiring creates an interactive circuit where the controls affect one another.
    • How it works: The tone capacitor connects to the middle (output) lug of the volume pot instead of the input.
    • Pros: Turning down the volume knob retains high-end clarity and treble frequencies much better.
    • Cons: Rolling down the tone knob can slightly reduce your overall signal volume, and the knobs interact in complex ways. As noted in a discussion on The Gear Forum, opinions are mixed, as some players love the extra tonal versatility while others prefer the consistency of modern setups.
    • Hookup wire: Vintage setups typically use braided metal shield or waxed cloth-coated wire.
    • .
 
Common Capacitor Types
    • Ceramic: Cheap and common in vintage guitars, but can be microphonic or shift value with temperature changes.
    • Film (Polyester / Polypropylene / Orange Drop): Very stable, reliable, and resistant to temperature or moisture. Orange Drop caps are a popular standard upgrade.
    • Paper in Oil (PIO): Vintage-style caps prized by purists for a classic look and feel, though material differences have a subtle-to-debatable impact on actual sound.

Understanding Capacitor Values
    • 0.022 µF (22 nF): Standard choice for humbucker-equipped guitars like Gibson Les Pauls, offering a balanced treble cut.
    • 0.047 µF (47 nF): Standard for brighter single-coil pickups (Stratocasters and Telecasters), rolling off a wider band of highs for a warmer tone.
    • 0.015 µF to 0.01 µF: Smaller values that roll off only the absolute highest frequencies, retaining more clarity when the tone knob is adjusted.
 
Forgive me for barging in with my stupid opinion but I'll take modern wiring over 50s any day. For me the treble roll off doesn't become an issue until lower than 7 or so on the volume knob,,,and I never go lower than 7 unless I'm killing the volume completely., I guess a treble bleed circuit might help...IDk never tried it with a Gibson style guitar.
 
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Are the pickups too bright with volume and tone rolled off?

Very Bright = 1 meg ohm potentiometer
Less Bright = 500k ohm pot
Warm….…..= 300k ohm pot
Warmer……= 250k ohm pot

To convert a 500k ohm pot to roughly 300k ohms, for example, solder a 750k ohm resister in parallel across the two outer lugs (terminal 1and 3) of the pot. Try changing the value of the volume pot. Changing the tone pot will change the sound even more.

Perhaps, judging the sound of a guitar with volumes and tones maxed is not the best idea. Plenty of LP players prefer the sound with volume and tone rolled off some.

There’s an episode of “That Pedal Show” with Warren Haynes as guest. He explains exactly how he prefers his LP volumes and tones rolled off to get his sounds. He does not simply set and forget. He’s always working the knobs. But, I don’t think he’s ever got his volumes at max.

Here is a great video on how to work the middle position on a 2 pickup, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch guitar. The guitar is a 2 humbucker 335, but the same principles apply to a guitar with 2 P90’s….
 
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