Rob's Brand New Used 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute Project:

Robert Herndon said:
Those were stock...going BLACK...
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Sort of like this...my 2008 Gibson LP Studio that is so black it could not be labelled any more blacker?:wink:

full



;>)/
 
 
You know....if I could quiet down this PCB, I might keep it.

The traces on the back of the board could be taped so that they didn't ground to the copper tape.

Thoughts???
 
You know you can get circuit board lacquer in a spray can quite cheaply Robert. Mask up the pots etc & give the board a couple of coats. The lacquer can be soldered through easily if ever needed & will insulate it well. Cheers
 
ivan H said:
You know you can get circuit board lacquer in a spray can quite cheaply Robert. Mask up the pots etc & give the board a couple of coats. The lacquer can be soldered through easily if ever needed & will insulate it well. Cheers
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Good idea!!!

Yes, I'm thinking I might experiment with keeping the Gibson PCB. I measured the Gibson pots and all are in the 480-510k ohm range with 0.22uf tone capacitor pills.

Other than the buzzing - that goes away when the strings are touched - (something all 5 of my new Gibson's did even with verified grounds and went totally away in the SG when shielded) the tone is actually very good.

Even the 13.8k 498T doesn't have a typical high-output "snarl" and its actually quite articulate.

Just thinking out loud....
 
gball said:
Robert, I do have to admire your tenacity. You’ve given more thought to noise/RF interence in this one post (not to mention the many others) than I have in all of my 41 years playing guitar. No-one can accuse you of letting something go!
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I do appreciate your patience and input on this topic of noise reduction.

It's a curse I think...

Dad always instilled a fix-it/improve it mindset and it kind of spilled over into every aspect of my life.

We had an AM radio tower less than a mile from the family recording studio. We used to pick up the signal through the guitars, cables on tape...everywhere.

Mom always used to critique the signal and, in those days, you didn't have digital capability, so noise couldn't be pulled out during mixdown.

Dad shielded everything. Aluminum sheet on the walls, in the switch boxes, running wire through aluminum conduit , foil around mic cables - and it really helped - but the guitars were still playing the radio programs and it was bad enough that sometimes we had to stop recording.

When we were recording at Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield in 1978, I recall a very noisy Telecaster and producer Jim Shaw had us move around the room until the buzz was at its lowest point, then stand in that spot to play.

I used to listen to Rory Gallagher on the Old Grey Whistle Stop and his rig buzzed so loud he almost had to shout over it.

I thought there's gotta be a better way.

Through my Mom, I got in touch with Semie Moseley and he gave me all the information I could write down about how to shield a guitar.

On my 1959 Sears Silvertone, I shielded it with aluminum foil and glue, then installed a Duncan Quarter Pounder and it was noisy as hell. Again, through Mom's contacts, I got in touch with Bill Lawrence.

Bill told me to take an old single coil pickup, dip it in wax, then mount it in the (huge) control cavity of my chambered Silvertone. He mailed me a wire diagram and when it arrived, I followed it to the letter. I didn't realize it back then, but this was an ingeniously simple dummy coil - and that guitar became dead quiet.

I really like being able to plug a guitar in, crank it up and just hear nothing more than the "rushing wind" sound of the tube sections.

So, I'm trying to be less extreme in this build. If the PCB will respond to shielding the way a regular harness does, then why not use it???
 
The 50's Tribute as received:

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First modifications:

IMG_20180502_20228.jpg

IMG_20180502_12790.jpg

IMG_20180502_268.jpg

Thought I had a new black pickguard here somewhere, but I may have given it away...can't seem to find it!!!
 
Robert Herndon said:
I do appreciate your patience and input on this topic of noise reduction.

It's a curse I think...

Dad always instilled a fix-it/improve it mindset and it kind of spilled over into every aspect of my life.

We had an AM radio tower less than a mile from the family recording studio. We used to pick up the signal through the guitars, cables on tape...everywhere.

Mom always used to critique the signal and, in those days, you didn't have digital capability, so noise couldn't be pulled out during mixdown.

Dad shielded everything. Aluminum sheet on the walls, in the switch boxes, running wire through aluminum conduit , foil around mic cables - and it really helped - but the guitars were still playing the radio programs and it was bad enough that sometimes we had to stop recording.

When we were recording at Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield in 1978, I recall a very noisy Telecaster and producer Jim Shaw had us move around the room until the buzz was at its lowest point, then stand in that spot to play.

I used to listen to Rory Gallagher on the Old Grey Whistle Stop and his rig buzzed so loud he almost had to shout over it.

I thought there's gotta be a better way.

Through my Mom, I got in touch with Semie Moseley and he gave me all the information I could write down about how to shield a guitar.

On my 1959 Sears Silvertone, I shielded it with aluminum foil and glue, then installed a Duncan Quarter Pounder and it was noisy as hell. Again, through Mom's contacts, I got in touch with Bill Lawrence.

Bill told me to take an old single coil pickup, dip it in wax, then mount it in the (huge) control cavity of my chambered Silvertone. He mailed me a wire diagram and when it arrived, I followed it to the letter. I didn't realize it back then, but this was an ingeniously simple dummy coil - and that guitar became dead quiet.

I really like being able to plug a guitar in, crank it up and just hear nothing more than the "rushing wind" sound of the tube sections.

So, I'm trying to be less extreme in this build. If the PCB will respond to shielding the way a regular harness does, then why not use it???
Click to expand...

I can relate somewhat. My father was an electrical engineer who by trade worked at the Naval Research Laboratory designing missile guidance and radar systems. As a hobby he built electronics - everything in our house growing up was built by my dad, the TV, the radios, the intercom, all of it. It all worked flawlessly and lasted forever. I wish more of what he knew had rubbed off on me, but the few things I did get from him have helped immensely in the basic understanding of things. Like all the reasons circuit boards are superior to PtP, especially in an audio circuit, or practical stuff like how to drain a capacitor and create a proper solder joint. Damn I miss him.
 
gball said:
I can relate somewhat. My father was an electrical engineer who by trade worked at the Naval Research Laboratory designing missile guidance and radar systems. As a hobby he built electronics - everything in our house growing up was built by my dad, the TV, the radios, the intercom, all of it. It all worked flawlessly and lasted forever. I wish more of what he knew had rubbed off on me, but the few things I did get from him have helped immensely in the basic understanding of things. Like all the reasons circuit boards are superior to PtP, especially in an audio circuit, or practical stuff like how to drain a capacitor and create a proper solder joint. Damn I miss him.
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I bet....
 
So, I'm in a good place.

I'm super happy with my double neck. No.planned modifications.

The SG was totally transformed by installing the Burstbucker Pro's and dropping the pole pieces and raising the bobbins to about 3/32"

The Les Paul has been a real surprise too. I was expecting to have a sky-high tailpiece and bridge but nope, both are almost floored. Neck is great. Even sounds decent. First fret string height is good and intonation is super close, plus it arrived from Massachusetts in tune - Wasn't expecting that.

I looked at some other Gibson pickups with Quick Connect, but the 61's are very low (7.3k) and the 57 Classic + is around 8.3k, so I'm feeling like the 498T should be given a chance before just arbitrarily pulling it out.

The fretboard was super dry, so i rubbed it down with lemon oil. I will also install the aluminum tailpiece on the Les Paul at the first string change.

It's coming together!!!!
 
Robert Herndon said:
So, I'm in a good place.

I'm super happy with my double neck. No.planned modifications.

The SG was totally transformed by installing the Burstbucker Pro's and dropping the pole pieces and raising the bobbins to about 3/32"

The Les Paul has been a real surprise too. I was expecting to have a sky-high tailpiece and bridge but nope, both are almost floored. Neck is great. Even sounds decent. First fret string height is good and intonation is super close, plus it arrived from Massachusetts in tune - Wasn't expecting that.

I looked at some other Gibson pickups with Quick Connect, but the 61's are very low (7.3k) and the 57 Classic + is around 8.3k, so I'm feeling like the 498T should be given a chance before just arbitrarily pulling it out.

The fretboard was super dry, so i rubbed it down with lemon oil. I will also install the aluminum tailpiece on the Les Paul at the first string change.

It's coming together!!!!
Click to expand...

I would definitely give the stock pickups a shakedown cruise before ditching them. I quite like that set.
 
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