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Epiphone Al CAIOLA Standard swiching

andreja marovic

andreja marovic

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Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
2,688
Hi there,:salude
I have been tring to understand how does the switches on Al Caiola works.
Well not a easy task...there is one volume and one tone, a rythme / treble mini switch and 5 others ( phase canseling?...).

Al Caiola is a rare guitar and never before I had one in hands.The P90's sound very constipated due to the multiple mini switching.

Does anyone here understand how this works?

Thanks in advance for your comments,
Andreja
 
L

Litcrit

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Joined
May 9, 2002
Messages
5,990
My friend has one. He says the switchers are similar to a varitone, just in switch form. They run the signal through various capacitors to change the frequency response.
Full scale length (25.5 inches), definitely DIFFERENT!
 
andreja marovic

andreja marovic

New member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
2,688
Litcrit said:
My friend has one. He says the switchers are similar to a varitone, just in switch form. They run the signal through various capacitors to change the frequency response.
Full scale length (25.5 inches), definitely DIFFERENT!
Click to expand...
Yes the scale and capacitors are a bad thing for a 24 2/4 scale Gibson fan.
:dude:
 
R

Robal

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2001
Messages
30
I have a Caiola Custom with the Tone Expressor switch system. This is a Varitone type circuit, using a large choke and a series of different sized capacitors, that is switchable with slide switches. It is more versatile that a typical Varitone that uses a rotary switch since you can have different combinations of slide switches to filter different frequencies. But it has disadvantages too: 1. You can't play both the neck and bridge pickups at the same time, you have to switch between one or the other; 2. the Tone Expressor system loads the pickups; 3. I can find only a couple of truly useful settings with the Tone Expressor circuit despite all the possible combinations. My solution was to have a replacement plastic cover made that uses the conventional system that you would find on a Gibson 335: two volume pots, two tone pots, 3-way toggle switch to select pickups. I replaced the entire Tone Expressor cover and electronics with this and it made the guitar more useful. If I want to return it to stock, I just have to reconnect a few wires to the Tone Expressor. I am happy with the results.
 
andreja marovic

andreja marovic

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Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
2,688
Robal said:
I have a Caiola Custom with the Tone Expressor switch system. This is a Varitone type circuit, using a large choke and a series of different sized capacitors, that is switchable with slide switches. It is more versatile that a typical Varitone that uses a rotary switch since you can have different combinations of slide switches to filter different frequencies. But it has disadvantages too: 1. You can't play both the neck and bridge pickups at the same time, you have to switch between one or the other; 2. the Tone Expressor system loads the pickups; 3. I can find only a couple of truly useful settings with the Tone Expressor circuit despite all the possible combinations. My solution was to have a replacement plastic cover made that uses the conventional system that you would find on a Gibson 335: two volume pots, two tone pots, 3-way toggle switch to select pickups. I replaced the entire Tone Expressor cover and electronics with this and it made the guitar more useful. If I want to return it to stock, I just have to reconnect a few wires to the Tone Expressor. I am happy with the results.
Click to expand...
:
dude:

:2zone
Robal,
That's a truly great idea...I wanted to do something alike, but how to do that? how can I get the Tone Expressor out or desingage it?
Have you any pics of your newly born Caiola?
:photos
You have the Custom model with mini hums and I have the Standard with P90's....any shematic to send me?
All help will be very welcome...I love the P90's and this guitar could sound much better if only I had some more knoledge with electronics, but that's why this Forum is all about....helping each other!!!

Thanks in advance,enjoy the Caiola man...
:2cool
Andreja
 
M

Mr. 355

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Jan 21, 2004
Messages
154
I am the friend that Litcrit mentions in his post. Other desirable features of the "AL Caiola Standard" beside the P90's are: A fully hollow body with NO f holes affording it great feedback resistance, a DOT marker brazillian board and a great neck profile with the wide nut that we pay the big bucks for, Kluson tuners and another important deviation from the "Custom"; an ABR 1 that is sitting on posts mounted directly into the body vs. the movable base mount on the Custom. As aforementioned by Litcrit, it is the only ES double-cut style guitar with a 25.5" scale length and I love it.
Making a new plate and mounting any type of harness you like would be a breeze compared to re-wiring an ES. Mine is so clean as to look like a brand new guitar (I don't have a digital camera so I'm sorry that I can't post any pics) so I'm never going to mess with it. Like a 345-55 it sounds great as it is but would open up with modification. A personal observtion of mine as I own several early ES models and their Epi counterparts is that the workmanship on my Epi's, particularly the neck-fingerboard joint is much better? These are rare birds indeed as I have only seen one other either in person or on the net, and I've been looking for years.
 
Last edited:
andreja marovic

andreja marovic

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Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Messages
2,688
Mr. 355 said:
I am the friend that Litcrit mentions in his post. Other desirable features of the "AL Caiola Standard" beside the P90's are: A fully hollow body with NO f holes affording it great feedback resistance, a DOT marker brazillian board and a great neck profile with the wide nut that we pay the big bucks for, Kluson tuners and another important deviation from the "Custom"; an ABR 1 that is sitting on posts mounted directly into the body vs. the movable base mount on the Custom. As aforementioned by Litcrit, it is the only ES double-cut style guitar with a 25.5" scale length and I love it.
Making a new plate and mounting any type of harness you like would be a breeze compared to re-wiring an ES. Mine is so clean as to look like a brand new guitar (I don't have a digital camera so I'm sorry that I can't post any pics) so I'm never going to mess with it. Like a 345-55 it sounds great as it is but would open up with modification. A personal observtion of mine as I own several early ES models and their Epi counterparts is that the workmanship on my Epi's, particularly the neck-fingerboard joint is much better? These are rare birds indeed as I have only seen one other either in person or on the net, and I've been looking for years.
Click to expand...

Mr. 335,
You are right...those Caiolas are very rare guitars, and as you say the 25,5 scale with no f holes is very special for this series.
I hate changing the electronics and messing with fine guitars but I would like to swich off the Tone Expresson and just use it as a standard 335-330 model.

I would also point out that Al Cailoas are very under rated for what they are.
But most players ignore them....and the price of one is cheaper than for a ES330.Until few years back same was with Trini Lopez Standard models, now they are priced- 20% less than a ES 335, anyway tjhere is no comparesion for the Al Caiola Models,Gibson did not have a ES ( Thinline) under his name with a 25,5 scale.

Enjoy your Caiola and send pics of possible...........:applaude :applaude
 
neozecat

neozecat

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Joined
Mar 2, 2011
Messages
58
Robal said:
I have a Caiola Custom with the Tone Expressor switch system. This is a Varitone type circuit, using a large choke and a series of different sized capacitors, that is switchable with slide switches. It is more versatile that a typical Varitone that uses a rotary switch since you can have different combinations of slide switches to filter different frequencies. But it has disadvantages too: 1. You can't play both the neck and bridge pickups at the same time, you have to switch between one or the other; 2. the Tone Expressor system loads the pickups; 3. I can find only a couple of truly useful settings with the Tone Expressor circuit despite all the possible combinations. My solution was to have a replacement plastic cover made that uses the conventional system that you would find on a Gibson 335: two volume pots, two tone pots, 3-way toggle switch to select pickups. I replaced the entire Tone Expressor cover and electronics with this and it made the guitar more useful. If I want to return it to stock, I just have to reconnect a few wires to the Tone Expressor. I am happy with the results.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I would like to do the same but where did you get the new cover ?

Thank you
 
TM1

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,356
I think he made a new scratchplate. I have an Al Caiola Custom and re-wired the switches so two of them turn the pickups on and off. You can find a schematic on-line. I was trying to find a 3-way mini switch that same size...so I could wire it in.
Good luck!
 
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