One bridge pup

[Ripper]

If I want to hook up just one bridge Dimarzio humbucker with just one volume and one tone pot.
Its fairly simple correct? Does anyone have a schematic lying around. Im so out of my league doing these things. I feel like a virgin at the prison rodeo!

[CheshireCat]

deepblue said:

If I want to hook up just one bridge Dimarzio humbucker with just one volume and one tone pot.
Its fairly simple correct? Does anyone have a schematic lying around. Im so out of my league doing these things. I feel like a virgin at the prison rodeo!

I don't understand the question. You just want one pickup, going to one vol and one tone pot?

Well, assuming I understand you correctly, click here.

Incidentally, there's nothing wrong with that . . . I just wanted to make sure you were talking about a direct connect to the bridge for special lead tones or something.

[wolf]

Deepblue
Cheshire Cat has a good link there.
However, if you are going to have just one pickup and if you have 4 wires coming out of it, I'd suggest series / parallel / coil cut switching:
www.1728.com/guitar.htm
(scroll to the 2 diagrams just before the phase switching section).

[Ripper]

Thanks guys!...Yes, I want a basic setup. One pickup going to one tone and one volume pot.
Do I need a cap?

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

deepblue said:

One pickup going to one tone and one volume pot. Do I need a cap?

The "need" for a cap is up to you, but it might be a good time to add the 0.33µF cap mentioned here: .

Then you can decide if you want tone and/or "treble bleed" ("treble retainer") caps on your new control pots, and if so, what cap values you want to try. Here's a little more reading-up about that:
www.guitarelectronics.com/category/wiringresources.1basicwiringfaqs.

And since you mentioned DiMarzio, this might help. (It's a four-wire humbucker, right?)
www.dimarzio.com/media/diagrams/4Conductor.pdf

Methinks you are contemplating a project. Care to share any additional details?

[CheshireCat]

deepblue said:

Thanks guys!...Yes, I want a basic setup. One pickup going to one tone and one volume pot.
Do I need a cap?

Interestingly enough, I actually did this mod on my Utah Jr., being that I had my SD JB from my main Utah, having traded it out for a SD Lil'59 so I could make room for a Sustainiac. I don't like using tone pots, so I didn't have one. I did some other interesting things, however.

Technically you need a "cap" if you are doing the standard treble bleed tone pot. The cap is what makes that happen. Otherwise the entire guitar signal would short out (or "shunt") to ground, and you'd in effect have two volume pots instead of one, for the same signal.

That's what a tone pot is, in fact . . . a volume control for the treble frequencies of the signal. With the "treble volume" full up, you get the full signal of your guitar. With the "volume" full down, all the trebles are shunted, and you're left with the bassier/midrangier frequencies, which, unfortunately, can lack definition.

I prefer using EQ circuits from EMG, specifically their EMG-BTC and EMG-VMC. That will give you 3-Band EQ, which is very effective indeed.

In fact, try this: use on vol pot on a push/pull pot, and use the switch for half-phasing, which basically means that instead of splitting the coils you simply send the trebles from one coil to ground, while maintaining the other coil. Basically, you get the top-end of a single coil and the bottom end of a humbucker. Also, in theory, you still get some of the humbucking benefits because the entire coil isn't shunted, but just certain frequencies.

Also, wiring a "half-phase" is actually very easy. It's wiring a splitter, but you put a cap between the grounding terminal of the switch and the actual ground point. I forget the cap value offhand, but it works fairly well.

So, you could do that with your vol pot, and then add in the EMG-VMC and EMG-BTC, and that would give you a lot of versatility, yet simplicity, from one pickup.

Incidentally, I'm not sure if the term "half-phasing" is technically accurate, but that's the term I've heard associated with it. Of course, I'm a stickler for proper terms, such as "splitting" vs. "tapping" and "tremolo" vs. "vibrato", but, that aside, without other direction, that's the only term I know for it. "Half-splitting" perhaps, but, beyond that, I don't know of any alternative.

Chesh

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

cheshirecat said:

That's what a tone pot is, in fact . . . a volume control for the treble frequencies of the signal.

I never thought of it that way before. I'll drink to that.

I like the "half-phasing" idea, too.

[UnklMickey]

deepblue said:

...Im so out of my league doing these things. I feel like a virgin at the prison rodeo!

thanks for the visual on that one. i'll be a month gettin' that one outta my head!

on the other hand, if anyone asks me for an idea, for a plot for an x-rated movie, i guess i can use that.

[jhng]

The "half-split" idea is a great favourite of mine too. Chunky bottom with a clear top. The precise sound varies a lot depending on capacitor value.

You can incorporate it into your tone control too. Try 250K linear pot wired as a normal tone control with the "empty" terminal of the pot wired to a 0.045uf capacitor which is wired to the "coil split" wire from your humbucker.

Hastings