Blend/on pot for neck pickup

[ovo12]

I own a strat equipped with a Jb Jr. (bridge), stock single coil (middle) and Little 59 (neck). I wanted a Standard strat wiring converted to master vol, master tone, and blend/on pot for neck pickup. I found the schematic: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/skgs/sk/Images/diagrams/blend control.jpg .Well, I tried it and it worked! However, when the blend/on pot is on 10, the neck pickup STILL KEEPS WORKING (instead of being dead), with a very very very low gain but it's enough to change my tone completely.
Do you have any ideia of what is happening?! Help me please!!! Thanks in advance!

 

[vegetablejoe]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

I can't be sure, but I thought I read somewhere that a no load pot should be used to take the neck pup out of the circuit when at '10'. I hope someone can chime in and validate this for you.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

You do see where it stated to cut the internal track didn't you. Plus that schematic looks kinda funky going directly to the hot output ... The Fralin schematic is the more traditional way of doing it, although the blender is only active when either the bridge or neck pup is selected, and most don't have a problem with the Fralin one, although a no-load pot is the better approach ... hence, cut the track in the pot.

 

[Artie]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

BTW - for those who don't want to mess with modifying a pot internaly,
you can get a pot with a built-in switch:

1/2 watt 250k linear taper
1/2 watt 250k linear taper
1/4 watt 500k audio taper

Although, I'm not sure if the switch engages at the "zero" end, or "full" end of travel.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

For $10, just buy a Fralin blender pot. On 10, the pot is out of the circuit. As you turn it down, the pickup is added. I have them in stock. Lew

 

[midnite_man]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

You do see where it stated to cut the internal track didn't you. Plus that schematic looks kinda funky going directly to the hot output ... The Fralin schematic is the more traditional way of doing it, although the blender is only active when either the bridge or neck pup is selected, and most don't have a problem with the Fralin one, although a no-load pot is the better approach ... hence, cut the track in the pot.

I just did this mod to my Amer. Strat and used the Fralin pot prewired and the schematic for it, and it works fine. I find it nice to be able to tweak the tone with the bridge-neck pickup combo a little more than just using a toggle switch, as I do in my other Strat. It's like having a 7-way switch.
While I was in there I went ahead and performed the treble-bleed mod with the schematic offered at this website. Some people use it, some don't....it's all a matter of what is good for you is what counts. I like it....I've never liked losing so much treble out of my sound when lowering volume, so this turned out to be the fix for that.
Both of these mods were fun to do.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

The beauty of the blender pot is that one pot lets you blend your neck pickup into your bridge pickup or your bridge pickup into your neck pickup. All sorts of shades can be accomplished...they're not both just "full on" as they would be with something like the Stew Mac Mega Switch. Lew

 

[ovo12]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

That's it Lew! So do you have a Schematic for that (considering a have a Jb jr in bridge, a stock single coil in middle and Little 59 in neck)?!

 

[Farkus]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

The beauty of the blender pot is that one pot lets you blend your neck pickup into your bridge pickup or your bridge pickup into your neck pickup. All sorts of shades can be accomplished...they're not both just "full on" as they would be with something like the Stew Mac Mega Switch. Lew

I was thinking about doing this with the middle pup of a HSH guitar...by the time you add a push-pull pot for coil splitting and the blender for the middle...that's a lot of combos...anyone else doing this?

Farkus

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

I was thinking about doing this with the middle pup of a HSH guitar...by the time you add a push-pull pot for coil splitting and the blender for the middle...that's a lot of combos...anyone else doing this?

Farkus

I have. It works! As for a schematic, first you need a proper blender pot: one that when turned to "10" removes itself from the circuit so that one pickup doesn't stay a little bit on. http://www.fralinpickups.com/schm-stratblend.htm Lew

 

[ovo12]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

Thanks Lew! That's so great having you all around here!

 

[vegetablejoe]

Re: Blend/on pot for neck pickup

Just IMHO, the blender mod works great when you are using a matched set of single coil pickups. The additional 2 tones are really quite distinct, at least when playing clean and at moderate volume.

Have tried a blender mod with a JB Jr in the neck and a DiMarzio Cruiser in the bridge. The resulting added tones were not as dramatically different or encouraging, as compared to vintage single coils. YMMV of course.