RS Guitarworks in LP Std.

[captben41]

I have an LP standard and am looking into the RS guitarworks electronics upgrade. Before I purchase this I was wondering the difference between the premium production upgrade and the historic upgrade.

Can I only use the premium upgrade for a standard?
If not, what is the difference?

The tone I am looking for is nothing out of the ordinary, just a rock tone (think Black Crowes meets Warren Haynes)

 

[Thelonius]

The one difference I know is the historic kit uses the CTS short shaft pots. If your standard has the stock pots attached to a plate so the whole thing goes into the cavity as one assembly, you will need the longer shaft pots of the production kit. If you don't have the plate and are still unsure you can usually tell pretty well if you remove one of the pots.

 

[RichSZ]

You'll need the Premium Production kit. The only difference between the Production kit and the Historic kit is the length of the shafts on the pots.

If you look inside your control cavity, you'll see a metal grounding plate in there. You'll need the longer shafts in order to accomodate the plate. Historics don't have a grounding plate, so the Historic kit uses the shorter shaft pots.

-Rich

 

[papersoul]

What kind of pickups do you have???

 

[captben41]

Right now i'm using the stock burstbuckers that came in the guitar

 

[brent]

the premium kit is the way to go, you get the Hovlands upgraded from the standard kit and you get matched pots (still the same CTS audios but screened for value) and as was previously mentioned you want production with the long shafts vs. historic with the short shafts

 

[Brion]

I don't like the Hovland Caps. I put them in my custom shop LP and have them in a strat (both RS kits by the way). They sound fine at full volume, but I don't like what they do when I roll off my volume. It's like all the brightness stays, but the bass goes away. Just not my cup of tea.

 

[RSRelic]

Originally posted by Brion
I don't like the Hovland Caps. I put them in my custom shop LP and have them in a strat (both RS kits by the way). They sound fine at full volume, but I don't like what they do when I roll off my volume. It's like all the brightness stays, but the bass goes away. Just not my cup of tea.

What?? No way the bass goes away they don't work that way. Any way we don't use the Hovland MusiCap any more.
We have an all together different sounding cap now.

 

[hipfan]

RS - What's the new cap design like? Is it a Hovland also, or a different brand? What's the reason for the switch?

Just curious because I've tried lots of caps in various guitars (including the Hovlands that I bought from RS), and the Hovlands aren't one of my favorites. Too characterless when rolling down the tone, IMO.

 

[RSRelic]

Originally posted by hipfan
RS - What's the new cap design like? Is it a Hovland also, or a different brand? What's the reason for the switch?

Just curious because I've tried lots of caps in various guitars (including the Hovlands that I bought from RS), and the Hovlands aren't one of my favorites. Too characterless when rolling down the tone, IMO.

The New cap is called The RS GuitarCap also by Hovland. It's just as Transparent (I hate caps that color your guitar I want to hear the guitar not a cap) as the MusiCap but it voiced just for the guitar so it's smoother, and rounder when rolled off.

Roy

 

[hipfan]

Ah, thanks. Smoother and rounder should be improvements over the Musicap. I'll have to check some out.

 

[Brion]

Originally posted by RSRelic
What?? No way the bass goes away they don't work that way. Any way we don't use the Hovland MusiCap any more.
We have an all together different sounding cap now.

No offense meant, but the tone seems to get real thin as the volume is rolled down and is perceived to my ears as a loss of bass especially with the strat. It could be the Fralin pickups, Vintage hots I believe. The Caps are the old MusiCaps. I sold my LP with your kit installed and the new owner likes it just fine. Overall I found the RS kit an improvement over the factory electronics in my old LP. Once again I'm not bashing your product, just giving my opinion on my experience and it's worth every cent you paid for it.

 

[RSRelic]

Brion the way your your guitar sounds when you roll down the volume has nothing to do with the Hovland cap. The Hovland only effects the sound if you roll down the tone control.

Roy

 

[Brion]

ARRGGG. DOH!! I wonder what is causing this then? I'll have to double check I wired it up correctly of course. I always just assumed it was the caps never thinking that they were wired only to the tone pots. Well thanks anyway and sorry about any confusion guys.

 

[theelectic]

Originally posted by Brion
ARRGGG. DOH!! I wonder what is causing this then? I'll have to double check I wired it up correctly of course. I always just assumed it was the caps never thinking that they were wired only to the tone pots. Well thanks anyway and sorry about any confusion guys.

If you have the tone pots wired the wrong way, with the output to the switch taken from the tone pot (rather than the volume pot) this will form a high pass filter (AKA low cut filter).

 

[CS'56]

+1 on the RS Electronics! Makes a big difference

 

[captben41]

What is the difference like with the upgraded electronics? What will my ears be hearing differently?

 

[sinasl1]

It sounds to me like Brion's issue might not be the caps but the way the audio taper pots behave when you roll them down.... I have 2 RS kits that I've installed in my 57 Historic LP and in a LP Custom, and I really like them. The pots do have a rapid but totally even "roll-down". When compared with a linear taper pot (which to me don't do all that much between 2 and 10 on the pot, most of the action happens between 0-2), Brion might percieve the audio taper to be rolling off bass. In other words, to my ears, an audio taper on 7 or 8 = a linear taper on 2 or 3, because the linear taper ramps up so fast and doesn't do much past that point...

 

[Brion]

Originally posted by sinasl1
It sounds to me like Brion's issue might not be the caps but the way the audio taper pots behave when you roll them down.... I have 2 RS kits that I've installed in my 57 Historic LP and in a LP Custom, and I really like them. The pots do have a rapid but totally even "roll-down". When compared with a linear taper pot (which to me don't do all that much between 2 and 10 on the pot, most of the action happens between 0-2), Brion might percieve the audio taper to be rolling off bass. In other words, to my ears, an audio taper on 7 or 8 = a linear taper on 2 or 3, because the linear taper ramps up so fast and doesn't do much past that point...

That may very well be the case and I'll have to try rolling off less as 7-8 is about where I roll off to by habit closer to 7 than 8 usually.

 

[Soundhound]

I have a Tokai LS80 (1997 I think). I put some Wagner pups in there and the sound is getting there, but not quite nirvana yet. Anybody familiar with these guitars and if so whether this RS kit could help? And if so, do you know which kit I would need to get? thanks,.