So I'm wanting to rewire a dot clone I have which has the standard 2 humbucker 4 pot wiring of 2 volume and 2 tone. I'm not actually sure if the pups are 4 conductor or 2 since it is a chinese clone I counldn't fine any information for and I haven't yet poked around to see. I'm just planning ahead a bit. I prefer having one master volume and 2 tone which leads me to my question. What would yall suggest I do with the 4th pot? Is there some cool feature I can wire it for that gives me a wider range of tones and sounds? If it helps, any non standard pot tyles such as push/pull are fine. I've rewired several guitars, just looking for something different this time.
Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
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blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
Almost all imports (and many American-mades too) have single lead PU's. That still allows you to wire for phase and series.
To do coil cut and spin-a-split, you need a 2nd lead. That means: 1) replacing the PU, or 2) adding a wire to the existing PU and running it to a push-pull in the control cavity. You don't need a 4-lead PU for that, as two of the wires are combined (with Duncan's that's the red & white wires). Easy to do: take off the PU cover (if it has one) and partially peel off the tape that goes across the two coils, but not the tape on the individual coils. You'll see the hot wire and ground going out to the volume pot. The other two wires are connected to each other between the coils. That's what you want to tap into. Take off that tape over where they're soldered together, and to that solder on your own wire that's long enough to reach the volume pot. It should be a shielded wire. Put the tape back on that connection, and the tape back on the coils, along with the cover. That's what would be the red & white wires on a 4-lead Duncan humbucker.
With your PU's modified like that you can do all kinds of mods. One of the most versatile is the 4 push-pull Jimmy Page system that gives coil cut, phase, and series, in 21 combinations. I've put that in 335's.
BTW, I wire my guitars for independent volume controls (which is just changing what lugs two of the wires go to on the pot, no new parts needed), as this allows maximum blending of the two PU's volume levels, giving you a lot more tones. I'd never give that up by using a master volume control. I like to have the neck PU at a lower volume for rhythm, and the bridge all the way up for solos. All I have to do is flip the toggle and I instantly get the volume levels I want for each PU. Very handy on stage.
Almost all imports (and many American-mades too) have single lead PU's. That still allows you to wire for phase and series.
To do coil cut and spin-a-split, you need a 2nd lead. That means: 1) replacing the PU, or 2) adding a wire to the existing PU and running it to a push-pull in the control cavity. You don't need a 4-lead PU for that, as two of the wires are combined (with Duncan's that's the red & white wires). Easy to do: take off the PU cover (if it has one) and partially peel off the tape that goes across the two coils, but not the tape on the individual coils. You'll see the hot wire and ground going out to the volume pot. The other two wires are connected to each other between the coils. That's what you want to tap into. Take off that tape over where they're soldered together, and to that solder on your own wire that's long enough to reach the volume pot. It should be a shielded wire. Put the tape back on that connection, and the tape back on the coils, along with the cover. That's what would be the red & white wires on a 4-lead Duncan humbucker.
With your PU's modified like that you can do all kinds of mods. One of the most versatile is the 4 push-pull Jimmy Page system that gives coil cut, phase, and series, in 21 combinations. I've put that in 335's.
BTW, I wire my guitars for independent volume controls (which is just changing what lugs two of the wires go to on the pot, no new parts needed), as this allows maximum blending of the two PU's volume levels, giving you a lot more tones. I'd never give that up by using a master volume control. I like to have the neck PU at a lower volume for rhythm, and the bridge all the way up for solos. All I have to do is flip the toggle and I instantly get the volume levels I want for each PU. Very handy on stage.
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Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
If you can't see inside the F-hole, a small mirror (like a dental mirror) is a great tool to have if you own one of these guitars. You will notice that if it is 4 conductor, and it is wired like all other 335s, there will be 2 sets of wires that are not used. My guess, is that it is 2 conductor, however. Get out the mirror and a flashlight to see what you have.
If you can't see inside the F-hole, a small mirror (like a dental mirror) is a great tool to have if you own one of these guitars. You will notice that if it is 4 conductor, and it is wired like all other 335s, there will be 2 sets of wires that are not used. My guess, is that it is 2 conductor, however. Get out the mirror and a flashlight to see what you have.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
Most mid-price imports don't put a big emphasis on PU quality, with cost considerations usually being the priority, and 4-lead PU's cost a little more to make (not much though, but they usually squeeze every place they can). Unless it's a pricier import, it's probably got very basic PU's of so-so quality and would almost certainly be single lead. I've gotten into the habit of upgrading or changing out PU's on just about every guitar I've owned, and have always been able to improve the tone quality. Guitar makers often get away with their stock ones being pretty cheaply made, as the vast majority of players know nothing about PU's. I've seen Ibanez mid-price hollow bodies with ceramic PU's. Some of those decisions don't make a lot of sense.
For a 335 type guitar, a set of good PAF's is usually the way to go. If you buy used, you can frequently get them for about half the price of new. Put a pair of Seth's in it, and you'll be impressed with the tone quality.
Most mid-price imports don't put a big emphasis on PU quality, with cost considerations usually being the priority, and 4-lead PU's cost a little more to make (not much though, but they usually squeeze every place they can). Unless it's a pricier import, it's probably got very basic PU's of so-so quality and would almost certainly be single lead. I've gotten into the habit of upgrading or changing out PU's on just about every guitar I've owned, and have always been able to improve the tone quality. Guitar makers often get away with their stock ones being pretty cheaply made, as the vast majority of players know nothing about PU's. I've seen Ibanez mid-price hollow bodies with ceramic PU's. Some of those decisions don't make a lot of sense.
For a 335 type guitar, a set of good PAF's is usually the way to go. If you buy used, you can frequently get them for about half the price of new. Put a pair of Seth's in it, and you'll be impressed with the tone quality.
Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
I know it sounds insane but I'm hesitant to change out these pups as I actually like the way they sound. I've changed pickups in all my guitars to meet my prefference but these just feel pretty good.
I know it sounds insane but I'm hesitant to change out these pups as I actually like the way they sound. I've changed pickups in all my guitars to meet my prefference but these just feel pretty good.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
Coil cut is completely grounding out one coil of a HB, to make it a single coil. Won't sound like a Fender single coil, as those have individual magnets for each string, and the coil is wound around them.
Spin-a-split is an ingenious way to get unbalanced coils on a HB (most of the original PAF's had unbalanced coils, which was part of their great sound). When coils are matched, they cancel out some treble and add midrange, and when they're unbalanced or mismatched, some of one coil's individual sound comes thru, giving both HB & single coil at the same time.
To convert to spin-a-split: turn the tone pot into a 2nd volume pot, but for one coil only (just resoldering a few wires, no new parts needed); there's diagrams online. This lets you dial in as much, or as little, of the 2nd coil as you want. All the way down is coil cut. As soon as you turn up the volume a little, you can hear some humbucker kick in, but not much. When you dial it all the way up, it's a normal HB. The tonal 'magic' happens in between coil cut & and full HB.
Coil cut is completely grounding out one coil of a HB, to make it a single coil. Won't sound like a Fender single coil, as those have individual magnets for each string, and the coil is wound around them.
Spin-a-split is an ingenious way to get unbalanced coils on a HB (most of the original PAF's had unbalanced coils, which was part of their great sound). When coils are matched, they cancel out some treble and add midrange, and when they're unbalanced or mismatched, some of one coil's individual sound comes thru, giving both HB & single coil at the same time.
To convert to spin-a-split: turn the tone pot into a 2nd volume pot, but for one coil only (just resoldering a few wires, no new parts needed); there's diagrams online. This lets you dial in as much, or as little, of the 2nd coil as you want. All the way down is coil cut. As soon as you turn up the volume a little, you can hear some humbucker kick in, but not much. When you dial it all the way up, it's a normal HB. The tonal 'magic' happens in between coil cut & and full HB.
Re: Alternative wiring for 4 pot dot clone
The spin a split looks really interesting. I have series/parallel set up on my Schecter for both pickups to get a single coil-ish sound when I want. I'm a fan of trying to get a guitar to be as versatile as possible. Especially since I can't afford a guitar for each sound I want, gotta make what I have stretch farther. I really like series/parallel, more so than when I tried coil split with a push pull. But with the dot I may just go the spin a split rout. I can only wire it for one of the two pickups right (assuming they have 4 leads).?
Edit: I think I'm in love with that bass control wiring. That almost gives that single coil clarity but in a different way. I'm tempted to rewire my Schecter to do this.
The spin a split looks really interesting. I have series/parallel set up on my Schecter for both pickups to get a single coil-ish sound when I want. I'm a fan of trying to get a guitar to be as versatile as possible. Especially since I can't afford a guitar for each sound I want, gotta make what I have stretch farther. I really like series/parallel, more so than when I tried coil split with a push pull. But with the dot I may just go the spin a split rout. I can only wire it for one of the two pickups right (assuming they have 4 leads).?
Edit: I think I'm in love with that bass control wiring. That almost gives that single coil clarity but in a different way. I'm tempted to rewire my Schecter to do this.
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