HS custom wiring question......

[HappyChicken]

Hey all, nice to be here, this is my first post!

I don't know if you have ever seen this setup as it's not conventional, let's see if anyone can help.

So I have a Maxon wide range Humbucker( got it from a japanese Tele custom) in neck position and am looking to put a Seymour Duncan Little 59 in the bridge. I chose the Little 59 as its a darker tone to match the Maxon.
Now here is the challenge, the Maxon would need a 1M pot as it's got much low end and would benefit a clearer high end.
The Little 59 needs a 500K...
The Fender dual concentric pot 500/250 would be the trick if it was 1M/500k
Each pup would see the right resistance.
Would wire the pups to the volumes, send the volume out to the switch, then to out jack.
Tone pot only for the 59 loading thru the out of the volume.
So I'm thinking I could put individual resistors on the dual pot to jack the resistance to what I need?
I'm using a 3 way switch, would like a usable second position and a coil tap on the 59..

thanks for reading!

 

[pipthepilot]

Hello and welcome

You don't need a dual pot. You could use a 1Mk pot by putting a 1Mk resistor from the Little 59 pickup hot wire to ground. What this will do is put the 1M pot and the 1M resistor is parallel to each other which effectively creates a voltage divider. What this means for the tone is that the bridge pickup sees the 1M pot as a 500k pot.

Would wire the pups to the volumes, send the volume out to the switch, then to out jack.
Tone pot only for the 59 loading thru the out of the volume.

You can easily wire the switch so that one pickup has tone and one doesn't. The only problem is that no matter how you wire this, when both pickups are selected the tone control will affect both pickups.

I recently created a diagram for someone else to show how to do this Bypass Tone Control for ONLY Neck Pup? | Telecaster Guitar Forum (tdpri.com)

 

[pipthepilot]

Had some time this morning to create a diagram, I think this is the circuit you're looking for.

Position 1: Bridge (Maxon) only with volume but no tone control
Position 2: Neck & Bridge with Volume and Tone
Position 3: Neck (Little 59) only with volume and Tone

Coil tap on tone pot for the Little 59 neck pickup




A few things to note.

1. In the middle position tone will control both pickups, as said above there is no way to resolve this unless you want to add a buffer which would also need a battery.
2. I've put a 942k resistor in parallel with the pots so the Bridge sees the 1M pots as 500k pots. In the middle position, this might be a bit dark, if so try lowering the resistor value until you find a happy compromise
3. This diagram assumes the pots and switch are grounded via the control plate, if they are attached to a plastic guard, you need to add additional wires to ground them together
4. The outer shielding on the neck Humbucker wire can be grounded anywhere, I've shown it attached to the switch chassis as this is often more convenient as long as the switch chassis is also properly grounded.
5. The 7.5k resistor on the coil tap helps to match volume when the pickup is tapped by partially grounding the tap. You can remove this and replace with a wire if you don't like the coil tapped tone.

 

[HappyChicken]

ooooohh, thanks so much for this.
The original idea is morphing a bit, I would also put a coil split switch for more options.
Also I'm checking out the Dimarzio DP421 Hot T as an option to the 59.

Basically , I'm trying to match the mighty Maxon with something fat that fits in a tele bridge that takes at least 500k easily, so it won't scream so much when it sees the 1Meg volume pot.
I just have a volume and pot so I understand the middle position challenge.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I rather have the 1Meg pot for the maxon and find a tele bridge pup that can take the 1Meg volume than use the resistor trick. I tried that and it works great, exept for that middle position.
I could go 500k on the tone to give the bridge pup a break....lol

 

[pipthepilot]

The original idea is morphing a bit, I would also put a coil split switch for more options.

You mentioned coil tap in your first post, I assumed you meant coil split which is why I included a coil split switch like this one below, in the schematic above.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I rather have the 1Meg pot for the maxon and find a tele bridge pup that can take the 1Meg volume than use the resistor trick.

You're absolutely correct, its much better to match the pickups and not use a resistor.

 

[HappyChicken]

Here is the tele, There will probably be a switch added between pots but overall, this is it.

 

[pipthepilot]

Here is the tele, There will probably be a switch added between pots but overall, this is it.

How did you wire it up in the end?

 

[HappyChicken]

Not done yet, I'm waiting for the Little 59 and a push pull pot.
Still wondering if I go 5 way or 3 way.
I have figured out what I want as options so now its just a question of what is the best solution with good ergonomics.
The layout is: Neck WRHB strait to volume pot, no tone. Bridge with tone, parallel option on the 59, and phase reverse as well on the 59.
I wonder, a 3 way , push pull on tone for parallel, and a small switch for phase reverse.
Or, 5 way, with the options above, I think I still need a switch for the phase reverse....

 

[pipthepilot]

Not done yet, I'm waiting for the Little 59 and a push pull pot.
Still wondering if I go 5 way or 3 way.
I have figured out what I want as options so now its just a question of what is the best solution with good ergonomics.
The layout is: Neck WRHB strait to volume pot, no tone. Bridge with tone, parallel option on the 59, and phase reverse as well on the 59.
I wonder, a 3 way , push pull on tone for parallel, and a small switch for phase reverse.
Or, 5 way, with the options above, I think I still need a switch for the phase reverse....

I'd have to think about it to give you a proper answer but a 5 way switch probably won't help you. A 5 way switch is useful for 3 pickups but not very helpful for two pickups because position 2 and 4 only bridge the two tabs so don't give you the options for switching series/parallel etc.

Can you confirm, these are the options you want?

1. Bridge in parallel - with tone and volume?
2. Bridge in series - with tone and volume?
3. Neck & Bridge - with volume and no tone?
4. Neck only - with volume and no tone?

Regarding phase, do you want OOP with the two coils of the Little 59 or do you mean OOP between both pickups?

 

[HappyChicken]

I'd have to think about it to give you a proper answer but a 5 way switch probably won't help you. A 5 way switch is useful for 3 pickups but not very helpful for two pickups because position 2 and 4 only bridge the two tabs so don't give you the options for switching series/parallel etc.

Can you confirm, these are the options you want?

1. Bridge in parallel - with tone and volume?
2. Bridge in series - with tone and volume?
3. Neck & Bridge - with volume and no tone?
4. Neck only - with volume and no tone?

Regarding phase, do you want OOP with the two coils of the Little 59 or do you mean OOP between both pickups?

Thanks much for his.
Your post helps me see that a 3 way with one pull pot and a switch would be best.
So something like this:

1. Bridge with tone and volume, pushpull for parallel
2. Bridge and Neck, tone, volume (OOP and Parallel option on 59)
3. Neck, no tone, volume.
Phase reverse on the 59 via wire swap so that its OOP on position 2 with the neck.