New wiring for guitar electronics. Is it worth it?

hypermused · Post by **hypermused** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:08 pm

Is it worth to change all the original cables that a guitar brings from factory with a better ones?
I've a mexican j5 triple telecaster deluxe and I'm seriously thinking about it.

In other words, what electronics should I replace (besides pickups) ?

Cheers.

mcconnachiea · Post by **mcconnachiea** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:11 pm

pots and switches might be an idea.

How old is your guitar?

endsjustifymeans · Post by **endsjustifymeans** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:13 pm

If your not having a problem with buzz/scratchiness and your not replacing the pups I wouldn't bother.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:35 pm

What is it about the guitar as it is that you dislike or would like to change?
This will help decide what you could change.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:23 pm

If you're doing this because you feel your guitar being made in Mexico is somehow a bad thing then you would do better to replace your misconceptions with an open-mind and just get on with it. Your guitar is fine. Leave it alone.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:27 pm

Please post pics. I love that guitar.

Will · Post by **Will** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:44 pm

Pots and switches should already be good CTS stuff if it's MIM.
I've had issues with wires breaking on MIM Fenders, but I've only had 2 so my experience is limited. Decent stranded copper wire wouldn't be a terrible idea.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:45 pm

Don't. Fix. What. Isn't. Broken.

Will · Post by **Will** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:57 am

Mike wrote:Don't. Fix. What. Isn't. Broken.

Truth here.

But, there's something to be said for preventative repairs. For example, the first time I took my MIM Tele apart 2 wires broke under hardly any strain and I could see a couple others that were barely hanging on. They were just really thin things that had been poorly soldered at the factory. Rewiring a tele isn't a big deal, so I did it and never had another wire break. If your guitar has good wiring, don't bother.

I recapped my Ampeg today because one of the filter caps was starting to bulge. It didn't need to be done, but I run it hard and it's my only rehearsal/performance amp so it made sense to preempt failure.

You can't just say "Yeah, it's from Mexico so it's crap and imma redo it all" cause that's not true. It's a case-by-case thing; you look at the wiring and parts and decide whether or not you're comfortable with the quality. If not, upgrade.

As for the PUPs, unless you're after a dramatically different tone I don't see what would be gained by changing them.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:08 am

Mike wrote:Don't. Fix. What. Isn't. Broken.

Trew. I replaced the Japanese pots in my Jaguar, thinking the american made pots must be bettter. Uneven taper, weak feel. If you HAVE to, get high quality pots, at least not $2.50 CTS pots, they suck.

Will · Post by **Will** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:13 am

cobascis wrote:
Mike wrote:Don't. Fix. What. Isn't. Broken.
Trew. I replaced the Japanese pots in my Jaguar, thinking the american made pots must be bettter. Uneven taper, weak feel. If you HAVE to, get high quality pots, at least not $2.50 CTS pots, they suck.

Hmmm... I've always found CTS much better then anything else. I think they're all I use.

holyCATS1415 · Post by **holyCATS1415** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:22 am

i replaced the wire in my MIJ mustang with cloth wire. mostly out of boredom and for practice. the original wires were
pretty thin but there was no difference afterwards besides looking neater.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:32 am

DuoSonicBoy wrote:
cobascis wrote:
Mike wrote:Don't. Fix. What. Isn't. Broken.
Trew. I replaced the Japanese pots in my Jaguar, thinking the american made pots must be bettter. Uneven taper, weak feel. If you HAVE to, get high quality pots, at least not $2.50 CTS pots, they suck.
Hmmm... I've always found CTS much better then anything else. I think they're all I use.

Really? I guess these are the low quality version. Angelas sells some of the CTS 'Fender' variety that are pricier, around 8 bucks for 2 jaguar pots. I heard these brass shafted ones are alot better. But im a n00b

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:28 am

I am a fan of CTS pots as well. I bought a wiring harness from from a 70s RI strat for my strat. the taper is wonderful. the sprague orange drop is also a really great sounding cap.

I wouldn't suggest just arbitrarily replacing parts but as duosonicboy has stated before you can modify your guitar's sound a lot by changing your pots around. different value/brand/type caps have different sounds too.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:49 am

As far as changing the sound, 1meg pots are a popular upgrade on re-issue Wide Range humbuckers. Not much else will benefit from straight replacement, I'm sure it has the right caps and everything already.

If you're down to rewire the entire guitar now you're probably down to find a problem wire and re-solder it when it comes loose, which will take much less time to fix... and that's if it happens at all.

m0n0mania · Post by **m0n0mania** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:15 pm

be sure to use tonez solder when you do it