Bare Knuckle Guide to '50s vs Modern Wiring

Gibson Les Pauls of the late 1950s had some really special features that contribute towards their long-standing status as true kings of guitar tone. One element of that is the way that their volume and tone controls were connected. In this video we go into how that differs from the modern way of wiring and what effect it has on your sound.
For the demonstration, we used a custom Daemoness single cut daemonessguitars.co.uk
loaded with our Steve Stevens signature "Rebel Yell" humbuckers www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/pickup/humbucker/rebel-yell
Custom CTS 550K pots www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/shop/product/bare-knuckle-cts-550k-potentiometer-long-shaft-1
and BKP/Jensen paper in oil tone capacitors www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/shop/product/bare-knuckle-jensen-capacitor
That was running straight into an Elmwood Modena M90 head, into a Greenback loaded Hughes & Kettner straight 4x12 and captured with an SE X1R ribbon microphone.

[@camel747]

I'd love to hear the comparison broken down into one to two second segments, my (and I think most people's) auditory memory is too short to compare segments minutes apart.

[@J.C...]

Fast forward and rewind. Easy peasy.

[@JHKNVY02]

Agreed, immediate back to back would be much preferred. Rolling back and forth you loose the ability to A/B

[@scriptureexamined4664]

Everything on 10: modern 1:54 | '50s 2:57 Max volume, tone rolled back: modern 2:10 2:16 2:23 | '50s 3:14 3:20 3:27 3:34 Tone below half, volume rolled back: modern 2:29 | '50s 3:39 Taper of volume pot: modern 2:46 | '50s 4:10

[@johnnasta]

These links are very helpful. You can really hear how the 50s wiring preserves the high end when you roll the volume back and forth.

[@Farold_Haltermeyer]

Thank you, so much easier!

[@familiarpurrson8744]

Wonderful; this was exactly what I was looking for. 50's it is.

[@MAMTROTH]

I appreciate the info and demos in this video, it was really insightful. I think a nice follow up utilizing cleaner tones would be a really nice addition too! Thanks for the vid!

[@kreinandru0424]

Can't believe I was just researching about this a while ago and 5 hours ago you just posted this video. Thanks! 😂

[@JoelGilardini]

I have the 50s wiring on all my guitars, and I love it. I feel the guitar tone this way is more focused and present.

[@nedim_guitar]

Excellent video! I love this kind of nerdiness. :) It's amazing how the guitar tone keeps its clarity with 50's wiring when you roll down the tone. I've got two Epiphone Les Pauls, and I might change the wiring on one of them.

[@baritonecult622]

This was so cool, great info as to what's going on inside with the wiring etc. Thumbs up from me guys, videos take a bunch of time and effort. Awesome content

[@BKPickups]

Thanks so much! Plenty more to come!

[@errflow]

Only after rolling back my phone volume to zero could I tell the difference. Cheers.

[@lone-wolf-1]

Thank you for the enlightement! 😃👍🏼

[@bradleyshuppert3393]

The best part of 50s wiring is being able to dime out some of your amps tone and volume controls, higher than what you normally use, and backing off the volume and tone knobs on the guitar to your original taste, then when you need an apparent boost for leads, turn up your tone and or volume off the guitar....instant at your fingers control without stepping on a pedal...think Hendrix... it works!!

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

Exactly

[@tobaccyjuice]

Right on! ...just did this and now the volume pot has a full sweep, sweeeeet. Before,,, the whole sweep was in the first 3rd, not no more ! Thanks

[@zarbog8618]

THANK YOU!!!

[@J.C...]

I definitely prefer 50s wiring. Glad to know that before I replace my pots later today.

[@m4d_mark_xtr3me79]

I deffinatley noticed some high treble bleed from the 50s I think that's what gives it it's character. It picks up dynamic pic articulation, the glassy acoustics and the smooth wooly sound when the tones rolled back. Mostly positives 👍

[@BKPickups]

Some players really get on with it, some players don't. It's very much down to preference, but it's basically free to try if you have a tone pot and cap in your guitar, so why not experiment?

[@DMSProduktions]

Definitely, its.

[@J.C...]

It's also the only way to really get the tone from classic music played on 50s and 60s Les Pauls. There's HUGE sonic difference between the 2. On 10 and on 0.

[@J.C...]

​​@@BKPickupsthere's actually quite a stark difference between the 2 options with everything on 10. If you actually play similar clips back to back, it's quite obvious. Like compare 2:13 to 3:14, etc... Not sure how you don't hear it? Playing power chords makes it even more apparent.

[@craiglizt8074]

I've always preferred 50s wiring on my LP-style guitars.

[@danduntz9112]

I looked on your site to see if you had a 50’s pre-wired kit for a prs, but didn’t find one. Can that be ordered custom?

[@npet6842]

I have all 7 LP standard ( Hummers and P90 ) as '50's . It sounds much better and I can also use other means for vol/tone .

[@thiagoborsari7364]

I have 50's wiring on all my guitars, even the non Gibson ones. Always try it out before considering pickups or electronics changing. You will have a new guitar after the wiring.

[@thegolfnut812]

What do you think about putting treble bleed in a 50's and modern wiring? Thanks

[@RiffMusic1970]

Should’ve put modern lick and 50’s lick right next to each other.

[@s.barreto8700]

What’s the difference between soldering one leg of the cap to ground and linking the volume and the tone pots with the cap?

[@BKPickups]

In both cases, the resistance of the pot and the capacitor are wired in series. The two different methods that you describe change the order that the components sit in the chain, so, when linking the pots with the cap, the tone pot is on the ground side of the cap and, when mounting the cap onto the tone pot, the pot is on the hot side of the cap. Both styles should create the same filtering frequencies, but for a true 50's, the cap should be linking the pots.

[@monstrord]

hey folks, and regards from Brazil. Could you tell me the difference about grounding the middle tone Lug or the side tone lug? Sound path looks the same.

[@BKPickups]

As far as the filtering and tone go, it works the same, but different placements can slightly affect the noise level in your signal. Original '50s wiring connected the middle lug to ground, which gives you the best overall noise performance.

[@c.turner4588]

Apparently there are 3 types of Gibson wiring. 50's, Vintage and Modern?

[@user-qe4rs4gy9i]

I'm always trying to get more treble with volume down... I've never heard of any of the gear in this video except vintage 30s!!!!!

[@earthstick]

I still don't quite understand why it makes a difference and to complicate it, some wiring diagrams put the tone cap before the tone pot, others put it after. I think this is the difference between a high pass filter (cap>res) and a low pass filter (res>cap). But if the tone circuit comes after the volume resistor (50s) then isn't there: vRes>cap>tRes>gnd vRes>tRes>cap>gnd And if it comes before the volume resistor (modern) isn't it: cap>tRes>gnd tRes>cap>gnd

[@BKPickups]

The different sequences of cap and potentiometer don't alter the tone to any particular degree, they are simply manufacturing / assembly choices by guitar makers. Hooking up the cap as the last component in the chain before ground simply allows them to more easily pre-assemble the pot and cap together, before putting it into the wiring cavity. The key difference between modern and '50s is where the tone circuit links in to the volume pot. Modern wiring links into the pickup input, '50s links to the volume pot output, which is obviously a variable signal level and resistance, depending on where the dial is set.

[@symptomoftheuniverse1261]

In my SG the capacitor is wired at the volume tone second lug to the tone pot second lug. Is that a right connection? When it comes to electronics I'm really bad.

[@BKPickups]

There are several ways to connect the tone capacitor, The way that yours is wired will behave more like '50s wiring.

[@symptomoftheuniverse1261]

@@BKPickups thank you I'm grateful

[@user-bi3id6bg3g]

Recommend a set of pickups for vintage v100 tsb.

[@BKPickups]

Our favourite for a classic singlecut tone would be the Mule, but, if you want something more crisp, the Riff Raff will cover a huge range of sounds too

[@user-bi3id6bg3g]

@@BKPickups recommend a bridge for metal

[@algreen266]

Hi i was wondering if you can help me , i purchase a new harness assembled harness kit for my les paul.I also purchased 1 490 and 498 pick ups, unfortunately the 498 has 5 wires and the 490 has 1 wire wrapped with a neutral and i dont know where they should be soldered.can you help me.Thanks

[@BKPickups]

Connect the green and white wires together and cover up the joint with tape or some shrink tubing, then connect the black and bare wires to ground and the red wire to the bridge volume pot input. For the braided wire 490R, connect the outer shield to ground and the inner wire to the input of the neck volume pot. That should get you fixed up!

[@algreen266]

@@BKPickups I thank you greatly for your help i also feel guilty making you write an essay .Please if there is no trouble im a handyman and i understand better in drawings, please if its ok by you can i send you the picture of the wirring harness and pick up wires and all you have to do is draw a line where which wire goes where.If yes can you kindly send me your email.I appreciate it greatly Sir.

[@joshstead6078]

Would a treble bleed mod make 50's wiring almost redundant?

[@BKPickups]

It's certainly going to produce some similar effects, but you could also argue the other way around, since 50's wiring doesn't use any extra components.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

On full volume and Tone the sound is identical between the different wirings?

[@BKPickups]

Yes, you only start to hear differences when you begin to roll back the controls. With everything on 10, the circuits are essentially working identically to each other

[@escritaemdia3414]

Hi guys! Really nice video and helps a lot making decisions... Thanks really! Tell me something, can I use your BKP paper/oil 0.022uf caps with both 50s and modern wiring methods? Or are them only advisable for the 50s one? I see a lot of modern wiring methods using the small 47uf or something small cap.. Sooner im going to install one BKP the mule on this LP and im curious about the impact your caps will have on the way I choose to wire the new pickups on this guitar (I already have your caps as well) Thanks in advanced and looking forward to hear from you :) Cheers from Portugal

[@BKPickups]

Sure, you can use the same capacitors for both setups, changing the capacitance value simply alters the range of sweep that you have on the tone control

[@nunodagamacardinho762]

Great!! Thanks for taking the time to reply ;) keep the awesome work guys

[@BrianLeverett]

Does anyone know why 50s wiring changed to modern for production guitars?

[@DMSProduktions]

EASE of production!

[@GlennLaguna]

Is there a "Kill" feature in 50's wiring, when you toggle to the middle position?

[@BKPickups]

Sure, if to roll back the volume of one pickup, then you will get 2 silent positions on the toggle. That effect has more to do with how the pickups are connected to the volume pot, rather than how the volume and tone are connected.

[@GlennLaguna]

@@BKPickups Thanks for getting back. I have been playing single pickup jazz boxes only for going on 35 years. I picked up this particular guitar because I liked the tone and wanted a lighter guitar for gigs where I stand up for a longer time playing. But I've not had a double pickup in over 35 years and don't remember if I had this issue and I asked a few of my friend who have les pauls and teles and they said they did not know. But here is an unlisted video of my setup kzbin.info/www/bejne/joixiqWooL6qnNk

[@BKPickups]

@@GlennLaguna That behaviour is completely normal. When in the middle position, both volume pots will act as master volumes over both pickups simultaneously. So, the sound that you hear is coming from both pickups and both volume controls can turn that whole signal all the way down to zero. If you don't want that to happen, you would need to rewire the volume pots to be independent, which simply involves switching the input and output wires on each. The job is mad a bit trickier because of the hllowbody construction, as all of the pots would need to be unscrewed and withdrawn out through the pickup hole in order to get to the wiring.

[@GlennLaguna]

@@BKPickups okay good to know. I did more reading up. Is what I have 50s wiring?

[@SevasGuitar]

0:58 always has zero resistance of the volume pot. If the passage for the signal has full resistance how can it go to tone pot?

[@kristiant6056]

It’s the 50s all the way for me. When I hear a les Paul that’s what I think about..

[@offwegonow]

Make a switch, so you can select between them.

[@BKPickups]

That could certainly be done!

[@baronvonchickenpants6564]

I hate the wiring that cuts out both pickups in the middle position when you only turn one down

[@JohnDoe-cu2hl]

Isn't that what 50's does?

[@andrewbecker3700]

@@JohnDoe-cu2hl no, modern does that. My Les Pauls with '50s wiring are great in the middle position with the bridge vol rolled back a bit. Burstbucker 2&3 are very well balanced and you can get almost unlimited tones. My LP custom silverburst with EMG 81/85s does that, and it sucks bigtime. I've heard there's a way to wire EMGs to get the 50's wiring benefits.

[@HandMadeWrath]

50s wiring vs solderless

[@marklaesch6273]

Too bad there was so much distortion. Would have been a good demo if the amp was set to clean

[@bradt.3555]

Everything on 10 there is 0 difference as the two terminals on the vol are connected together. Draw back is when on both PU's the tone affects both PU's or the output, the other 50's wiring the tones are more separated to the individual PU's. They are both 50's wiring since back then they came out wired both way's. This was probably due to the day of the week and how much the builder partied the weekend before. Really in a band nobody's gonna know the difference. In a blind A-B test most people might hear some difference but wouldn't be able to identify which is which. To me too much attention payed to things that have 0 effect compared to playing. Just like focusing on technical ability rather than technique. I see on so many videos people don't know the difference.

[@avivpinto4013]

Actually the taper on the modern is better

[@curtrod]

so much distortion it doesn't matter and you can't tell the difference

[@Alfredo78666]

Wait, but that's a PRS! Di blasfemi!:-7

[@Neil-Aspinall]

In reality 95% of guitarists never touch volume or tone controls on a guitar, they expect a multitude of pedals to worry about those things.

[@BKPickups]

Sure, but it's always good to know your options!

[@eyedunno8462]

They are missing out on lots of nuanced and subtle colorations capable from an electric guitar. It can inspire them to do play other styles of music

[@michaelmoore7975]

And 100% of lead singers changes a light bulb by standing still while the world revolves around him.

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@michaelmoore7975 Mmm still doesn't change the fact Mickey.

[@David-yl6bc]

@@Neil-Aspinall Maybe you are right, but I think the reason might also be that using these controls does not bring the sounds that they are looking for. So it absolutly makes sense for them to try something else.