What push-pull features do you use most often?

[ninethirty]

[EDIT: Moved to the Coffee Shop because this is a questionnaire of opinion, and is only indirectly related to wiring circuitry.]

I’m curious what features on push-pull pots people find themselves reaching for the most. I’ve scanned the various options in the modules subforum, and read a bunch of threads, but often I think, “that sounds really cool!" Then a start wondering if I'd really use it in practice. So I’m curious about peoples’ experiences after living with them for a while.

For context: I’m rewiring a 335 clone, and I’ve just found that I’ll need to add 2 more push-pull pots than I was planning on — turns out my Bourns push-pull pots fit through the f-holes and my non-switching CTS pots don’t . I was already planning on 2 push-pulls for a bass cut for each pickup to cover similar territory as a coil split, since my pickups only expose 2 conductors. But now all 4 pots will be push-pull, so the other 2 need some kind of function. It just seems wrong to let them go to waste

To make things more interesting, 2 of the pots are also dual-ganged. I haven't decided if I want to try the "Cleartone" tone circuit, given that JohnH himself wasn't that enthusiastic about it .   There might be something else they're useful for, though.

Wiring-wise, I’m currently leaning toward modern wiring w/ a small treble bleed. Yesterday before reading through the various tone control threads on this board, I was leaning toward 50’s wiring. The difference a day makes

There are tons of options for my other 2 push-pulls:

• Switchable tone caps
  
• Phase reverse (I can't without separating the cover ground on my pickups, though)
  
• Varitone-like filters
  
• "Half out-of-phase" sorts of things?
  
• All manner of active circuits
• Solo/Blower/straight-to-jack
• Other things I haven't thought of?
  

So, what are your go-to push-pull pot mods?

[newey]

ninethirty-

I couldn't recall whether I had appropriately welcomed you previously, so better to be duplicative than omissive:

Hello and Welcome to G-Nutz2!

All of the following is just my not-so-informed opinion, so grain of salt and all that.

- I think the switchable tone cap thing is overblown. Minimally useful IMO.
- Phase, yes you'd have to dewire/rewire the connection to the covers. Whether it's useful or not I guess depends on how much of a fan one is of OOP sounds?
- A "sorta Varitone" type of circuit would have some appeal. 2 push/pulls could give basically 3 options (with the 4th position a bypass) So, your other P/Ps would be wired to cut bass frequencies, these would cut treble. Between the 4 pots, you'd have a bunch of variations.
- I like the solo/blower switch idea also, but I think it works better with a toggle switch. If'n yer gonna be a'soloin', it's the flick of a fingertip to hit a toggle switch. Much quicker than using bwo fingers to lift a P/P pot up.
-Active circuits opens up a whole 'nother subject. I'd vote for an onboard FuzzFace clone . . .

[stevewf]

I'm curious where to get two-gang push-pull pots? I actually have a pair of them - Bourns 17mm - but can't of the life of me find them available... I concluded that I must have fashioned them myself by bashing various Bourns pots together.

- In the "Other" category: I've used one of those very 2-gang-P/P units to modify the Tone knob: Down, the knob is a normal Tone pot (sometimes called "Treble cut"); Up, the knob is a "Bass cut". I used a 2-ganger in order to have a reverse-log curve on the Bass cut - I just used a normal 500KΩ log trace, but in the upside-down position. Since then, a redesign freed up another pot hole, so I separated and moved the Bass cut and no longer have this control.

- Kill switch. It shorts the hot straight to the ground. Useful for [semi-]hollowbody guitars when they're shrieking in front of amps/speakers, f'rinstance.

- Series/Parallel switch. This could be within a humbucker pickup, or between pickups. Even for the latter, you might want to separate one of the pickups' covers, though, to avoid hum. Of course, for the former, you'd have to 4-wire the pickup.

- "Other" that I've never tried: If you use one of the knobs as a mix-in (aka "Blend") knob, you could use the switch to disable the pot. Meaning, let's say you've wired a knob to allow you to mix in the Bridge pickup at will, even when the Bridge pickup isn't selected. The P/P could cut out the Bridge pickup. That way, you could leave the knob in a given position and switch in&out quickly. Possible?

[ninethirty]

Thanks newey!

Good thoughts ... that's really helpful. I see what you mean about the solo/blower switch ... maybe if they were push-push pots that would work out better.

Sounds like the Varitone idea would take some experimenting....  Perhaps a board wired outside of the guitar to experiment with.

Now you have me thinking about onboard fuzzes.  Hmm...  a Fuzz Face on one switch and a Rangemaster on the other? Mmmm....  Wouldn't be too hard to attach a battery right inside the f-hole, right?

[ninethirty]

Dec 10, 2021 0:45:04 GMT -5 stevewf said:

I'm curious where to get two-gang push-pull pots? I actually have a pair of them - Bourns 17mm - but can't of the life of me find them available... I concluded that I must have fashioned them myself by bashing various Bourns pots together.

- In the "Other" category: I've used one of those very 2-gang-P/P units to modify the Tone knob: Down, the knob is a normal Tone pot (sometimes called "Treble cut"); Up, the knob is a "Bass cut". I used a 2-ganger in order to have a reverse-log curve on the Bass cut - I just used a normal 500KΩ log trace, but in the upside-down position. Since then, a redesign freed up another pot hole, so I separated and moved the Bass cut and no longer have this control.

- Kill switch. It shorts the hot straight to the ground. Useful for [semi-]hollowbody guitars when they're shrieking in front of amps/speakers, f'rinstance.

- Series/Parallel switch. This could be within a humbucker pickup, or between pickups. Even for the latter, you might want to separate one of the pickups' covers, though, to avoid hum. Of course, for the former, you'd have to 4-wire the pickup.

- "Other" that I've never tried: If you use one of the knobs as a mix-in (aka "Blend") knob, you could use the switch to disable the pot. Meaning, let's say you've wired a knob to allow you to mix in the Bridge pickup at will, even when the Bridge pickup isn't selected. The P/P could cut out the Bridge pickup. That way, you could leave the knob in a given position and switch in&out quickly. Possible?

You know, I'm not sure where I got these...I've had them for a while. I searched my email and didn't see any sign of it. I see one seller on eBay who is selling them now... I'm guessing I got them from eBay a while back. Mine look the same.

I like your treble/bass idea. Particularly for the neck, where I'm less likely to want to cut treble and bass. That could be useful.

A kill switch makes sense too. I usually think of that for stutter effects and such, where you wouldn't want to put it on a push-pull. But I can see the appeal if only when sitting it on a stand during a break or something. Even when I use a headstock tuner, I have a pedal tuner on my board essentially as a mute switch for that reason. Not exciting, but useful.

I wish I could do series/parallel types of things – that's a popular one. I'll take a closer look at my humbuckers to see what it would take to isolate them.

Good ideas, thanks!

[newey]

Dec 10, 2021 8:34:18 GMT -5 ninethirty said:

A kill switch makes sense too. I usually think of that for stutter effects and such, where you wouldn't want to put it on a push-pull. But I can see the appeal if only when sitting it on a stand during a break or something. Even when I use a headstock tuner, I have a pedal tuner on my board essentially as a mute switch for that reason. Not exciting, but useful.

I have a late-'60's Univox semi-hollow body, sort of like a ES 335 clone with some Gretsch-ish features as well that has a "kill switch", but back when the guitar was made, they called it a "standby switch" for just that reason, so you could leave it plugged in onstage.

As for the active possibilities, getting a 9V battery into the F-hole may prove easier than getting it out again. . . .

[stevewf]

Here are some more hare-brained ideas. Not saying I like all or any of them, but I put 'em here for food for thought.

- How about if you want to disable a treble bleed? Or have an alternate one, a VariBleed.
- A two-stop VariTone (in addition to any Tone knob). If you use a serial/parallel switch, but that switch doesn't have an extra pole, you could use the P/P to cut the shrillness of parallel/singles over 500K pots by dumping some set amount of signal to ground, like 250K pots would, or any desired amount.
- Reassign one of the pots to some other function, eg Bridge Vol knob becomes Master Vol knob

[pyrroz]

series/parallel here

[cynical1]

I'm with pyrroz on this one. I've wired a lot of stuff into guitars and basses over the years, and I seen some crazy and interesting stuff others have added to their instruments. Most of the latter I have seen when being paid to remove it...

IMHO, about the most useful has always been a series\parallel switch. It works in every genre. Kill switches, fuzz\distortion or anything that processes the signal on the way to the amp are all one trick ponies. Pedals are much more versatile and effective in that regard...and it's easier to change the battery...

I do like phase switching, but if you find yourself using it more than 30% of the time I'd be surprised.

HTC1

[stevewf]

Dec 10, 2021 0:45:04 GMT -5 stevewf said:

I'm curious where to get two-gang push-pull pots? 

newey seems to have found them at Mouser