Would it be easy or hard to re-wire my guitar?

Question

I was thinking that maybe i could re-wire my guitar so instead of volume/tone/tone, i could change it to volume/volume/tone. I'm not an expert at this stuff, though. Would i have to get new pickups or could i have the same ones? Please help

if you don't understand why i want to do this is becasue of Tom Morello

Answer 1

bring it to a guitar place so it gets done right

Answer 2

You can't do it without buying a new pot, of course - a tone control can't control loudness. You could use your current pickups but you would have to change the wiring for one of them, as right now thy both go to the same volume, so you'd move one to the new volume. I don't really see what you would accomplish, though. You obviously have a two-pickup guitar and a three-way toggle switch for lead/both/rhythm (Gibson style). So two volume controls would mean anything only in the middle position, different blending of the pickups. But even in that case, the blending has a "fast knee" - it is almost as if you have a switch, the change is not gradual at all (I had a Gibson & a few Gibson-style guitars). If you're unhappy with the sound, get new pickups (all really big gutarists use DiMarzio) and have a pro change them, but do so only in case that your guitars is a good one. In shops they might ask some $100 for the changing, and DiMarzios vary in prices but you could buy them at about $70 a piece.

Answer 3

It is pretty basic. Get an electronics manual, HAM radio manual or some such thing, you really could just move the knobs to the places you want, but that is sloppy and there may not be sufficient wire to move them. Get a book, read it, practice Soldering on an old radio or something, be careful, electricity grabs hold of stuff.
Two Volumes will not make it louder, that is like a volume knob that goes to 11, there is no point to it other than appearance. Each Pickup is controlled by the Selector Switch, you can put a individual Volume on each pickup. I have seen a few that had that setup. Not many. but go for it.
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Answer 4

If you can solder properly and understand wiring diagrams, it would be fairly simple. There are thousands of guitar wiring diagrams on the web. You will have to search through them until you find one that has your pickup arrangement, along with the control setup you desire.

If you don't know how to solder properly, I would suggest you read up on soldering and practice on some junk parts before you attempt it.

Guitar wiring MUST be properly soldered. If you can't do it right, spend the buck and take it to repair technician.

Good Luck :-)

Source: playing since 1975

Answer 5

Yes, it is pretty simple using the stuff you have as long as you know how to solder cleanly. If you email me thru Yahoo Answers with the brand of guitar along with the pickup layout (2 humbuckers? 3 single coils? etc) I'll send you a wiring diagram. Be sure to provide your "real" email so I can send you a jpg file.

Answer 6

It depends on your ability.

The website below should give you an idea.