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Just picked up an Epi ES-175 for a song and the selector switch might be faulty. The bridge pickup is working fine but the neck makes no sound at all. I think I'll order a Switchcraft replacement but I'm not sure which one to order. Any help on what specifications I need to search for would be great. Never replaced a switch on an archtop before so this should be a learning experience....hopefully not a painful one.
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01-04-2019 01:49 PM
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My Gibson ES-175 had one of these if I recall. I suggest you put a cable into the jack and check the ohms in each switch position before you re-assemble everything.
- Gibson Replacement For: PSTS-020
- Straight Type
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Originally Posted by helios
My Gibson ES-175 had one of these if I recall. I suggest you put a cable into the jack and check the ohms in each switch position before you re-assemble everything.
- Gibson Replacement For: PSTS-020
- Straight Type
Thanks. Instead of an ohm meter, I figured I'd just test the switch before reassembling.
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I put a switchcraft switch like that into
a Korean Ibanez ....
Yeah tested it before reassembly ...
Did the Jack socket too
Not too hard to do , go 4 it !
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Ordered that Switchcraft. Hopefully, this will bring the guitar to life. I'm eager to try out the Alnico classics. From what I've heard online, I might be happy with the low output and warmer tone.
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Have you checked to see if the Pickup works. Use a Multi meter or hook it up to the Bridge leads.
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Not yet, but would it really just go out? I would assume a wiring issue to be the most likely offender.
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The most likely issue is a loose wire somewhere in the chain. It could be at the switch, or at one of the pots. Or it could be the switch itself. Sometimes a leaf on the switch gets bent, or gets corrosion built up on it. The only way to find out is to pull all the electronics out and check. The easiest way to get it all out is through the pickup holes. Putting it all back together is a pain, but it can be done. Pulling just the neck pickup and the switch is the easiest way to go, and pull the rest only if the switch and connected wiring have no faults.
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When I re-did the electronics in my Ibanez ES-175 style, I had to repair and re-use the existing switch. The Switchcraft switch would not fit the grommet.
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Well hopefully mine won't be as cantankerous as that! Based on what I've read, the Switchcraft will be a direct replacement for the Epi. I hope.
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It could also be the internal connectors corroding. I own an Epi 175 premium and it came (ordered online) with the bridge pu dead - it turned out an internal factory-assembly connector fault. I pulled out the pots and the wires and resoldered everything the old fashioned way. Someone with a bit of soldering experience can do it, if it turns out to be that.
The Epi switch is crackly on mine but its a fairly simple design similar to Switchcraft (used by Gib). I will swap mine out with the short Switchcraft LP style swith for the crackling reason - I had to do that on my Epi ES-339 as well.
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Well....chose the wrong switch. It's actually the shorter model with the deep nut.
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This is what I ordered. The nut is too shallow. Oh well. Just a few more days of waiting, now.
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That's a cat's meow for a LP-style Epi... :-) They crackle too.
But seriously, check the inside cabling for connectors (maybe you have already). If you pu is constantly "off" no matter if you switch to and away from it, I'd bet it's not the switch that's the problem.
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Check the connecters....from the switch to the pu? Connecters from the pu to the pots? Sorry, I've just never dove into wiring before so I don't wanna make this more of an ordeal than necessary. Originally Posted by blujazman
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Should've removed the switch and inspected it first but I was impatient and away from the guitar when I ordered the replacement. That impatience also cost me when I ordered the wrong spline amber knobs to replace the funky cheapo black ones. Had to reorder those, too.
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Here's a after and before photo - one of those white plastic connectors in the before was the culprit when my 175 Premium arrived with a "dead" bridge pu. The photo without the connectors is the "fixed" version (connectors eliminated).
The connectors are probably mounted on the Gibson 57 Classic pu sets that Epiphone Korea was using (they go into different guitars), so they just plugged them into pre-made pot assemblies and mounted them into the guitars. In my case, the bridge pu connector just barely passed the QA test, then after sitting around for two years, the connectors case/pin just deformed slightly with aging/corrosion...Last edited by blujazman; 01-12-2019 at 04:49 PM.
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Ah. I see. I wonder if mine has the same wiring since it's a Reissue and not a Premium. Guess I'll be pulling everything out to check. Originally Posted by blujazman
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You could just pull out the volume pot for the neck pu (topmost) one. Put it to max ccw (e.g volume 10). Measure with an ohmmeter set to more than a 10Kohm range between pins 1 & 3 on the pot. If you see approximately 7-8K then the pu is connected to the pot ok (and whatever connector is in there or not is fine). If it is not connected you will see approx 500K (if the Reissue also had 500K, i don't know that, but it should have). Originally Posted by Esport
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I'll give that a try. Thank you! Originally Posted by blujazman
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My typo, the pot should be at full CW (clock-wise) which is Vol 10 (can't let fingers get ahead of the brain :-( )
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Since you have the switch out, you could examine its' contacts to visually and with an ohmmeter. If you look at how those thin plates and their little contact surface (a cone on one touches a round plate on another) you could maybe spot a problem and eliminate it in that case. Do both the cones touch the round plates when the swith is in the middle position... All three contacts should connected together in that position (~0 ohms...)
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The old switch appears to be contacting equally between the neck/middle/bridge positions. There are no irregular gaps between positions and the little cones seem to connect equally when choosing positions. Originally Posted by blujazman
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Solder joints all look good, too, from what I can tell.
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To pick a nit, it's not the nut that's too short, it's the threaded portion of the switch. The nut is what holds the switch in place by tightening when screwed onto it.
And what you'll see on the ohmmeter might not be the 500k from the pot, but zero, because the wire could be loose at the pot, thus no contact.
You're making things more difficult, take longer, and cost more by trying to avoid taking the pickups and pots out. The problem probably isn't the switch, and replacing it isn't likely to solve the problem. Removing the neck pickup isn't difficult, nor is it difficult to replace it if the problem is there. The hard part is dealing with loose wires on the pots. Cross your fingers and hope the problem is with the pickup.
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