WIRING GUIDANCE. ANY ISSUES WITH USING A NO LOAD POT AS A VOLUME CONTROL

[Gstring]

.I have a question about using a no.load on 10 pot as a volume control. I recollect reading somewhere on a Srat forum. that there can be inter action issues with a 5 way. . I will be carrying out a Gilmore type Strat modification with a master tone (wired 50s style) and using the spare pot as a volume pot for the for blending in the neck pup but still have the Master Volume..Gretsch of course have been doing something similar for years


In the past I have done this with a push pull to take the pot out of the wiring when not in use to ensure no bleed . I cannot think why a no load on 10 switch would not work .But if anybody thinks otherwise I would welcome their input.


As the wiring is very simple I have not posted a diagram. I usually just take 2 wires from the 5 way .From the neck pup import lug and the comm.and wire these in the neck vol pot. Obviously, making sure that the wiper is wired differently to the master volume to. ensure there is no interaction. Otherwise, with the no load engaged, the whole guitar will die.



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[freefrog]

I've a hard time to understand if your post conveys a question or an advice....

Anyway: it's certainly doable to use a no-load pot as a blender (rather than like a "volume"). That's what I've on my Strat number 2. The only "downside" is that is works in a reverse way: when the pot is on 10, the neck pickup is disabled. From 9.5 to 0/10, it progressively blends the neck PU to the bridge one. It just required to use the center lug + the usual "ground" lug (0/10 position) as the output + receiver for the neck pickup signal, then to leave the other outer lug (10/10 position) unsoldered...

 

[beaubrummels]

I've used a no-load blender on my Tele and it works like a champ. It's a mistake to call it a volume or wire it like a volume, then you will have issues.

 

[Gstring]

OK so That was most helpful Thanks guys.I assumed it would be wired like volume pot as that is what it effectively is So basicly you don't ground the third lug. That was what I must have read in that article and was in the back of my mind.

Still not clear of the theory why it should not be wired as a volume pot. Gretschs are wired that way ,

 

[freefrog]

Still not clear of the theory why it should not be wired as a volume pot. Gretschs are wired that way ,

Yes, but even in series, two volume pots end as parallel paths from hot to ground and give a lower resistive load, mimicing what you'd obtain from a slightly lowered tone control.

Not an issue in itself: some guitars go as low as 50k of resistive load. Might be annoying if you want to keep a typical Strat brightness, though. Unless you use a 500k or 1M pot as master volume.

All that being said and a good pic being better than a tedious discourse, here is the wiring evoked in my previous post, FWIW.

https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-i...rson-pro-cts-blenderno-load-pot-instructions/

 

[beaubrummels]

OK so That was most helpful Thanks guys.I assumed it would be wired like volume pot as that is what it effectively is So basicly you don't ground the third lug. That was what I must have read in that article and was in the back of my mind.

Still not clear of the theory why it should not be wired as a volume pot. Gretschs are wired that way ,

Gretschs are not wired that way. Gretschs have a master volume, not a blender, and they suffer from loading making the guitar really dark when you have the master and one of the pickups partly turned down.

 

[Gstring]

Thanks for posting the diagram, freefrog. I would logically have assumed that the pot would have been wired between the Neck and comms on the five way,;like a Gilmore switch.

 

[Gstring]

After giving this some further thought, I am gonna try out the half blender mod.

 

[beaubrummels]

That wiring looks like it's for a regular pot as a blender, rather than a no load. But it would work just fine.