Members johnrambo Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 i've been GASing for a hollowbody and have been looking at a few and it dawned on me... how the hell do you rewire one of those things? am i missing something. i guess you could wire the pots before you install them but can you fit your hand in the holes for the pickup to reach down there and mount them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OvertoneZero Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 I've been wondering about this as well. I think you need to wire it up through the holes where the pickups and jack go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Ask dewees, he has a few good pics of how he does it. Explaining it would take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than having him just post the pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members walfordr Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Patience and string are essential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlackHatHunter Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 I wire all my guitars myself... except for those. It's worth paying some guy to do it imho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted May 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Patience and string are essential. yeah i was kind of wondering if you had to fish stuff thru with string. makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members walfordr Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Yes. You tie string (or wire) to the pickups, pots & switches. Pull them out through the f-holes (or pickup hole). Replace whatever needs replacing and use the string to pull them back through the right holes. Takes f-ing ages and should only be done if really necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted May 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 how large is the hole below the pickups typically? just big enough to get the wires thru or the size of the pickup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members walfordr Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Depends on the guitar. If it's a full hollow there's a bit of space under the pickups. If it's a semi-hollow there's a centre block in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johnrambo Posted May 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 thanks for clearing that stuff up. hollowbody GAS is in full effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackbelt1 Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 Why would you need to rewire it? Buy a hollow body that has the pickup set in it you like, from the get-go... ~Blackbelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted May 5, 2007 Members Share Posted May 5, 2007 it is one of those things that is a real pain the first few times then you get pretty good at it. i used to swap pickups and custom wire everything, add switched pots and extra toggles, etc, so i was always yanking out the innards of the hollowbodies. I used fishing line, sewing thread, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, kite string, and tygon tubing. Ultimately i found the tubing or the pipe cleaners were best because the extra stiffness could help maneuver pot shafts right back into place and there was no tangling if you had 6 lines or more(4 pots, 1 jack, 1 toggle, etc). As mentioned, if it is a fully hollow, everything comes out the pickup rout - very easy. for a semi-hollow - different story: I had an Epi Sheraton (w/center block) and all the electronics had to come out the lower bout F-hole. The replacement pots i used were too large to fit thru so i had to slightly modify the F-hole to accommodate. once you fish everything out, lay it out (upside down) on a towel on top of the guitar and solder it up, minding the distances between mounting holes, then flip over and gently feed each pice back through in reverse order of how they came out. pull your tubes/pipe cleaners/string right through the holes and re-install the washers/nuts. viola! after years of perfecting my technique, all my guitars these days have externally mounted electronics plus an end pin jack, so it is not an issue. ah well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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