About to add a Stripped 58 to the collection

[JasonE]

This is mine!
Stock with upgraded pots and caps. Notice my bridge 57/08 has a red wire!

https://imgur.com/a/WYo8ovc

It is a little hard to tell but it looks like the red wire may be coming from the toggle switch. It looks like both pickup wires are the two wire meaning one wire with the shield. I would have to open my SC-58 up again to verify it but they very well may not have put a tap wire on these pickups since this guitar didn't have a tap option. Those look like they are the stock pickups from what I am seeing.

 

[Lewguitar]

It is a little hard to tell but it looks like the red wire may be coming from the toggle switch. It looks like both pickup wires are the two wire meaning one wire with the shield. I would have to open my SC-58 up again to verify it but they very well may not have put a tap wire on these pickups since this guitar didn't have a tap option. Those look like they are the stock pickups from what I am seeing.

My Stripped 58 had the white coil tap wires hidden under the pickups in the pickup routs.

I didn't know those wires were there until I unscrewed the mounting rings and lifted the 57/08's out of the guitar.

I didn't think they had coil tap wires but they did.

 

[SinSir]

My Stripped 58 had the white coil tap wires hidden under the pickups in the pickup routs.

I didn't know those wires were there until I unscrewed the mounting rings and lifted the 57/08's out of the guitar.

I didn't think they had coil tap wires but they did.

I was wondering this same thing since my cavity doesn't have a tap wire. PRS is pretty tidy and that makes perfect sense.

 

[boardn10]

I would take it back to my tech and tell him/her to replace that nut! I don't think there is another acceptable solution!! YMMV!!!

Ugh. Pisses me off.
I've seen him use this material to build up the slot and recur?
If he don't do it, I'll find a new tech.
He is usually great, so I'm a little shocked he did this and didn't catch this.
I took it to him as I normally do new guitars since I like the nut cut lower than facorty. He did my other PRSs the past few years and they all came out great. He's also done this sort of work and lots of other work over the years.
For my Stripped 58, he agreed the nut was already fairly low but a little uneven, he said he took care of that.
Every slot is now at the perfect height except the D or 4th string slot. Ugh.

On the tuning machines, I adjusted the screw on the bass side 4th string tuning machine and it seems a bit better. The timing machine is still not as responsive as the others. It seems to be more worn than the others and considering this guitar was not used much since the purchase in 2012, I'm surprised why a tuning machine would be partially stripped or worn.
If it gets any worse or causes issues at gigs, slowing up my tuning, I'll replace it.

 

[boardn10]

This is mine!
Stock with upgraded pots and caps. Notice my bridge 57/08 has a red wire!

https://imgur.com/a/WYo8ovc

Can anyone comment on my Stripped 58 cavity? I see a red wire from the bridge 57/08 pickup. I know the original owner had his tech replace the stock wiring with what you see here in the photo. I believe the bridge pickup has a red, white and bare wire. I'm assuming this is an older pickup with red, white and shield. I know some PRS pickups have a red hot wire like my older Dragon pickups.

My newer PRS pickups do not have a red wire, unless for splitting, I assume.

Side note, are the 57/08 pickups potted?
Assuming they are potted.

I'm surprised at how hot this bridge pickup feels. It feels as hot as anything else I own. Feels hotter than the Rio Grande BBQ I recently tried in my LP.

 

[JasonE]

Ugh. Pisses me off.
I've seen him use this material to build up the slot and recur?
If he don't do it, I'll find a new tech.
He is usually great, so I'm a little shocked he did this and didn't catch this.
I took it to him as I normally do new guitars since I like the nut cut lower than facorty. He did my other PRSs the past few years and they all came out great. He's also done this sort of work and lots of other work over the years.
For my Stripped 58, he agreed the nut was already fairly low but a little uneven, he said he took care of that.
Every slot is now at the perfect height except the D or 4th string slot. Ugh.

On the tuning machines, I adjusted the screw on the bass side 4th string tuning machine and it seems a bit better. The timing machine is still not as responsive as the others. It seems to be more worn than the others and considering this guitar was not used much since the purchase in 2012, I'm surprised why a tuning machine would be partially stripped or worn.
If it gets any worse or causes issues at gigs, slowing up my tuning, I'll replace it.

Is the nut black or bone? If it is black, I would replace it with a new PRS nut. I don't think you would want to try to build up a slot with something that is going to be a different material in that nut. If it is bone, I have used a gel superglue to fill a slot and then recut it. That works well. I don't think I would try that on the standard PRS black nut.

 

[Lewguitar]

Can anyone comment on my Stripped 58 cavity? I see a red wire from the bridge 57/08 pickup. I know the original owner had his tech replace the stock wiring with what you see here in the photo. I believe the bridge pickup has a red, white and bare wire. I'm assuming this is an older pickup with red, white and shield. I know some PRS pickups have a red hot wire like my older Dragon pickups.

My newer PRS pickups do not have a red wire, unless for splitting, I assume.

Side note, are the 57/08 pickups potted?
Assuming they are potted.

I'm surprised at how hot this bridge pickup feels. It feels as hot as anything else I own. Feels hotter than the Rio Grande BBQ I recently tried in my LP.

The red wire is the coil tap in the latest set of 57/08's I acquired.

Neck 8.15K
Bridge 8.92K

Basically an 8K and 9K set.

 

[JasonE]

Can anyone comment on my Stripped 58 cavity? I see a red wire from the bridge 57/08 pickup. I know the original owner had his tech replace the stock wiring with what you see here in the photo. I believe the bridge pickup has a red, white and bare wire. I'm assuming this is an older pickup with red, white and shield. I know some PRS pickups have a red hot wire like my older Dragon pickups.

My newer PRS pickups do not have a red wire, unless for splitting, I assume.

Side note, are the 57/08 pickups potted?
Assuming they are potted.

I'm surprised at how hot this bridge pickup feels. It feels as hot as anything else I own. Feels hotter than the Rio Grande BBQ I recently tried in my LP.

I replied to this picture farther up. If that red wire is definitely coming from the bridge pickup, it is more than likely a newer 57/08 pickup that has been installed in place of the stock 57/08. From what I could see in the picture, I thought I saw two pickup wires with the shielding on the outside of them. If those are not both pickups and the one with the red wire is the bridge pickup, then I think the bridge pickup was replaced with a newer one. I know the red wire is for the tap on the newer version of the 57/08.

 

[boardn10]

Is the nut black or bone? If it is black, I would replace it with a new PRS nut. I don't think you would want to try to build up a slot with something that is going to be a different material in that nut. If it is bone, I have used a gel superglue to fill a slot and then recut it. That works well. I don't think I would try that on the standard PRS black nut.

Ok thanks.
It is a black nut.

Yes, I have seen my tech use a gel superglue on nuts that needed to be recut.

 

[boardn10]

I replied to this picture farther up. If that red wire is definitely coming from the bridge pickup, it is more than likely a newer 57/08 pickup that has been installed in place of the stock 57/08. From what I could see in the picture, I thought I saw two pickup wires with the shielding on the outside of them. If those are not both pickups and the one with the red wire is the bridge pickup, then I think the bridge pickup was replaced with a newer one. I know the red wire is for the tap on the newer version of the 57/08.

Oh OK, thanks!
Yes, not appears the bridge pickup has a red wire.

 

[boardn10]

It's interesting, I no longer place as much value on the acoustic tone of a guitar. I used place everything into the acoustic properties. But, I have to admit, some of my PRS don't sound as good as my other guitars acoustic ally, but are amazing thru the amp! My Stripped 58 and 01 Singlecut are not as loud as my LP acoustic ally but wow do they sound great plugged. My S58 gives the impression it will be very bright plugged in but it is really balanced and rich with a fat tone. My LP is very resonant but you can hear the strong natural mids that are more barrow than the S58 plugged in, even though it sounds incredible unplugged.
There are too many variables to know how a guitar will perform, until you plug in. That's been my experience.

 

[boardn10]

I believe this is a better photo of the cavity. For the bridge pickup. There is a red, white and bare ground wire. One red to lug, one white to lug and bare ground with black cover to back of pot.

But why only one coil? Don't most such pickups use a 4 conductor setup with 4 wires? I'm used to having two coil rap wires, either in use or taped off together.

Not sure why he covered the bare wire and shielded the cavity. I've never had much in the way of noise issues with humbucker. My LP had some noise at one time.

I also don't know if the original Stripped 58 came with coil tapping. I can confirm that this guitar does not have coil taps. These are standard pots, not split pots so I'm not sure why it's wired this way.

I don't know for sure what pickup is in my bridge slot. Definitely not the original 57/08 version? Maybe PRS was testing out some hotter versions at the time or the bridge pickup or both had been replaced?

It works, sounds great and the bridge pickup sounds and feels hot to me.

https://imgur.com/CafqhlW

 

[JasonE]

I believe this is a better photo of the cavity. For the bridge pickup. There is a red, white and bare ground wire. I can see the white is not ground so as Lew mentioned, one wire is for cool tapping.
But why only one coil? Don't most such pickups use a 4 conductor setup with 4 wires? I'm used to having two coil rap wires, either in use or taped off together.

I also don't know if the original Stripped 58 came with cool tapping. I can confirm that this guitar does not have coil taps. These are standard pots, not split pots so I'm not sure why it's wired this way.
It works, sounds great and the bridge pickup sounds and feels hot to me.

https://imgur.com/CafqhlW

Seymour Duncan pickups use two wires for a tap. PRS pickups only use one.

The wire colors for the new 57/08s are black, red and white. The set of pickups are magnetically out of phase so you would wire the neck pickup differently than the bridge pickup to put them in phase with each other. On both pickups the red wire is the tap. The difference is you swap the black and white wire on one pickup from how the other is wired.

 

[boardn10]

Seymour Duncan pickups use two wires for a tap. PRS pickups only use one.

The wire colors for the new 57/08s are black, red and white. The set of pickups are magnetically out of phase so you would wire the neck pickup differently than the bridge pickup to put them in phase with each other. On both pickups the red wire is the tap. The difference is you swap the black and white wire on one pickup from how the other is wired.

Got it, but I thought I've had four conductor PRS pickups.
Mine has red, white and bare.

 

[JasonE]

I believe this is a better photo of the cavity. For the bridge pickup. There is a red, white and bare ground wire. One red to lug, one white to lug and bare ground with black cover to back of pot.

But why only one coil? Don't most such pickups use a 4 conductor setup with 4 wires? I'm used to having two coil rap wires, either in use or taped off together.

Not sure why he covered the bare wire and shielded the cavity. I've never had much in the way of noise issues with humbucker. My LP had some noise at one time.

I also don't know if the original Stripped 58 came with coil tapping. I can confirm that this guitar does not have coil taps. These are standard pots, not split pots so I'm not sure why it's wired this way.

I don't know for sure what pickup is in my bridge slot. Definitely not the original 57/08 version? Maybe PRS was testing out some hotter versions at the time or the bridge pickup or both had been replaced?

It works, sounds great and the bridge pickup sounds and feels hot to me.

https://imgur.com/CafqhlW

Are you sure that red wire isn't from the three way toggle? I am seeing both pickup wires being the ones with the shield on the outside of them. The shield is soldered to the back of the pot and the center wire goes to a lug on the volume knob. The wire that has the red wire in it has the red wire soldered to middle lug on each volume pot from what I am seeing.

 

[boardn10]

There is no splitting but let me check the toggle. Oh, I see what you are saying. Let me double check.

That makes sense, not sure why I was looking at it that way. You are correct.
Interesting in this guitar, the bridge pickup use the volume pot closest to my pinky finger while playing. My 01 SC and 08SC250 use the back volume pot for the bridge pickup.aybe the tech swapped the two when rewiring.

Braid to back of pot, Black lead to outer lug. Toggle switch has red to center of one volume pot and white to center of lug on the other volume pot. Reminds me of LP wiring.

The bridge pickup seems hot! It screams with huge pinch harmonics.

 

[Lewguitar]

Here's the cable end of the latest set of 57/08's I have.

https://imgur.com/nIbK6fs

I bought them used but they're fairly new.

The red coil tapping wire is taped to gray plastic of the cable.

The guy I bought them from added the black shrink wrap over the ground.

The remaining black and white plastic covered wires are the beginning and end of the two coils in series. One would go to ground and one would go to the selector switch or a volume pot depending on the guitar's circuit.

Those are the two wires you would reverse on one pickup only, to put the the two pickups in phase if you're using a 3 way switch.

 

[JasonE]

There is no splitting but let me check the toggle. Oh, I see what you are saying. Let me double check.

That makes sense, not sure why I was looking at it that way. You are correct.
Interesting in this guitar, the bridge pickup use the volume pot closest to my pinky finger while playing. My 01 SC and 08SC250 use the back volume pot for the bridge pickup.aybe the tech swapped the two when rewiring.

Braid to back of pot, Black lead to outer lug. Toggle switch has red to center of one volume pot and white to center of lug on the other volume pot. Reminds me of LP wiring.

The bridge pickup seems hot! It screams with huge pinch harmonics.

The SC-58 and Stripped 58 are wired this way. It is different than any other single cut guitar I have owned, including other PRS single cut guitars. That is standard wiring for this series. The top two knobs are the volume knobs and the bottom two are the tones, in playing position.

 

[boardn10]

Here's the cable end of the latest set of 57/08's I have.

https://imgur.com/nIbK6fs

I bought them used but they're fairly new.

The red coil tapping wire is taped to gray plastic of the cable.

The guy I bought them from added the black shrink wrap over the ground.

The remaining black and white plastic covered wires are the beginning and end of the two coils in series. One would go to ground and one would go to the selector switch or a volume pot depending on the guitar's circuit.

Those are the two wires you would reverse on one pickup only, to put the the two pickups in phase if you're using a 3 way switch.

Yes, I've had to do that with every PRS where I installed a 3 way toggle switch.
Mine are black and braid.

Not that I am going to, but if I ever wanted to try another pickup, I might have to reverse the wires. Not sure why these stock pickuos would have been out of phase considering there was no coil splitting.

My be have one black wire and a shield. However, I do not see a white wire.

 

[boardn10]

The SC-58 and Stripped 58 are wired this way. It is different than any other single cut guitar I have owned, including other PRS single cut guitars. That is standard wiring for this series. The top two knobs are the volume knobs and the bottom two are the tones, in playing position.

Yep, this is wired like my Les Pauls as far as which volume pots go to the bridge and neck pickups.