About to install 4 push/pull pots...

[cyberpunk409]

I've just ordered 4 push/pull pots to put into my Edwards LP-98LTS. I don't know if many of you are aware, but these Edwards' come with Seymour Duncan (59/JB) humbuckers that have the 4 conductor wire!

Anyways... I'm thinking of doing the Jimmy Page wiring, but wanted to know if there were any other, maybe more versatile, options when installing 4 push/pull pots.

Let me know if there are, and please provide links to schematics if you know any.

(BTW, i have plenty of schematics for the JP wiring, im asking for any OTHER options and what their advantages over the JP wiring would be)

CHEERS

 

[cyberpunk409]

Re: About to install 4 push/pull pots...

anyone?

 

[blueman335]

Re: About to install 4 push/pull pots...

I do a lot of alternative wiring (its a sickness), and to me the most versatile is the JP system. The most bang for the buck. I like the fact that the outer appearence of the guitar is unchanged and there's no unreliable batteries involved. I have it in warm-toned guitars: Epi LP's & 335's. It pretty well covers the bases of series/parallel/coil cut/phase. That's most of what you can get by changing current flow & magnet polarity.

Other options will do some interesting things, but not as many, and are useful for when you don't want to go all out:
Spin-a-split - by converting the tone pot to a second volume control for one of the coils, you get coil cut & any degree of unbalanced coils that you want. This is the easiest alternative wiring & the cheapest, yet very versatile. You can do it on both PU's if you want, for endless blending options.
Coil cuts - Half the JP system. Keep the screw coil active on the neck, and the slug coil on the bridge. This gives you the warmer & louder bridge slug coil, plus you're noise-free when both on are together with coil cuts.
Phase/Series - the other half the JP system. You get a full volume out-of-phase sound, instead of the usual volume drop. Series for two PU's in full HB is loud, dark, & muddy. It's best when the neck is in coil cut & the bridge is in HB.
Parallel - Whereas coil cuts give you 50% of the ohms of a full series HB, parallel gives you only 25%. The low output and bright, thin sound is not really usable on the bridge, but viable on the neck. Many of us prefer coil cuts to parallel, as the sound is louder & has more bite, without much increase in hum.
Vari-tone switch - Great on paper, sucks in real life. Too many capacitors; the tones are weak & low output. Big disappointment. Nobody followed Gibson on this, which should tell you something (whereas everyone copied the super Strat concept).

I recommend push-pulls instead of mini-toggles, as there's no drilling. If you change to single-lead PU's later, you could end up with a guitar looking like a piece of Swiss cheese, which is not condusive to maintaining resale value. The JP system isn't hard; I did it on my second re-wiring. Print out the excellent diagram on this website & follow the colors. Use the SD diagrams for everything you need and you can't go wrong.

 

[cyberpunk409]

Re: About to install 4 push/pull pots...

thanks for your lengthy and clear advice from what you said, i think JP wiring is the best way to go. can't wait til my push/pull pots arrive in the mail so i can get them into my guitar. will update this thread with my thoughts on the JP wiring system once i've installed it

 

[blueman335]

Re: About to install 4 push/pull pots...

thanks for your lengthy and clear advice from what you said, i think JP wiring is the best way to go. can't wait til my push/pull pots arrive in the mail so i can get them into my guitar. will update this thread with my thoughts on the JP wiring system once i've installed it

For your other guitars (present & future), try some of the different wirings I mentioned, they're pretty easy to do, especially the spin-a-split. Except for hollow bodies, I have some kind of alternative wiring on almost all my guitars. Besides the added versatility, you get experience & an education in guitar tones.