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Post by spitfire23bc on Apr 28, 2006 6:25:04 GMT -5
Hi, thought I'd introduce myself and get some advice at the same time...
I've been playing my Squier Strat for about two years and fancy a bit of a change. I'm planning to replace the bridge single-coil p/up with a 1-wire humbucker.
From what I've gleaned from various websites, I'll understand that I'll need separate volume pots for the two types of p/ups, so I'm thinking of getting a concentric pot (250k and 500k) for that purpose.
That leaves me with the option of one tone control for each type of p/up. I don't use the tone controls at the moment as they make absolutely no difference, but I'd like to be able to get them working. The current tone pots are 500k audio taper, with a 0.047microFarad cap each. I have no idea what to do in order to get them working, but my electro-acoustic ones are great (just can't easily take it apart to get at them and find out what they are...!), so I assume it can be done simply.
The final part of my plan is to use a push/pull pot for one of the tone pots, in order to add a switch that turns on the bridge humbucker, no matter where the p/up selector is, giving me every possible combination of p/ups.
I should mention that I am an absolute beginner at this.
Any advice please? Is this possible? Is there any chance that someone can provide me with a wiring diagram please?
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Post by Mike Richardson on Apr 28, 2006 8:13:21 GMT -5
First, there's no such thing as the "wrong" value pot for a particular pickup. 250k is used on most Strat-types simply because that's how it's always been. Same with humbuckers and 500k pots. The larger pot value will give you a slight increase in output, and a tad more treble response. There are many humbuckers available from Duncan, DiMarzio and others that will fit in a standard Strat pickguard with no modification to the guitar or the circuitry. Strats usually have two tone pots. One is for the neck pickup, one is for the middle pickup. It's a simple matter to get a tone pot for the bridge pickup. If you look on your selector switch, you'll see that the 3 pickups connect to one side of the switch, and the 2 tone pots to the other. The middle tone pot wire will have an "empty" connector next to it. Simply unsolder the middle pickup tone pot wire from it's current location, and resolder it to the "empty" point next to it. Now you have a master volume, neck tone and bridge tone. This may not be exactly what you want, but your bridge pickup will thank you anyway! Here's a pic of what I mean.
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 28, 2006 9:29:13 GMT -5
hi there Spitfire23bc, WELCOME TO GN2 ! I agree with Mike's suggestions on this. the only thing i'd like to point out is: with the wiring change for the tone pots, there is a detail he didn't mention. in the stock wiring, you had an "overlap" of tone controls in position 2. SW position
| Pickups
| Tone controls
| 1
| NECK
| NECK
| 2 | NECK+MID
| BOTH
| 3
| MIDDLE
| MIDDLE
| 4
| MID+BRIDGE
| MIDDLE
| 5
| BRIDGE
| NONE
|
[/td] [/tr] last command to close the table: [/table] changing the wiring gets rid of the overlap and leaves the middle only position (3) without a tone control. IMHO this small sacrifice is worth it, to get a tone control on the bridge. this is what the wiring change will get you: SW position
| Pickups
| Tone controls
| 1
| NECK
| NECK
| 2 | NECK+MID
| NECK
| 3
| MIDDLE
| NONE
| 4
| MID+BRIDGE
| BRIDGE
| 5
| BRIDGE
| BRIDGE
|
[/td] [/tr] last command to close the table: [/table] unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on Apr 28, 2006 16:03:07 GMT -5
So I don't have to worry about buying one of those dual concentric pots...? That makes it far simpler!
How about the push/pull pot to switch the bridge p/up on no matter where the 5-way switch is?
And do you have any suggestions as to how to get the tone controls to actually do something!?
Thanks for your time
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 28, 2006 16:20:02 GMT -5
a bridge on switch should be way easy. go here: but instead of connecting to the common and neck terminals, connect to the common and bridge terminals ...And do you have any suggestions as to how to get the tone controls to actually do something!? do they do absolutely nothing now, or were you hoping for something more than the stock treble-cut? unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on Apr 28, 2006 17:27:44 GMT -5
So the previous diagram would become something like this? spaces.msn.com/danielwilliams23bc/blog/The tone controls literally do nothing but add a bit of a crackle to the signal when I turn them. They do nothing at all to the tone. [EDIT] I already have a single wire humbucker; I assume it will be fairly common-sensical to wire up
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 28, 2006 18:00:58 GMT -5
that looks right assuming the Squier uses the same switch as a Fender.
the tone control problem seems like with the wipers in the pots are making poor contact with the tracks.
get an ohmmeter (they're dirt cheap) and check them.
you should read the full resistance between the outer terminals. (i believe you said they are 500k.)
between one outer and the middle terminal the resistance should vary from zero (don't worry if it's a bit more than zero) at one end of the rotation of the pot, increasing in resistance as you rotate it to the other end. where it should read the full resistance.
hope this helps.
out for the weekend. see y'all monday.
unk
BTW:
no rocket surgery or brain science involved for wiring that HB.
if it's a shielded cable, the inner goes to the switch. the shield is the ground.
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Post by spitfire23bc on Apr 30, 2006 4:51:16 GMT -5
Great, thanks.
It'll probably be a few weeks before I get around to looking at pots and getting new components etc; the innards of my guitar are a distraction I can't really afford to have at the moment, but once exams are over with I'll reward myself with a souped-up guitar!
Again, cheers for the help and advice. I'll stick around on the forum, and let you know when I'm back to looking at my guitar.
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Post by UnklMickey on May 1, 2006 9:56:30 GMT -5
i'm glad you haven't started working on the guitar just yet.
i should be ashamed of myself, for giving you half-baked advice on your tone controls.
you may indeed have problems with your pots, but there's a much more likely possibility.
if the nut holding your neck tone pot loosened, and the body of the pot rotated, you may have broken the wire from the back of the neck tone pot (where one end of the tone cap is connected) to the back of the volume pot. then you would have no connection to ground for either tone circuit.
this is a much more likely possibility than both your pots becoming problematic at the same time.
so look for something like that FIRST.
it still is a good idea to have one of those dirt-cheap multimeters, so if you've already bought one, good. if not put it on your shopping list. you will have uses for it, even if not in this particular case.
unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on May 1, 2006 15:10:00 GMT -5
Righto, thanks.
Though it wasn't so much them becoming problematic; more, I can't remember them ever working properly!
A mate of mine has a multimeter, soldering iron etc, which I'm able to borrow.
Like I say, in a few weeks time, once exams are done, I'll be delving past the scratchboard again...
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 8, 2006 12:34:22 GMT -5
Right, now I've got some free time, I thought I'd resurrect this thread again.
Unk, I've checked out the resistances of the pots, and they seem to be fine, so perhaps the problem was simply a loose connection, though everything looked as if it was connected ok. Maybe I'll try putting them back in as they are...
Any ideas? Maybe it is a case of wanting to roll off more treble.
Also, the Squier uses a different selector switch - it has 8 terminals in a row instead of 4 and 4, but I'm sure I can work it out given the way it was connected when I took everything apart.
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 8, 2006 16:15:52 GMT -5
does your switch bear any resemblance to the one in this drawing?
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 9, 2006 4:58:39 GMT -5
Yes... Although the wiring seems to be different. Here's my attempt at what my switch looks like; sorry its so crude Is there any reason for the cap on the volume pot? I don't have one. [EDIT] I've updated the picture with the correct version
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 9, 2006 9:05:31 GMT -5
lol...the wiring better look different. the drawing i posted was one i diced up for someone who wanted to use just 2 pickups, with a 5-way switch.
the cap on the volume control is a "treble bleed".
when you turn your volume control down, you normally lose some of the treble. that cap will help compensate for the loss.
nothing wrong with the "crudeness" of your drawing. it gets the point across.
could you check your pickup connections again?
either you have mis-labelled the N and B, or that switch works differently than the Ibanez.
if the Squire switch does work differently than the Ibanez, that's important info.
thanks,
unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 9, 2006 9:59:35 GMT -5
Whoops, yes sorry... *edits previous post*
Any ideas about the tone pots, or should I just try them again as they are?
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 9, 2006 10:24:41 GMT -5
no need to apologize, we miss a few details here and there.
this is not one of those "get it right the first time" situations.
it's more like "get it right ................... eventually"
if you didn't find anything wrong with the wiring, and the pots check O.K., i wonder what might be wrong.
you said you have 2 separate tone caps, so it's not likely they are both bad.
before you close it back up, check the tone side of the selector switch with your meter.
if that checks O.K., then put it back together and see what you have now.
unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 9, 2006 10:48:57 GMT -5
Whereabouts am I checking on the switch?
[EDIT] I'm away for the weekend now, see you on Sunday/Monday
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 9, 2006 11:08:16 GMT -5
use your meter on the lowest resistance scale.
measure between the blue wire and the green for the neck tone. (referring to your drawing)
when the switch is in the neck and neck + middle position, you should read zero ohms (1 or 2 ohms is O.K.) if the resistance is higher than a few ohms the switch is stuffed.
then measure between the blue wire and the green for the middle tone.
and check the resistance when the switch is in the middle and middle + bridge position.
same expectations for resistance here. no more than a few ohms.
see ya next week.
unk
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 12, 2006 13:31:02 GMT -5
Hmmmm *ponders*
It all looks alright from this end - I'll put it all back together.
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Post by UnklMickey on Jun 12, 2006 13:38:51 GMT -5
sounds like a plan.
if it doesn't work properly, post a drawing of the wiring you are using.
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Post by spitfire23bc on Jun 15, 2006 7:01:27 GMT -5
SUCCESS!!!!
It looks and sounds awesome!!!
The tone controls now have some effect, but they're still a pretty crackly. I'll probably replace the pots when I can be bothered and I'm home for the summer.
I'll post some pics of my new (well, upgraded) baby in the near future
+1 all round
:-D
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