The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Can someone help me make sense of this so I can get it back into my 135, please? It'd make my day if someone could draw some arrows showing what needs to be soldered to which thing.

    Oh, and feel free to throw any comments you feel like throwing my way that resemble, "dude, wtf?!"

    Thank you for any help you can push my way.

    Gibson ES-135 Wiring-20160402_153703-jpg

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  3. #2

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    Does this help?


    Wiring Diagrams - Seymour Duncan | Seymour Duncan


    I haven't worked on an ES-135 but I suspect most if it can be pre-assembled and inserted through the bridge pickup hole which should open up to each side of the block. If so, then you could do all the soldering, except the neck pickup, before installation (install the neck pickup first and bring the wire to the bridge pickup hole and solder it to the wire harness there.

  4. #3

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    Dude, wtf?

  5. #4

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    To identify the pots: Tone pot has the capacitor on the back, Volume pot does not.

    I drew lines but the wires twist in the pic, especially the switch, so verify the wires/lugs on the switch and volume first. Hopefully this and the Seymour Duncan diagram will help.

    Another thing you can do to check your wiring before installation is solder it all together outside the guitar and plug into your amp. Tap the back of each pickup with a metal screwdriver while turning the pots and flipping the switch - you will hear the tapping through your amp and turning the volume and tone pots should be noticeable.

    Does this look correct to everyone?

    Gibson ES-135 Wiring-20160402_153703-jpg

    SEE UPDATE BELOW
    Last edited by MaxTwang; 04-03-2016 at 11:38 AM.

  6. #5

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    If it starts ticking, DO NOT cut the yellow wire.

    No wait, maybe it's the red wire...

  7. #6

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    banng!


  8. #7

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    I found an error in my earlier drawing. Anyone else spot it?


    This drawing shows the bridge pickup correctly soldered to the same wire/lug as the bridge tone pot. The earlier drawing incorrectly showed the bridge pickup soldered to the same wire as the switch. I also tried to make the connections a little clearer on the neck volume pot by separating the pickup and switch wires (these should not be soldered together).



    Gibson ES-135 Wiring-20160402_153703-2-jpg
    Last edited by MaxTwang; 04-03-2016 at 04:37 PM.

  9. #8
    Thank you guys for this! I really appreciate this forum, I get a lot from it.

    Is there a way to support it?

  10. #9

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    ghoststrat, If you have a multi-meter you should verify the bridge and neck pickup by checking the DC resistance between the 2 wires on each pickup. If one pickup shows higher resistance then that is the bridge pickup, if the resistance is similar then the pickups are interchangeable.

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by MaxTwang
    ghoststrat, If you have a multi-meter you should verify the bridge and neck pickup by checking the DC resistance between the 2 wires on each pickup. If one pickup shows higher resistance then that is the bridge pickup, if the resistance is similar then the pickups are interchangeable.
    I don't have the first clue how to do that with these pickups. It only has one wire. Ideas?

  12. #11
    Any trick to stripping these mesh wires?

  13. #12

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    It is a 'braided shield'. Try sticking a probe, or the point of a thin nail, in the end of the braid and un-braid it. Instead of cutting it off you can solder the un-braided braid to the back of the volume pot.

  14. #13
    I'm still a bit stumped. I'm trying to re-map exactly where I cut the wires from. The diagrams above are very helpful, but this harness seems to have been a little bit differently.


    Will you guys give this another look at direct me a bit more? I'm including close ups of the some of the components.

    Gibson ES-135 Wiring-1-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160405_185424-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160405_185434-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160405_185440-jpg

  15. #14

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    Ahhh, I see something different in the close up : Those leads on the volume pot are soldered to the back, I had assumed they were soldered to the lugs.
    Last edited by MaxTwang; 04-07-2016 at 12:07 PM.

  16. #15

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    Ghost start, Can you confirm the number of lugs on the pots? The volume pots should have 3 lugs, one will be soldered to the back, or case, or the pot. The tone pots, with the little orange capacitor, might have 2 lugs (with the 3rd lugs cut off. This I'd OK).

    The pot with the 2 wires soldered to the back that have been cut, do you recall where these wires went to? Did these go to the switch?


    On the volume pot that is still connected to the tone pot: is the middle lug connected to the tone pot, or is it an outer lug?
    Last edited by MaxTwang; 04-07-2016 at 12:17 PM.

  17. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by MaxTwang
    Ghost start, Can you confirm the number of lugs on the pots? The volume pots should have 3 lugs, one will be soldered to the back, or case, or the pot. The tone pots, with the little orange capacitor, might have 2 lugs (with the 3rd lugs cut off. This I'd OK).

    The pot with the 2 wires soldered to the back that have been cut, do you recall where these wires went to? Did these go to the switch?


    On the volume pot that is still connected to the tone pot: is the middle lug connected to the tone pot, or is it an outer lug?
    The volume pots have 3 lugs. One of the outer ones is bent back and soldered to the pot.

    You're also correct about the tone pots; two lugs.

    For the pot with 2 wires that were cut, I have no idea where they went. That's one of the big questions

    Here are a few more pics, just in case they'll help.

    Gibson ES-135 Wiring-20160407_140404-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160407_140415-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160407_140437-jpgGibson ES-135 Wiring-20160407_140444-jpg

  18. #17

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    It might be time to take this to a tech. Depends on how confident you are with soldering/splicing wires.

    To give you a better idea of how it was originally wired take a look at this link Gibson Wiring Harness Centralab 1962 ES 355 ES 175 ES 335 With PAF Pickups | eBay. Look at the 2nd pic in this listing for an idea of how the wiring harness was originally wired and why the braided wires are soldered to the back of the pots. This is from an early 60's ES-335 and the pots & capacitors are in 'cans' but it'll show you how the harness is laid out (you will have more wire to the switch than is in this pic from a 335). The 2 wires on the back of your volume pot were probably going to/from the switch, in your pic above (post #13) they seem to line up with the wires soldered to the tone pot then going to 1) the output jack and 2) the other pots.

    The harness is wired this way to 1) keep all the wires together in the guitar, 2) make it a little easier to install the wiring harness in the guitar.

    If you choose to proceed further I suggest you make a full-size cardboard cut-out of the entire top of your guitar with holes for the switch & pots, draw in or cut-out the pickup and f-holes, so you can place the pickups, switch and pots in the right place, at the right distances, before soldering the harness. This will also ensure you have enough wire to get the components back in the guitar. If you Google "es-335 wiring harness" or "es-175 wiring harness" you should see some examples of cardboard mock-ups.

    From the close-ups of your pots I believe the Seymour Duncan wiring diagram above is correct for your guitar.

    If you are still feeling adventurous then persevere - take your time and proceed when you understand the problem!!! You're 1st pic above (post #13) looks pretty close to where you need to be, compare that to the es-335 harness.
    Last edited by MaxTwang; 04-08-2016 at 11:38 AM.