Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

[GrooveHT]

Hey folks, I was wondering if anyone used a dial-a-tap mod in conjunction with a pearly gates bridge. If so, how useful do you find it?

[BachToRock]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

DIAL-A-TAP is the BEST... I highly recommend it!

[Stratsky]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

Hey folks, I was wondering if anyone used a dial-a-tap mod in conjunction with a pearly gates bridge. If so, how useful do you find it?

If your talking about the spin-a-split mod in SD's technical tips, I've done this with my big apple strat. As of now, I have it loaded with the following, PG bridge, fat 50 middle, and 59 neck. Both the PG and 59 have been wire to have spin-a-split so I don't have a tone control for either but since I never used them as tone controls I don't miss not having them. Also I have the switch wired like so:
1. bridge
2. bridge/middle
3. middle
4. neck/middle
5. neck
Extremely versatile especially in positions 2 and 4. The PG is a PG not a PG+. I saw so many posts here about how much better the PG was I bought one. To be honest I don't see alot of difference when played clean, but with some gain the PG really outshines the PG+. My 2 cents.

[jazzyjoepass]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

what do u mean by dial-a-tap?

is it something like a PRS rotary switch? I'm trying to do that.

[BachToRock]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

One important thing is to use a 500k or 1meg pot so you don't load down the coil too much...

[GrooveHT]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

jazzy - by dial-a-tap, I mean the spin-a-split mod on the SD Tech Tips page...basically, you use a pot to incrimentally split a humbucker. So you can have one coil at 100% and one variable, from 0%-100%. It allows you a huge amount of variation in your tones, and its been recommended to me by several people.

BTR - thanks, my next question was going to be what value pot to use! Do you prefer the 500k or the 1 meg?

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

One important thing is to use a 500k or 1meg pot so you don't load down the coil too much...

A "no load" pot is also a really good idea so that you don't get any bleed through when you want the full humbucker.

Chip

[Kent S.]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

what do u mean by dial-a-tap?

is it something like a PRS rotary switch? I'm trying to do that.

A rotary switch is not the same, that's representative of a switching system (which it is ). If you want a PRS rotary switch, then you'll have to get one from a PRS dealer, BTW ... their current system uses a small PCB in conjunction with it, unlike the old rotary switch, (factory moddified PSA-223, Beyschlab/Centralab) in which the wiring was done on the switch itself.
The varisplit, varitap, dial-a-tap,spin-a-split, or whatever you want to call it is generally very effective, and offers a nice range of tonal shadings; especially clean. I personally do not hold with the single coil idea (hum), but others do, and it really shines clean. I believe Chip had stated before that a 100k pot often works best, as far as the fade in fade out ,... the no load definitely becomes important there.

[SINGTONE]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

Yeah spin a split is Great!........If you want a no load you can also use a mini switch and preset the effect and toggle between full humbucker and preset split. That is cut the pot out of the circuit and leave it in full humbucker mode.

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

Hi Kent -

the 100k pot worked best for a tapped single coil Quarter Pound pickup. That gave me the most useful range of control with the pot.

Haven't tried a "spin-a-split" yet, so I don't know what resistance would work best in that application. It may even depend on the output of the humbucker.

Chip

[Stratsky]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

A "no load" pot is also a really good idea so that you don't get any bleed through when you want the full humbucker.

Chip

I'm using 500 K pots, but I like the idea of no load pots. I believe I will try this.

[Farkus]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

I actually posted a question about this last week and had only one reply! It's pretty cool that it has been addressed already. I find that my J-Bass is a lot more versatile b/c I can 'blend' the pickups. It really makes a huge difference in tone, to my ears. I'm gonna try this with my Strat soon...PGn and FSb.

Farkus

[yes-fan]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

dial-a-tap sounds like a number you would call to tap pickups....

[Kent S.]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

Hi Kent -

the 100k pot worked best for a tapped single coil Quarter Pound pickup. That gave me the most useful range of control with the pot.

Haven't tried a "spin-a-split" yet, so I don't know what resistance would work best in that application. It may even depend on the output of the humbucker.

Chip

The one I did years ago on a friends (first time I ever did it circa 15 years or so) ... was on a PAF style HB in the bridge position of a H/S/S strat style guitar ... I used the 250k-A pot thats was in there, worked just fine. For a hotter pup though, and higher DCR/Z a 500k might do better. Never got around to playing with the tapers, or altering them on a customized basis though.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Dial-a-tap with Pearly Gates?

Hey Kent; How well do you think something like this might work?
Its something I've wondered about.
Dial slowly from one coil, through full humbucker, to the other coil.