Help! Triple Shot installation

[Lost_Highway]

As a birthday present to myself, I bought some SD Triple Shots for my Les Paul Studio. They sounded quite easy to install, what could possibly go wrong?

I must admit I'm not much of a guitarist, I've been playing over 20 years but all my guitars are stock, I've never changed a pick-up in my life . You can see where things have started to go wrong

So, this is my problem: you're supposed to solder the pick-up wires to the appropriate spots on the little circuit board, marked for the different colours. My LP's pick-ups seem to have only a single wire coming off them (which took a helluva lot of desoldering off the back of the volume pots, I think they were tacked down there to stop the cable from moving). The only little white/black/green/red wires I can see is one lot that comes from the pick-up selector switch and then to the back of the volume pots.

Have I fallen at the first hurdle, are Gibson's pups not of the compatible four-wire type? I've seen numerous threads on guitar forums where people have fitted them to LPs and never mentioned any compatibility problems. If it makes any difference, my Studio is from '95.

Have I missed something or am I just outta luck? If they are the wrong sort of pups, is there an easy way to solve it?

Part of me is wondering whether it might be easiest to just stump up for a set of P-rails... I'd been thinking it might be fun to go down that route (although I'm not terribly keen on the aesthetics, but what the hell), but I thought I'd try just the Triple Shots first.

[Hink]

As a birthday present to myself, I bought some SD Triple Shots for my Les Paul Studio. They sounded quite easy to install, what could possibly go wrong?

I must admit I'm not much of a guitarist, I've been playing over 20 years but all my guitars are stock, I've never changed a pick-up in my life . You can see where things have started to go wrong

So, this is my problem: you're supposed to solder the pick-up wires to the appropriate spots on the little circuit board, marked for the different colours. My LP's pick-ups seem to have only a single wire coming off them (which took a helluva lot of desoldering off the back of the volume pots, I think they were tacked down there to stop the cable from moving). The only little white/black/green/red wires I can see is one lot that comes from the pick-up selector switch and then to the back of the volume pots.

Have I fallen at the first hurdle, are Gibson's pups not of the compatible four-wire type? I've seen numerous threads on guitar forums where people have fitted them to LPs and never mentioned any compatibility problems. If it makes any difference, my Studio is from '95.

Have I missed something or am I just outta luck? If they are the wrong sort of pups, is there an easy way to solve it?

Part of me is wondering whether it might be easiest to just stump up for a set of P-rails... I'd been thinking it might be fun to go down that route (although I'm not terribly keen on the aesthetics, but what the hell), but I thought I'd try just the Triple Shots first.

triple shot switches are designed for use with p-rails, you could make the pups 4 conductor if you want and I think in the wiring sticky in this forum you will find how. Basically you have to open the pups and do some mods, but if it's not your thing it's better left to the pros or buy 4 conductor pups like the p-rails or any Duncan humbucker.

FTR I have a set of p-rails in a baritone I built and I love them but I did not use triple shot switches I used regular DPDT toggles

[Lost_Highway]

I didn't think they were designed specifically for use with P-rails -- SD don't seem to market them as such: I know the Triple Shots get the full range of sounds out of the P-rails, but I've read plenty of people instances of people using them with "normal" 'buckers.

I'd not seen any mention of those with normal 'buckers and Gibsons having to mod their pick-ups to be four-wire. I guess it's maybe one of the corners they cut on the Studio. It's just rather annoying to find this out after[i/] spending 50 quid. I'm not sure I like the sound of dismantling the pups and modding them.

It looks like I'm going to have to stump up £150+ for some P-rails, not that I'll be able to get my hands on any anytime soon as nowhere locally has them in stock. I could do without the expense, too, having just also bought a Bigsby for it: that was on in five minutes (thanks to the Vibramate), not that it's much use with no strings and pickups

ETA: Weird, just read something about different types of Gibson pickup, which reckons that the 490R/490T (which is what I could've sworn my Studio had), are four conductor. But given that they have a braided outer that was soldered to the back of the volume pot and a single wire down the middle, obviously not (and I've just noticed that it looks like part of the volume pot has come off with the braid when desoldering ).

[Hink]

I didn't think they were designed specifically for use with P-rails -- SD don't seem to market them as such: I know the Triple Shots get the full range of sounds out of the P-rails, but I've read plenty of people instances of people using them with "normal" 'buckers.

I'd not seen any mention of those with normal 'buckers and Gibsons having to mod their pick-ups to be four-wire. I guess it's maybe one of the corners they cut on the Studio. It's just rather annoying to find this out after[i/] spending 50 quid. I'm not sure I like the sound of dismantling the pups and modding them.

It looks like I'm going to have to stump up £150+ for some P-rails, not that I'll be able to get my hands on any anytime soon as nowhere locally has them in stock. I could do without the expense, too, having just also bought a Bigsby for it: that was on in five minutes (thanks to the Vibramate), not that it's much use with no strings and pickups

ETA: Weird, just read something about different types of Gibson pickup, which reckons that the 490R/490T (which is what I could've sworn my Studio had), are four conductor. But given that they have a braided outer that was soldered to the back of the volume pot and a single wire down the middle, obviously not (and I've just noticed that it looks like part of the volume pot has come off with the braid when desoldering ).

okay maybe I said it wrong, triple shots are often suggested for P-rails but you can use them as you say so you can use them with any 4 conductor pup .FWIW the braided part of the wire is the shield and the reason it is soldered to the pots for ground.