SG with Jimmy Page wiring

[Breaking the law]

Hi all!
I'm getting a Epiphone G-400 soon, and despite my original thoughts, I'm planning to modificate it a bit..

So, I was planning on wiring it the Jimmy Page LP way, with push/pull knobs and all (if they only fit the body). Does anyone here have that kind of wiring?
Is it any good? Any other thoughts on this?

And most importantly, what pickups would you recommend for me to install in it? It should sound a tad more "modern" than Jimmy's LP. I play mostly rock and metal, and I'd like this versatile guitar with some split and tapped coil sounds..

Thanks!

[the guy who invented fire]

Hi all!
I'm getting a Epiphone G-400 soon, and despite my original thoughts, I'm planning to modificate it a bit..

So, I was planning on wiring it the Jimmy Page LP way, with push/pull knobs and all (if they only fit the body). Does anyone here have that kind of wiring?
Is it any good? Any other thoughts on this?

And most importantly, what pickups would you recommend for me to install in it? It should sound a tad more "modern" than Jimmy's LP. I play mostly rock and metal, and I'd like this versatile guitar with some split and tapped coil sounds..

Thanks!

Hey buddy,

I like the JP wiring, and I'm thinking about doing it on one of my guitars. As for the pups, Id say if you want slightly more 'modern" maybe a Jazz in the neck but I think that a plain old 59 would be a good choice too. As for the bridge maybe a Distortion, or a Custom, maybe a Distortion set. Good luck!

The guy who invented fire

[Robert S.]

I have 2 LPs that are JP wired. It's pretty cool and offers quite a few different useable sounds. As long as the cavity route is deep enough you should be ok. I think you need 1-1/8" clearance to get the dpdt pots into the guitar.

I have a CC and a Pearly Gates in one LP and a JP set in the other. It should work well with any set of four conductor pickups though.

[Hellion]

Good luck with the wiring thing. I haven't been able to find any DPDT pots that can fit in the cavity of an SG.

[Breaking the law]

Good luck with the wiring thing. I haven't been able to find any DPDT pots that can fit in the cavity of an SG.

This is kind of what I feared.. Is there any way to carve some of the wood off without going trough the body? Just how deep is the cavity?

[Hellion]

This is kind of what I feared.. Is there any way to carve some of the wood off without going trough the body? Just how deep is the cavity?

I don't know just how deep it is, though I'm sure I've been told at one time or another. The problem is that there just isn't really that much wood that you can remove. You can probably still do the wiring though, you'd just have to use some micro switches, which would involve drilling a couple of holes in the top. Something to consider.

[Breaking the law]

Hmm.. I'll have to work this out once I get my hands on that body..

Thanks to everyone for replying, I could still use more tips for the pickups..

[Breaking the law]

Just one more thing.. Could someone measure the thickness of their SG from around where the cavity is? I'm pretty sure I could work a push/pull pot in..

[Johtosotku]

My Gibson SG Standard measured 33mm, that's 1,3 inches if I'm correct. However, I am no engineer (thank god!) and I used just some poor meter for it. So it's not dead accurate. And it was measured from the edge of the guitar, not inside the control cavity.

This info really saddens me now, since I recently asked for pickup advice here and decided to go for the JP wiring also. Don't know what to do now.

[Breaking the law]

33mm.. 3cm.. 3mm.. hmm.. My EMG Afterburner is approx 27mm.(without the pcb) That leaves us with 6mm of wood.. That's not much.. But should be enought to stand the push/pull pots.. I might have to do some woodwork to deepen the cavity.
Or then I'll just let the pots peak out fromthe back of the guitar and rise the cover plate.. So, älä huoli, kyllä tämä hoituu

[Johtosotku]

I just asked this question over muusikoiden.net and there they (Fox) claimed that push-pull pots should fit an SG, at least the DiMarzio ones which measured at the same 27mm. So I can breathe again.

[Breaking the law]

Sounds cool.. now I only need to decide which pickups to get..

[Johtosotku]

What do you have for favourite bands? I think you'll get some more tips on the pups if you're more specific about your needs.

[Breaking the law]

I should.. Okay.. I play Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, Motorhead, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Dio, Ozzy and stuff like that. I've thought about things and I'd like the pickups have the following features:
70's - 80's type sound, good sounds when coils split, and covered. These might be hard to find in one package, but any hints are welcome. I'm looking for a less metal tone and more of a rock one.. PAF?

[Johtosotku]

Well I think that to those tastes a JB would be a sure bet as a bridge model. I don't think of it as too hot for good cleans and it certainly does the heaviest of those styles.

I don't know about a SD neck model, I'm quite new to the pickup swapping business myself. I can tell you about my impressions about DMZ Tone Zone and PAF Pro soon, as I have them put in my SG tomorrow.

About the wiring; I changed my mind with the recommendations of my tech, he said that one should get the most of the sounds one needs with only two push-pull pots, for splitting and series-phasing-wiring. Four pots and the JP mod seem to be too extravagant for me.

[Breaking the law]

Hmm.. I see the tech's point.. but I'm my own tech, so no one is giving me good advice.. I'd love to hear your review about the DMZs.

EDIT: I want the pickups to be covered, and it seems I'll have to do that to the JB myself, were it my choice.. This would alter the tone somewhat, also. Or do they come covered?

RE-EDIT: Apparently, they are available covered.

[dd12939]

IIRC, my SG's cavity was one inch even (Gibson Special) and most Push/Pulls are 1, 1/8 inches. You should be able to get an inch off the wood without going through so long as you don't get too crazy with it. You might try the Jazz/JB set. It's a tried and true combo.

[Johtosotku]

My tech confirmed that push-pull -pots should fit in an sg, he said he'd done it many times before. At least the DMZ pots which he called good quality.