pickup wiring

[Gila_Crisis]

hi everybody,
on my strat i got 2 humberkers (in bridge & middle position) and a single coil (neck position). and the whole is wired so:

there is the standard 5way switch, a 500k volume pot, a 250k tone pot and a switch for "HB-SC mode". this one on "HB-mode" works like always (bridge_hb, brdge_hb+middle, middle, middle+neck, neck) and in the "SC-mode" it splits the bridge HB and put the neck pu instead of the middle pu in the 5way switch. than the 5way switch works like a tele switch (bridge_sc, bridge_sc+neck, neck, neck, neck)... understand?

so now, the single coils work well with the 500k pot too, but i want to have a value of 250k volume pot when i'm in the SC-mode.

any suggestions???

thank a lot cheers Joe

 

[Al Heeley]

Re: pickup wiring

You may need to look at a separate 250k pot for the neck s/c pup. Is that an option?

 

[Gila_Crisis]

Re: pickup wiring

well, i want to keep only 1 volume, don't need 2.
but i was thinking about something like to put a 500k resistor in parellel w/ the volume pot in sc mode to have a 250k pot, or to use a double 500k pot! in hb-mode only one runs and in sc-mode the both run in parallel

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: pickup wiring

well, i want to keep only 1 volume, don't need 2.
but i was thinking about something like to put a 500k resistor in parellel w/ the volume pot in sc mode to have a 250k pot,

That won't work

or to use a double 500k pot! in hb-mode only one runs and in sc-mode the both run in parallel

That might work, but switching would be complex. You would need an extra SPST set of switch contacts on the mode switch.

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: pickup wiring

You might want to try this -

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: pickup wiring

hi everybody,
on my strat i got 2 humberkers (in bridge & middle position) and a single coil (neck position). and the whole is wired so:

there is the standard 5way switch, a 500k volume pot, a 250k tone pot and a switch for "HB-SC mode". this one on "HB-mode" works like always (bridge_hb, brdge_hb+middle, middle, middle+neck, neck) and in the "SC-mode" it splits the bridge HB and put the neck pu instead of the middle pu in the 5way switch. than the 5way switch works like a tele switch (bridge_sc, bridge_sc+neck, neck, neck, neck)... understand?

so now, the single coils work well with the 500k pot too, but i want to have a value of 250k volume pot when i'm in the SC-mode.

any suggestions???

thank a lot cheers Joe

Do you want the single coil mode to give you the same pickup selections as humbucker mode? If so, that should automatically work if the SC/HB switch is between the humbuckers and the 5-way switch, because then the SC/HB switch is just deciding which leads to feed to the 5-way and shouldn't affect the 5-way at all.

As for how to get a 250k pot for single coil mode, note that you can lower the resistance value of a pot by soldering a resistor across the two non-ground lugs of the pot. With that in mind, you could add a push/pull pot that switches this resistor in and out. By my calculations, the value for such a resistor to lower a 500k pot to 250k would be a 500k resistor.

I'm not sure what effect this would have on the taper of the pot but it's worth a try.

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: pickup wiring

I'm not sure what effect this would have on the taper of the pot but it's worth a try.

It would affect the taper of the pot quite badly. You'd have a changing track value in parallel with a fixed resistance. It would negate any advantage of having a 250k pot.

In my opinion the best solution when switching between humbucker and single coil is simply to compromise on the pot value, either by using the higher value or going for an intermediate value, such as 320k

 

[Gila_Crisis]

Re: pickup wiring

the double pot solution seams to be the best.

as far as pickup combinations in the sc mode, neck+bridge_sc is ok for me, i tryed middle split and neck togheter but i like better middle_hb+neck.
it's possible to make il work so that it got 5 different combinations (bridge_sc, Bridge_sc+neck, neck, neck+middle, middle), but you need a 3pole switch to split the bridge and reverse the neck and middle.

and what about one of those 5way mega switch, or what ever they call them?

btw the wiring in the guitar is already wired like the schem i posted, and it works very well!

 

[octavedoctor]

Re: pickup wiring

but you need a 3pole switch to split the bridge and reverse the neck and middle.

The idea i posted for the dual gang pot depends on you being able to get a three or four pole DPST anyway.

and what about one of those 5way mega switch, or what ever they call them?

The Schaller megaswitch is too limited in scope.

The Superswitch, available from Allparts http://www.allparts.uk.com/ and http://wdmusicproducts.co.uk/ is a good switch if you want to program a variety of unusual coil combinations but as a a five way it has limitations.

Personally I feel you may be looking to overcomplicate things.

Yes, 250k is recommended for use with single coils and 500k for humbuckers but frannkly it is really not that critical; although there is a marginal effect on tone it is really more about matching the impedance of the coil so that you get an even audio taper and in this respect it is better to go for a higher value than a lower one. However even humbuckers can differ in impedance by the same order of magnitude as humbuckers and single coils. A hot single like a Texas Special or P.90 can be edging on 7k while a PAF is about 8k and a Super Distortion about 14k so it's an imprecise science at best. Early Telecasters, and I believe broadcasters (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!), used a 1meg pot in the tone control and a 250k in the volume control. Jaguars and Jazzmaster use similar values in the upper modules with their thin and fat single coils respectively.

 

[Gila_Crisis]

Re: pickup wiring

mh.. those superswitch are a way too complicated.....

well thanks a lot for the help. it is not a problem getting a 3 or 4 pole DPST and a double 500k pot. but for now i'll leave it with the simple 500k pot.

single coils with 500k sound a way glassy and bright, which isn't a bad thing!!!