New PUP Suggestion for my Avion Series AV3 Electric Guitar

[Wittgenstein]

That is a lot of money just to rewire an import.
If the guitar cavity was coated with shielded paint don't bother with the shielding foil.
Also most imports use short shaft pots, not long shaft.
Foil does not work easily or IMO work well in a LP.
You could buy one of these and just install as is.
Les Paul 3-Way Short Shaft Guitar Wiring Harness Kit
You can get it built and soldered together, or it would be cheaper to build it yourself.
Good Luck,

Nice.... I thought I had checked the Mojo kit, but that definitely looks like the way to go. It uses proper switchcraft jack and switch, quality caps, and includes some of the 4-conducter shielded wire I wanted to use. I was unsure about the tall vs the short pots so that is good to know. I do not believe it was painted with shielding paint but I'm still considering shielding it. I plan on shielding my buddies fender guitars soon so I might just pick up some tape in buck then.

I'm sure the CTS pots will not fit in my guitar and I'm a bit nervous about drilling into it (even with a 3/8 bit in reverse), so I plan on using good old sand paper and a pen to enlarge the holes. It might take a bit longer, but I will not have to worry about chipping the paint.

I paid less than $90 for my guitar so I can't complain about dropping another hundred or two on proper electronics and pickups. Any thoughts on changing out the plastic nut for a bone one?

[big_teee]

If you don't like drilling, a small rat tailed file will work also.
Those kits come with the mojo branded Caps, I like them as good as any.
Also before you order, it is simple to take a pot loose, and check the shaft length.
Good Luck,
T

[Stratz]

Another thing you may want to check is the size of the holes that the wiring harness runs through.
Some imports will use one or two lengths of very thin 2 conductor wire where you will be using 2 or 3 lengths of braided single conductor. The new harness will be much thicker over all.

Worst case rewiring imports would be where I have had to use a 5/16" X 18" long drill bit going in from both the input jack hole and from the hole at the top of the neck pocket (bolt on neck models) to make the holes large enough for the new harness.

With the better quality imports the upgrades are worth the time and $$$ and it will definitely transform the guitar but there are some that just sound like crap acoustically (too bright/too open sounding) where even the very best electronics will not help.

[Wittgenstein]

Another thing you may want to check is the size of the holes that the wiring harness runs through.
Some imports will use one or two lengths of very thin 2 conductor wire where you will be using 2 or 3 lengths of braided single conductor. The new harness will be much thicker over all.

Worst case rewiring imports would be where I have had to use a 5/16" X 18" long drill bit going in from both the input jack hole and from the hole at the top of the neck pocket (bolt on neck models) to make the holes large enough for the new harness.

With the better quality imports the upgrades are worth the time and $$$ and it will definitely transform the guitar but there are some that just sound like crap acoustically (too bright/too open sounding) where even the very best electronics will not help.

My AV3 does has a very small hole that the wire runs through. The rewire kit from mojotone comes with a small 4 conductor shielded cable, which I was not too impressed with due the very very thin wires.

Do you think it will make much of a difference if I went with the higher quality single conductor cable with the ground shielding on the outside? I'm not too worried about enlarging the hole on the inside of the guitar if I need to.

Here is a few pics of what it looked like with the old electronics.

[big_teee]

That is probably shielded 28 gauge 4 wire pickup wire.
I use it all the time, and it works great.
The wire in a pickup is 42-44 gauge depending on the pickups used.
So the 28 ga. is more than adequate to handle the very low voltage, and current.
The old gibson way was to run 3 of the shield push back wires to the switch.
One from the jack, and one from each vol. pot.
Myself I had rather use the shielded 4 wire 28 gauge.
But, that is your call, and decision.
Good Luck,

[David Schwab]

The stock wire size is fine. They were also all shielded cables. The new wiring harness is not shielded. There's no reason to use that awful cloth covered wire.

[Wittgenstein]

The stock wire size is fine. They were also all shielded cables. The new wiring harness is not shielded. There's no reason to use that awful cloth covered wire.

Do you perhaps have a picture of how you would wire it up, or something similar? The black cloth covered wire is just being used for ground. Does the ground wire that connects the pot in a U-shape need to be shielded? I plan on shielding the cavity with copper tape.