Recap on LP middle-position balance control idea

[ZiggyZipgun]

About two years ago I converted my Hagstrom Swede to master volume, master tone, and two spin-a-splits (100k linear, if you're curious). I quickly realized that as far as spin-a-splits go, 98% of the time it sounds best to have the splits on the same setting...not a problem, I can combine them with a dual-ganged 100k linear pot. That frees up another knob, so I figured I like the master volume control, but wish I could still blend the pickups in the middle position, without affecting their volume when selected alone. Sadly, the old Gibson-style toggle switches aren't good for anything other than stock wiring, so it took me a while, but I found a suitable replacement:
Mouser #633-M2044B2B1W01-RO, NKK #M2044B2B1W01-RO
All of the pictures show a mini-toggle, but this is actually a DP3T On-On-On toggle that's the same size as a Gibson toggle, though the actuator is chrome (the original Hagstrom Swedes had chrome, so I don't mind) - and the round nut for the pickup switch fits these perfectly. Someone called Slacker on another forum drew up this wiring for it:

So, while I track down balance pots, can anyone riddle me this: I would go with a 500k balance pot, right? And will having these two controls have any foreseeable negative effect on the tone?

 

[MikeM]

Re: Recap on LP middle-position balance control idea

Very interesting... I'm keen to hear your results. I'd love to have EXACTLY the same setup as you man. Mind dropping me a pm where you got the dual ganged 100k and the switch? Know if they ship internationally?

 

[Elfunkenstein]

Re: Recap on LP middle-position balance control idea

can someone explain what this does? I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about but it looks interesting.

 

[ZiggyZipgun]

Re: Recap on LP middle-position balance control idea

can someone explain what this does? I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about but it looks interesting.

On any guitar with 2 pickups and a 3-way toggle selector, this will add knob with a center-detent so that you can have a preset "balance" between the two pickups, but only when the switch is in the middle position; otherwise, each pickup just goes through the master volume control. It's for those of us that would only use the standard dual volume knobs to get a different blend of the two pickups, but in that setup, when you select just one pickup, you're dealing with whatever level that pickup's volume control is set to. This gets around that.