Need some wiring help.

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Well all I really want from the guitar is for the bridge to have its own volume and tone controls, the neck and middle volume on one knob, and neck and middle tone controls on one knob as long as the pickups sound good.

And I guess just regular switching of

1.Neck
2.Neck/Mid
3.Mid
4.Mid/Bridge
5.Bridge

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Hey artie do you think you can give me a wiring diagram of basically the same thing but just the middle pup in pos 3. Oh and doesnt the neck position have to be a 250k by 250k concentric or how does that work. And is that a 250k resitor between the switch and ground? Also i assume those bridge/middle/neck wires are the black wires from the pickups, and i tape off the white and red ones and ground the green and bare? For the neck pickup do i ground the white wire (its a fender single coil)? Also if I find the single coil is out of phase can i just switch the black and white wires or do i have to mess around with the magnet?

 

[Artie]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Hey artie do you think you can give me a wiring diagram of basically the same thing but just the middle pup in pos 3.

Sure:

Oh and doesnt the neck position have to be a 250k by 250k concentric or how does that work.

It is. Thats what the resistor does. With that setup, you have 500k for the bridge, and 250k for every other position.

And is that a 250k resitor between the switch and ground?

Yes.

Also i assume those bridge/middle/neck wires are the black wires from the pickups, and i tape off the white and red ones and ground the green and bare?

Yes, again.

For the neck pickup do i ground the white wire (its a fender single coil)? Also if I find the single coil is out of phase can i just switch the black and white wires?

Yes and yes.

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Sure:

It is. Thats what the resistor does. With that setup, you have 500k for the bridge, and 250k for every other position.

Hmm Im Just a little confused on some things. first off in that picture it shows that all 3 concentric pots are 500k/500k I thought for the neck (pos 1) to be 250k the neck volume/tone would have to be a 250k/250k pot or does the volume and tone go into parallel with each other on the 500k/500k to make the neck 250k? Also same thing with the middle (pos 3) if its on a 500k/500k pot by itself shouldnt it "see" 500k or does it go parrallel as well. Im not sure what that resitor is doing, if everything is going to 250k but the bridge, then I assume that its going into series with the 250k bridge volume/tone to make it 500k? I dont know i was just hoping that switching the middle pup to pos 3 would give me this.

1.Neck 250k
2.Neck/Mid 250k
3.Middle 500k
4.Middle/Bridge 250k*
5.Bridge 500k


But ideally what i would want would be this, but the first one is fine too.
1.Neck 250k
2.Neck/Mid 250k
3.Middle 500k
4.Middle/Bridge 500k*
5.Bridge 500k

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

is there anyway to get 500k for the middle pickup (in pos 3) Otherwise I think it might sound too dark with one 500k and everything else 250k

 

[MikeS]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Couple things... first, I did take a look at what you originally wanted over the weekend. The five positions in your first post are possible with a superswitch (yes, all in series) and it's not that difficult. However, the pots would have to go between the pickups and the switch, and when combining two pickups in series the pots for the pickups would both act as master volumes. There may be a way around it using a "spin-a-split" approach, but I'm not sure yet. With two pickups I think I could do it... first impression of three is that it'll give me a headache.

is there anyway to get 500k for the middle pickup (in pos 3) Otherwise I think it might sound too dark with one 500k and everything else 250k

In Artie's last diagram he shows 500K pots because in positions 1-4 the two 500K pots in parallel means the pickups "see" 250K.

You could wire up a switch so that only certain pots work in certain positions. Yes, with a superswitch you could have the 500K in the bridge and middle positions and 250K for the rest.

I'm beginning to get very confused as to what you want now, though. :smack: Do you still want individual volume and tone control over each pickup? Just the bridge? What about positions?

Sorry if it seems like there are to many cooks in this kitchen.

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Well Originally what I had wanted were seperate controls for bridge volume and tone. I wanted the Neck/Middle Volume to be on one knob as in turn one shaft both the neck volume and middle volume were changed (same for tone) before this thread i thought concentric pots were basically turning two pots with one shaft therefore i thought i needed that because i wanted the neck pos to have 250k and the middle 500k so for them to be on one shaft I thought i would need 250k/500k concentric pot, I have since learned that they operate one seprate shafts and change independently.

So I am now leaning towards having Neck Volume/Tone on first pot, Middle Volume/Tone on the second, and Bridge Volume/Tone on the third pot. And I was hoping for...

1.Neck (250k)
2.Neck/Middle (250k)
3.Middle (500k)
4.Middle/Bridge (250k)
5.Bridge (500k)

Oh and that all in series stuff was because i didnt know what was normal switching.And I now realize that all 3 in the middle pickup is a hassle because the load drops too much and would probably be very dark. that is unless it was neck in series with middle parrallel to the bridge which would give 300k. But thats getting too complicated for me.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Here's one offering... use whatever pot values you see fit. This is probably the simplest way to get the positions you are looking for without buying a superswitch. This uses a standard 5-way switch. I only drew the pots once... showed them separate in the main diagram then how you would wire a concentric in the inset. Repeat for other pickups. It's a very simple diagram that combines the fender 5-way with a Gibson pot philosophy.

Now, one could add resistors to the circuit to get the pot values exactly where you want them, but I'm not sure I necessarily agree that it is a little deal, let alone a big deal, in this situation

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Okay that looks simple enough but what pot values would I need to get

1.Neck (250k)
2.Neck/Middle (250k)
3.Middle (500k)
4.Middle/Bridge (250k)
5.Bridge (500k)


I think if I use all 500ks then I would need to find some way to get a 500k resistor into parrallel with the neck only in pos.1 Not sure if thats possible or not or maybe I could just add a mini switch maybe that would make it easier.

Heres what I was thinking It might be easier to do and it might also add even more flexibility at the same time.
View attachment 9445

Would that work? Or how should I do it?

 

[Artie]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Heh . . . you've covered a lot of ground since my last post.

Scroll back up to my diagram in post #23. See the connection that I changed to "red"? Omit that for the middle position to be 500k. And yes, as Mike explained, the pots combine to give 250k. That resistor does it for the neck position.

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Heh . . . you've covered a lot of ground since my last post.

Scroll back up to my diagram in post #23. See the connection that I changed to "red"? Omit that for the middle position to be 500k. And yes, as Mike explained, the pots combine to give 250k. That resistor does it for the neck position.

Okay so Is a superswitch needed? If so all I need is all 500k/500k pots and a 250k resistor. Im still not seeing how that 250k resistor gives me a neck 250k. Because if the pots are 500k and the resistor goes parrallel with it then I get 167k dont I?

Im just trying to understand how the diagram works. I trust that you guys are right I just want to be able to see why its right.

 

[Artie]

Re: Need some wiring help.

Im still not seeing how that 250k resistor gives me a neck 250k. Because if the pots are 500k and the resistor goes parrallel with it then I get 167k dont I?

That was a test to see if you were paying attention. :yell:

Nice catch. That resistor should be 500k.

I need more beer.

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

That was a test to see if you were paying attention. :yell:

Nice catch. That resistor should be 500k.

I need more beer.

okay lol good I thought I was just going crazy or something. that clears alot up thanks.

And where can I get a 500k resistor? Do I need anything else?

Also Ive got .001, .020 and .050 caps from stewmac what are the differences between the .20 and .50 in terms of tone (i.e which is darker or brighter or w.e) Also will a normal treble bleed mod work on this? Or are there problems with doing it the normal way? Will a .001 cap work with the treble bleed mod (the SD wiring diagram shows a .002 cap and 100k resistor.) should I still use a 100k resistor for a .001 cap or does it matter?

Lol almost done i think!

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

bump

 

[GuitarManMike]

Re: Need some wiring help.

double bump