Upgrading the electronics on my LS75

Hi guys, I'm wanting to upgrade the electronics in my MIJ Tokai to be at least of the standard of my Gibson SG. Does anybody know of any very good wiring kits?
So far I have found this one, is it any good?

http://www.axesrus.com/axeknobs.htm#Kits If you scroll down it's simply the 'Gibson Wiring Kit'


Gibson Wiring Kit

Complete Wiring Solution for a Gibson Les Paul (not epiphone). The Highest Quality Parts for the Highest Quality Guitars.

* Supplied with
* 4 x CTS 500k Long Thread, Split Shaft Pots
* 1 x Mono Socket,
* 2 x 30" of Waxed Wire
* 2 x 100v Orange Drop Cap (0.022, 0.033 or 0.047)
* 1 x 3 way Long Reach Short Thread SwitchCraft Switch(pre tinned lugs) (w/Tip of your Choice)

Price: ?35.00

Also, what are the differences in sound between the caps?

I've also been told about the kits at RS Guitarworks, would they be worth a go? On their site they say a lot of Japanese guitars require drilling for the pots to fit, would that be the case with my guitar?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

botch said:

Hi guys, I'm wanting to upgrade the electronics in my MIJ Tokai

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Why?

Diamond said:

botch said:

Hi guys, I'm wanting to upgrade the electronics in my MIJ Tokai

Click to expand...

Why?

Click to expand...

+1
Yes exactly......why???

If you're just itching to change something, try out some new caps...maybe so PIOs.
I don't think CTS pots are significantly better than Japanese ones unless of course they differ in their ohmage.

Think you'll need to increase the hole size with that kit too, Botch ??the pots they're using are from the same company (CTS) as the RS Guitarworks kit.

Currently have kits for my Love Rock and Springy Sound on order from RS, since the electrics in both guitars are showing their age. Decided on RS in the end since they have their components custom built to higher tolerances than normal?and have obviously put some thought into it all. Found them very helpful to deal with, too. Discussed the details with them via email and they came to the conclusion that for the LR I need short thread pots but a long thread switch ? they're modifying the standard kit to allow for that.

Have read elsewhere that the best way to increase the hole size is actually with sand paper rather than a drill, and will be taking that approach myself.

BlueThird said:

Think you'll need to increase the hole size with that kit too, Botch ??the pots they're using are from the same company (CTS) as the RS Guitarworks kit.

Currently have kits for my Love Rock and Springy Sound on order from RS, since the electrics in both guitars are showing their age. Decided on RS in the end since they have their components custom built to higher tolerances than normal?and have obviously put some thought into it all. Found them very helpful to deal with, too. Discussed the details with them via email and they came to the conclusion that for the LR I need short thread pots but a long thread switch ? they're modifying the standard kit to allow for that.

Have read elsewhere that the best way to increase the hole size is actually with sand paper rather than a drill, and will be taking that approach myself.

Click to expand...

ive found using a chisel is good for expanding the hole size
you just have to be very careful

IMHO the best way to increase the size is with a tapered reamer - but these aren't cheap. Another fairly easy and safe way is to make a polishing stick from a pice of wooden doweling and sand paper. You can slot the end of the wooden dowel and use it to hold a small strip of sand paper. You can then use it in an electric drill to open the hole up.

Dave

DaveWW said:

IMHO the best way to increase the size is with a tapered reamer - but these aren't cheap. Another fairly easy and safe way is to make a polishing stick from a pice of wooden doweling and sand paper. You can slot the end of the wooden dowel and use it to hold a small strip of sand paper. You can then use it in an electric drill to open the hole up.

Dave

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Or you could replace any pots that are defective and actually need replacing with new Alpha pots which are just as good as CTS, but which won't require the holes to be enlarged.

Changing pots really won't affect the sound of the guitar.

Mike

stratman323 said:

DaveWW said:

IMHO the best way to increase the size is with a tapered reamer - but these aren't cheap. Another fairly easy and safe way is to make a polishing stick from a pice of wooden doweling and sand paper. You can slot the end of the wooden dowel and use it to hold a small strip of sand paper. You can then use it in an electric drill to open the hole up.

Dave

Click to expand...

Or you could replace any pots that are defective and actually need replacing with new Alpha pots which are just as good as CTS, but which won't require the holes to be enlarged.

Changing pots really won't affect the sound of the guitar.

Mike

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+1

If you're happy how the tone and volume rolls off then there is no need.

I was thinking about changing one or all the pots in my LS100. The bridge pups volume control jumps significantly between 2 and 3. Then I thought about the knurl in the shaft, there are fine and coarse. Fortunatly, I have another guitar with CTS and was able to check and they are both coarse. However, the knobs are much looser going from Tokai to CTS. While you can open up the split shaft a little, it may not be enough for the knobs to stay snug. That being said you may need new knobs too. BTW, if I were to try and put the knobs from the CTS pots onto the Tokai pots, they would be so tight that they wouldn't come off. I've actually had the whole shaft pull out of the pot cuz the knobs were so tight .

For opening up the holes a 3/8" center drill might work well. I've had good luck with regular metal drilling bits, but I take it to a bench grinder and reduce the relief so it cuts slower, then drill from the back of the guitar (as not to chip the lacquer) with a somewhat high speed 500 to 800 rpm. Maple is a very hard wood so usually there's not a problem with the drill grabbing and jamming its way through. If you have a 1/64 graduated set of drills you could also go though all the sizes until the hole is big enough. Sandpaper wrapped around a dowel is a very good idea if you have patience like me :roll: :x Sorry this got so long winded

Something else to keep in mind with CTS pots is they have a stiffer feel than most others. Which is good if you like to mildly tweek your volume or tone control, but is a drag if you like to go from 0 to 10 and back quickly. I wouldn't change the Japanese pots though unless there was something wrong with them. I totally agree with the helpful guys above that advise trying different caps. I used to build 6 way varitone switches for my guitars much like BC Rich, but with much lower values. When I got the LS100 w Bumblebees, (orig Tokai pots) I was truely amazed how well the tone control sounded. Experiment a little, and after you've tried about a half dozen or so post here in great detail the differences you hear 8) .

...we need more emoticons :x

I prefer the stock Japanese pots on the LS85 to LS100 models over the CTS in the 150.
The CTS are too stiff and they dont have the tone/volume sweep that the stock pots have.
The stock pots are perfect, IMO.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the useful information!

From what I can gather from you info the actually pots don't actually affect the tone of the guitar. All I'm wanting from the upgrades is to improve the tone of the guitar so if changing the pots will harness zero change in tone I guess I'll leave them in! However, this now means I'll definitely be looking into changing the caps. Does anyone know what caps are currently in there? Which caps would you recommend putting in? (i don't like an overly bright tone). Would changing the wiring improve the tone?

So many questions!

Cheers.

Diamond said:

I prefer the stock Japanese pots on the LS85 to LS100 models over the CTS in the 150.
The CTS are too stiff and they dont have the tone/volume sweep that the stock pots have.
The stock pots are perfect, IMO.

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+1!

The pots in my TOKAI LC-60 are stock. I installed 2 NOS PIO-caps and wired them ?50s-style. The guitar sounds absolutely awesome! The orig. vint. PAF mkII -PU?s are fantastic, BTW.

Thanks for the photo, I've saved it....excuse my ignorance, where are the PIO caps and what's different about the 50's wiring?

+1 on the MKII -PU...no need to change them, they're awesome.

mojoburst said:

Diamond said:

I prefer the stock Japanese pots on the LS85 to LS100 models over the CTS in the 150.
The CTS are too stiff and they dont have the tone/volume sweep that the stock pots have.
The stock pots are perfect, IMO.

Click to expand...

+1!

The pots in my TOKAI LC-60 are stock. I installed 2 NOS PIO-caps and wired them ?50s-style. The guitar sounds absolutely awesome! The orig. vint. PAF mkII -PU?s are fantastic, BTW.

Click to expand...