|
|
Post by genmce on Oct 10, 2015 7:11:33 GMT -5
So I am developing this music production club at the high school that I work at. People are starting to donate equipment and this is the latest addition. The axe says Kasino - A product of Kustom on the headstock. As you can see it has 1 hb with vol and tone.  Free - makes it the biggest "cheapy" in the world. The intent for "kasi" is high school students to use, which means it will get beaten up. What will give the kids exposure to as many "good/useful" sounds as possible from such a limited set of pickup? Alas - The one hb is only 2 wire, however -  it looks like it can become a 4 wire very easily. 1 HB split, bridge coil or neck coil - possibly spin a split? series parallel No load volume a500k, and a500k tone. So I remember seeing a few 1 humbucker designs - but I can't find them now... Other options worth considering? |
|
|
|
Post by ashcatlt on Oct 10, 2015 10:16:50 GMT -5
Replace the V pot with a rotary switch. Off-Parallel-Broadbucker-Series. Cut the track at the bottom of the T pot. Top of the T pot goes to jack tip. Cap comes off the T wiper. In Parallel and Series mode, the other end of the cap connects to the jack sleeve ("ground"). In Broadbucker mode, it goes to the T pot bottom lug which goes to the pickup's "series connection". So, in P/S mode it's just a tone control, and in Broadbucker mode it gradually bypasses treble from the one coil around the other until it hits 0 and becomes a simple split. If you really wanted to, you could have another Spin-a-Split position just like the Briadbucker but with straight wire in place of the cap. I haven't bothered to count how many poles this switch needs.  |
|
|
|
Post by cynical1 on Oct 10, 2015 11:57:11 GMT -5
There are two distinct mindsets when it comes to "student" guitars. Sadly, the one for cheap poorly made instruments seems to be the dominant one. That's not to say you can't make of them playable. I'm gonna rant here for a while. Feel free to skip to the bottom... [RANT] IMHO, if you want a child to pickup, learn and love an instrument, it has to be playable and allow them to spend hours with it just exploring. Most kids give up because it hurts to play the damn thing or it's just impossible to play, so actually learning something falls by the wayside... Most "Student" guitars, or the ones you're likely to have donated to you, were seemingly built with the parental expectation of "it'll just be a passing phase" as a primary design element. Case in Point: Recently my nephew had his 11th birthday. I broke down and bought him an electric guitar for his birthday...which I just had to tweak...but that's another post entirely... Why a guitar, you ask... They offered lessons at school, which were on acoustic guitars with high action and nylon strings...and possibly in tune... They never even bothered to show him correct right hand position, or how to hold a pick effectively, or the option of playing fingerstyle. He was over at the house for the wedding when he spotted the electric guitars and basses in my den. (of inequity...) I asked him what he wanted to learn to play. He looks me right in the eye and says, "Rock Me Like a Hurricane". Not exactly nylon acoustic territory... I set him up with a little Mikro guitar I fixed up. Low action, very short scale, and all the hardware and electronics significantly upgraded...etc... Long story short, he spent about 3 hours after I got sore just playing power chords, fiddling with the pedals and even screwing around with a glass slide I have laying around. His preference was both pickups in series, out of phase, significant distortion and a wah wah pedal. So, what's my point? Once he got his hands on an instrument that didn't feel uncomfortable trying to play, he could just get lost in the instrument and have fun, rather than look for an ice pack after 30 minutes... [/RANT] Back to your question. For single pickup guitars I've found this one to be the most useful:  You get local series, parallel and a split. One switch that you can almost always find a place for in the cavity. As an aside, I respect what you're doing with this project. So many kids lose interest in guitar or bass because no one shows them the cool stuff you can do. Happy Trails Cynical One |
|
|
|
Post by newey on Oct 10, 2015 12:18:00 GMT -5
Ah, single pickup electrics- a subject near and dear to my heart.  I have a bunch of guitars with one HB, and each has various combinations of series/parallel or split coils. Of course, you do have to perform the 4-wire surgery to be able to do any of these designs. If you decide to stick with the two-wire set-up, there are still things that can be done, albeit much more limited. I wired my travel guitar (which has a single P-90) like this:  This requires an On-On-On DPDT, it mimics the original Esquire wiring. I used a .033 cap because I had one, but if I ever get in there again, I'd go lower on the cap value. Of course, a single pickup guitar can also teach students to use the volume and tone controls, something that most guitarists never learn to do . . . |
|
|
|
Post by genmce on Oct 10, 2015 16:49:28 GMT -5
Replace the V pot with a rotary switch. Off-Parallel-Broadbucker-Series. Cut the track at the bottom of the T pot. Top of the T pot goes to jack tip. Cap comes off the T wiper. In Parallel and Series mode, the other end of the cap connects to the jack sleeve ("ground"). In Broadbucker mode, it goes to the T pot bottom lug which goes to the pickup's "series connection". So, in P/S mode it's just a tone control, and in Broadbucker mode it gradually bypasses treble from the one coil around the other until it hits 0 and becomes a simple split. If you really wanted to, you could have another Spin-a-Split position just like the Briadbucker but with straight wire in place of the cap. I haven't bothered to count how many poles this switch needs. This sounds cool, I do have a rotary, 3 position 4 pole. Not sure I can get all the combos you mention. This would not have a volume, just off? I like having a volume pot and I think the kids will freak without one, even though most probably leave it on 10 most of the time... |
|
|
|
Post by genmce on Oct 10, 2015 16:51:21 GMT -5
There are two distinct mindsets when it comes to "student" guitars. Sadly, the one for cheap poorly made instruments seems to be the dominant one. That's not to say you can't make of them playable. I'm gonna rant here for a while. Feel free to skip to the bottom... Back to your question. For single pickup guitars I've found this one to be the most useful: [img alt=" " src="http://www.guitarelectronics.com/media/img/guitarelectronics/W250-H200-Bffffff/H/humbucker_north_coil_parallel.jpg" style="max-width:100%;" You get local series, parallel and a split. One switch that you can almost always find a place for in the cavity. As an aside, I respect what you're doing with this project. So many kids lose interest in guitar or bass because no one shows them the cool stuff you can do. Happy Trails Cynical One I like this one also, I don't know if my switch has enough thread on it. Will have to look. |
|
|
|
Post by genmce on Oct 10, 2015 16:54:32 GMT -5
Ah, single pickup electrics- a subject near and dear to my heart. I have a bunch of guitars with one HB, and each has various combinations of series/parallel or split coils. Of course, you do have to perform the 4-wire surgery to be able to do any of these designs. If you decide to stick with the two-wire set-up, there are still things that can be done, albeit much more limited. I wired my travel guitar (which has a single P-90) like this: This requires an On-On-On DPDT, it mimics the original Esquire wiring. I used a .033 cap because I had one, but if I ever get in there again, I'd go lower on the cap value. Of course, a single pickup guitar can also teach students to use the volume and tone controls, something that most guitarists never learn to do . . . I do not intend to stick with the 2 wire design. I can see the wire to cut and extend into control cavity. So can you recommend designs that will utilize the 4 wires? I remember seeing one that you had, in the past, I just can't locate it. I see cynical's above and it looks interesting, I just need to figure out if my switch threads will clear the wood. EDIT - looks like it does. Might have room for two on on ons so I could pick which coil is active. |
|
