2006 58 Les Paul Standard reissue - wiring harness

Rex Carlson · Jan 22, 2019

Maybe this question has been answered in the past. If so, I apologize.

I am contemplating a wiring harness for my 2006 58 reissue. I opened up the cavity and the harness has the (fake?) bubblebee's which are most likely 50's spec. But what about the pots? They are not marked with lot numbers. If they are 500s, I will not do the replacement as I feel I won't be making any real improvements. If they are not, I will stick a ThroBak harness in it. Does anyone have any info on this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rex

El Gringo · Jan 22, 2019

Rex Carlson said:
Maybe this question has been answered in the past. If so, I apologize.

I am contemplating a wiring harness for my 2006 58 reissue. I opened up the cavity and the harness has the (fake?) bubblebee's which are most likely 50's spec. But what about the pots? They are not marked with lot numbers. If they are 500s, I will not do the replacement as I feel I won't be making any real improvements. If they are not, I will stick a ThroBak harness in it. Does anyone have any info on this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rex

If it's a custom shop Les Paul they should have 500 k pots

Rex Carlson · Jan 22, 2019

Thanks for the quick reply. That is what I'm thinking too but best to ask rather than throw $150 down the hole.

Bruce R · Jan 22, 2019

I feel your pain. When I bought my '06 R8 it was virtually unplayable as it was. The volume pots were like an on/off switch when turned down past halfway, and it rolled the high end off as well. The tone pots had an uneven taper.

I was referred to RS Guitarworks and, not being really concerned if the wiring harness looked vintage or not, purchased the modern upgrade kit. The difference was night and day. The cost was only $75, and a bit more if you want the vintage appearance kit.

bluesky636 · Jan 22, 2019

Rex Carlson said:
Thanks for the quick reply. That is what I'm thinking too but best to ask rather than throw $150 down the hole.

No, BEST would be to buy/borrow a DMM and measure the pots. Then you KNOW instead of just think.

kats · Jan 22, 2019

bluesky636 said:
No, BEST would be to buy/borrow a DMM and measure the pots. Then you KNOW instead of just think.

Bluesky is correct, pots have notoriously wide tolerances like +/- 10% . Best to check them as their affect on tone is very high on the list.

Rex Carlson · Jan 23, 2019

bluesky636 said:
No, BEST would be to buy/borrow a DMM and measure the pots. Then you KNOW instead of just think.

Thanks for your help and advise.

Rex

bossanova · Jan 25, 2019

Even if they are all supposed to be 500k, the actual values can be all over the place, +- 20%. I like to use 550k, which also have a lower tolerance, that way I'm almost guaranteed at least 500k... I like bright guitars.

2006 58 Les Paul Standard reissue - wiring harness

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