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How to replace a Standard PCB with a modded 50‘s wiring PCB (photo guide)

Fire Burst

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Joined
Oct 31, 2018
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Being a member of this great forum since a few months and thankful reader so far, I thaught I could give something back: a little guide on how to make a 50's wiring - using a replacement PCB :##.
I'm quite sure, most people who convert a PCB equipped Les Paul to 50‘s wiring want to get rid of the board and replace it with a harness. But there are some, who actually like the PCB and want to keep it. My idea was to replace the modern wiring push/pull pots PCB of my 2016 LP Standard with a modded PCB, fully reversible. Since I couldn't find much information on how to do it, this step by step guide may help others. Besides a second PCB, which I got used from ebay (LP 2017 Studio version with four 500 k audio taper pots, no push/pull) and replacement caps (just to get some mojo...), you need a soldering iron (mine is 60 W, set to 450 °C), some tin and soldering fluid, a little screwdriver to help getting the pots out and tweezers. And I don't recommend to mod a PCB without any soldering experience.

The control cavity before:
IMG_0905.jpg

Carefully taking off the knobs of the p/p pots:
IMG_0902.jpg

Release the quick connectors before loosening the potentiometer nuts:
IMG_0906.jpg

Loosen the pot nuts and take the PCB out (only, because it's an ebay puchase):
IMG_0912.jpg IMG_0911.jpg
 
Last edited:

Fire Burst

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2018
Messages
3
Desolder the blue capacitors:
IMG_0915.jpg

The caps are out:
IMG_0917.jpg


The tone pots are desoldered as well to to disconnect the lower outer lugs ofthe pots from the PCB and bent them into the horizontal. Then the remaining two lugs of each tone pot and the casing can be soldered to the PCB again:
IMG_0919.jpg


Two little bridges are made from wire. They replace the two old, blue caps:
IMG_0924.jpg


Two russian PIO caps (I tried 0.015/0.033 uF) are soldered to the lower outer, now horizontal lugs of the tone pots and the inner lugs of the volume pots:
IMG_0926.jpg
 
Last edited:

Fire Burst

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2018
Messages
3
The modded board is set into the cavity and connected:
IMG_0929.jpg

Finished and ready to rock with 50's wiring:
IMG_0930.jpg
 
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