50s Wiring vs Modern: What Changes and Why?

Written by Kenny Prochazka

Doing any research into guitar schematics, especially for a Les Paul or other dual humbucker guitar, it does not take long to come across the term “50s wiring”. But what does that mean? And, perhaps more importantly, how does it affect your tone? Here, we aim to answer both questions so that you can make the best choice for your needs.

What is 50s wiring?

50s wiring refers to the way that tone capacitors are mounted into certain guitar circuits, between volume and tone controls. In a standard Les Paul (or SG, or Telecaster® Deluxe, etc.) each of the two pickups has its own volume and tone control, and how these controls interact is a function of how they are connected.

In the 1950s, when Gibson was pioneering the double humbucker guitar, they arranged the wiring so that the tone control came after the volume control. This was simply done by attaching the tone capacitor to the output (middle) lug of the volume potentiometer and the ground (third) lug of the tone potentiometer.

This 50s wiring acts like a treble bleed circuit, preventing the loss of high end (treble) while you turn down the volume. Oddly enough, however, instead of the volume control affecting your tone, the tone control can end up affecting your volume. The most noted potential drawback of this setup is that it might leave your tone too bright for high-gain situations.

What is Modern Wiring?

In the 1960s, Gibson started attaching the tone capacitor from the output (middle) lug of the tone potentiometer to the input (first) lug of the volume potentiometer, putting the tone control before the volume control. This brought a smoother overall sound to the circuit, and stopped the tone control from affecting the volume. However, it still left the age-old issue of treble loss when turning down the volume. (If this is a major problem, a simple treble bleed on the volume pot can make a world of difference.)

So which one is right for me?

This is where it becomes personal.

If you find that your guitar is excessively dark sounding, you may prefer employing '50s wiring to preserve as much high-end as possible. If you use high gain, or desire a smoother tone, you might want to explore modern wiring.

Please bear in mind that the differences between 50s and modern wiring are only apparent when you turn down the volume or tone controls. If you play your guitar wide open, with everything cranked to 10 at all times, there should not be any noticeable tonal change between the circuits.

Now that you understand a bit more about 50s and modern wiring, some guitar wiring schematics may make more sense, and you should be able to spot where the tone cap is attached. The rest is up to you, so get out there, find your sound and love your tone.