A little shocked, actually

gball

gball

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So at present I have 7 Gibson electrics. Of those, only one came from the factory with a circuit board: my 2017 SG Standard. About a month or so ago the neck volume pot started to get funky, and then finally was just whack, so I decided to buy a wiring harness and replace the board instead of trying to replace the pot on the board. Anyway, ordered a prewired harness from Mojotone, also got a set of pickups, but I decided they are going in another guitar (a long and unrelated story there), so I kept the Classic '57's in my Standard.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting any real difference but it is shocking how much the tone of the guitar improved with the new harness. It's bigger and fuller sounding, with a lot more weight in the lower mids than before. The pickups also seem louder and more articulate (and now I am very glad about the decision to keep them in this guitar).

So...turns out I was wrong about the circuit boards and now none of my guitars have one. Anyone else have this experience changing out one of these boards?
 
gball said:
So at present I have 7 Gibson electrics. Of those, only one came from the factory with a circuit board: my 2017 SG Standard. About a month or so ago the neck volume pot started to get funky, and then finally was just whack, so I decided to buy a wiring harness and replace the board instead of trying to replace the pot on the board. Anyway, ordered a prewired harness from Mojotone, also got a set of pickups, but I decided they are going in another guitar (a long and unrelated story there), so I kept the Classic '57's in my Standard.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting any real difference but it is shocking how much the tone of the guitar improved with the new harness. It's bigger and fuller sounding, with a lot more weight in the lower mids than before. The pickups also seem louder and more articulate (and now I am very glad about the decision to keep them in this guitar).

So...turns out I was wrong about the circuit boards and now none of my guitars have one. Anyone else have this experience changing out one of these boards?
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Wow! Sorry to hear of the trouble, but glad you seem to have it sorted.
I only have one circuit board Gibson(out of five), and it’s one of my favorite sounding Gibsons.
I wonder if the failing pot had been a dud for longer than you thought...draining the circuit somehow?
I do know that upon discovery of the circuit board in my 2012 SG, I promised myself that if I ever notice a change in tone....it was getting yanked completely. It’s too easy to work on and diagnose a traditional wiring harness to even think about wasting the time on a faulty circuit board.(IMO)
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Wow! Sorry to hear of the trouble, but glad you seem to have it sorted.
I only have one circuit board Gibson(out of five), and it’s one of my favorite sounding Gibsons.
I wonder if the failing pot had been a dud for longer than you thought...draining the circuit somehow?
I do know that upon discovery of the circuit board in my 2012 SG, I promised myself that if I ever notice a change in tone....it was getting yanked completely. It’s too easy to work on and diagnose a traditional wiring harness to even think about wasting the time on a faulty circuit board.(IMO)
Click to expand...

I always liked the sound of the guitar but you could be right, something may have been off, because these '57 Classics sound really incredible now, like a new set of pickups almost.
 
eSGEe said:
This ones gonna shock ya too Gball............I have several Gibbos ----- with NON Gibbo (low dollar china pickups) that sound, BETTER, than they did with the stock Gibbos......its a revelation revolution
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Hahahahaha! I was just thinking....I have 3 Gibsons(out of 5) with non Gibson pickups, and I have put Gibson pickups in to 3 non-Gibson guitars....2 of which I still have.
 
eSGEe said:
I had to replace one circuit board.........becasue I was replaceing KNOBS ............and when i pulled UP on the OLD knob --- the entire shaft just came right out ---- :(
that sucked large donkey scrotum---and required solder. :( :(
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That happened to me with a Peavey Tracer!(no circuit board)
One speed knob was fine when I removed it, and the second one was removed just as easily....but it had an extra dangly bit with it...I just figured it was a male and female set for a second ;)
 
mcblink said:
I was about to ask when exactly did the boards become a thing? Must have been selected models, my 2016 has no such witchcraft hidden within
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Not sure exactly...I think they started in a few LP models between 2005-2010 IIRC. I remember being asked if my 06 LP Studio had one by someone who was upset to have found one in their Standard of the time. It was kinda spotty when I picked up 2 of my SGs around 2012...the Special 60s tribute didn’t have one, but the Standard did.
 
The first one I ever had with a circuit board was a 2014 SGJ. This Standard is the third Gibson I have had with one, so not sure 100% when they started and ended the use of them. Actually, it seemed like a good idea to me but now I realize there is a good reason they are not using them any more.
 
The 2016 SG Standard that I had was equipped with the PCB and a set of 490R/498T p’ups.
It sounded really good. Gone now though in a several guitar trade that netted my PRS McCarty.
 
I had a 2013 SGJ and a 2013 50’s Tribute SG, both with circuit boards. I replaced the board in the SGJ because I wanted 50’s style wiring. I replaced the pickups at the same time so it’s hard to say if deep sixing the circuit board made a difference.
 
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