Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

[ratherdashing]

Ho kay, so I wired up a spin-a-split pot for the FRED in my Strat. Clearly I did something wrong, because it seems to be working backwards ... sort of.

At 10, I get full-on humbucker, which is exactly what I want. As soon as I go a teeny bit lower, it cuts the inner coil out completely. As I keep rolling the knob down, the level of the inner coil increases, until it's almost full strength at 1. Pretty wacky.

Can anyone tell me how I should have the spin-a-split pot wired, using DiMarzio color conventions if possible?

Thanks!

 

[Artie]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Is this a no-load pot? Sounds like the "cut" is on the wrong end. Or, you'll need to put the "hot" wire on the other end and live with it being full on zero rather than 10.

I'll think on this some more today.

Artie

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Actually Artie, it's one of the no-load push-pulls you sent me I don't mind reversing the direction of the pot if that's what it takes.

Could this have something to do with the fact that I'm left handed? The other pots seem to be working fine.

 

[Artie]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Actually Artie, it's one of the no-load push-pulls you sent me I don't mind reversing the direction of the pot if that's what it takes.

Could this have something to do with the fact that I'm left handed? The other pots seem to be working fine.

Yup . . . you shoulda told me.

Remind me what value it was, and I'll send you another. Or, you can put the wires that are on the outside lug to the other side. (Not the one in the middle.)

But I don't mind making another.

Artie

Edit: btw - sorry if you did tell me and I forgot.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Sorry Artie, I didn't realize at the time it would make a difference. Now I have!

I will PM you about this later.

A general question: how do you hook up a spin-a-split pot? I want to make sure I'm doing it the correct way, just to be sure. What lead do you connect to what lug on the pot? Use SD or Dimarzio colors if possible.

Thanks!

 

[Artie]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

The first time I did it, I did it exactly as the Duncan diagram shows. The second time, I did my own thing with a blender pot, so that I could fade from stud to humbucker to adjustable coil. To be honest, I was never thrilled with any of it and took it all out. I just use a simple switch now.

I think its dependent on which pups you "spin" as to how well it works. I know forum bro Zhang likes it a lot.

Artie

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

It does seem to matter what pickup you use, and seems to work best with medium to high output pickups, at least in the bridge.

In the neck it still might be cool to dial a, say, 7.6k humbucker back to 6.8 for a single coil-ish vibe without having to get stuck with an anemic, puny 3.8k single coil as you would on a coil-split switch.

You could also put an overwound pickup in the neck and dial it back to where it's just right for a woody tone, like 7.5k, then crank it up a little when you need a fat, Sweet-Child-O-Mine kind of tone.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

I actually think it sounds pretty cool on the FRED. I can see how it would not work too well on vintage output humbuckers.

I think I wired it up funny. Here's what I have now:

left lug: ground
middle lug: start of outer coil
right lug: start of inner coil coil

Should I have wired the two coil leads together, or does it make a difference? I can't find a diagram for a spin-a-split on the SD schematics.

Thanks.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

The standard Spin-A-Split wiring has both start leads on the middle lug, just as if you were wiring for a coil split. On most humbuckers, this gives you the slug coil by itself when you dial it all the way down.

 

[Artie]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Should I have wired the two coil leads together, or does it make a difference? I can't find a diagram for a spin-a-split on the SD schematics.

Thanks.

As Zhangliqun said, it makes a huge difference. The schematic is a bit hard to find.
Its under Support>Tech Tips. Then scroll down a ways.

I think the reason I wasn't thrilled with it is, I used the wrong pot at the time. I either used a linear when I should have used a log, or vice-versa. I should try it again.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

I've been wondering about taper too. My designated SAS pot in my LP is a stock 300k but I don't know if it's linear or audio. Whatever it is, it's very uneven -- nothing down to 7, then it drops off the table.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

What is wrong with me today? I meant "start" for both coils. Post edited.

Anyway, I'll fix up my wiring when I get a chance, and see if that changes anything.

Thanks guys.

 

[Artie]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

This thread has rekindled my interest. I think I'll add the SAS pot to the Distortion in the neck of my Predator, and give it another shot.

I'll let you all know how it worked out and what pot I used.

Artie

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Oopsie - I screwed up my spin-a-split

Most pots are more or less linear especially the cheap standard one. A guy in this forum use reverse audio pots to have the changing point at 6 not a 9. Seems to be a good idea