Lefty setup question? Wiring Guru needed.

What is up? Lefty here! Wiring diagrams can throw us an issue or two! I've done a few and have noticed that it really comes down to reversing the wiring on the 1and3 lugs on the pots. Pots suck for us because they don't work like they're supposed to unless you want to roll off counter clock wise. Audio,(a),Reverse,(c), doesn't matter. Use a multimeter and you will see how your pots taper and wiring will work. Linear(b) pots kind of work. Google this up! There are no left handed pots with the same taper as rightys that I have seen. The Taper is different!!! for reverse(c) pots!! Get used to it or use linear(b) pots! As a lefty we have to just deal sometimes. At least we use the right side of our brain! Lol! Ha! Keep on pickin!

 

if using left handed pots reverse the the pot orientation

where te blue wire is now becomes ground ( on the pot dia, )where the ground wire is on the dia now becomes hot

other than that the wiring is the same

 

I just wish the sweep/taper was the same. Only with linear(b) are they alike.

 

Interesting. I never thought about this, probably because I'm left-handed, but play right-handed. I've thought about altering a R.H. Strat for L.H. playing, and never even realized that Jimi would have to have been rolling down opposite of what made sense for him, unless he had the pots rewired.

 

Hello. So theoretically audio vs reverse audio should be identical as long as the cap (for tone) or pickup lead (for vol) are on terminal 1 vs 3. Audio tone pots have the cap on 1. This is the standard righty config. Lefty config with reverse audio creates identical curve if the cap is wired to terminal 3.

That being said, something still seems messed up with “lefty” pots, so ultimately im with Billy3. But, again theoretically the whole purpose of reverse audio is to be identical to audio if they are turned counterclockwise for reverse audio and clockwise for audio.

i think its just a lefty victim thing that we are blind to????

 

Just a thought. just use R/H pots wired R/H. I rewired my L/H Strat that way because Fender does wire the leftys L/H but then the numbers on the knobs are wrong and the tapers are wrong.

 

Yep! C pots are not the same as A pots no matter how you wire them. Use a multimeter. You will understand!

 

I think if us lefties want a true audio taper we need to deal with doing things opposite. Don't we do that already!

 

Last time I chased this, I determined pots are nonlinear, so they don't have the same slope if used in reverse. I believe I determined Fender wires the same RH pots backwards for lefties, so the slope is different, but they rotate intuitively for a lefty. I reversed the tone pot on my Affinity, and it was much more usable, because the smaller slope was between 1-5, instead of the steepest slope between 1-5.

Lefty Gibsons don't have this issue, they come wired correctly, and I think they twist intuitively too? They must invest in LH pots? I'll drag my LP out in a bit and see.

 

B Pots are linear. Look at post #7! Swells, tapers are different lefties with A or C pots regardless how they are wired unless you roll off cw! Use a multimeter. You will understand. If there's a magical non linear pot for us lefties please let me know. I don't think they exist. Tried cts(a,b,c)... Bourns(a,b,c)...Alpha... You name it!

 

I did use a multi-meter, and plotted the resistance at quarter points, and found the resistance changed more that 25% or less than 25% depending on which pole was coupled with the center pole, same with the half way point. I suspect like a lot of things, they are called "linear" because they are closer to linear than the others, but not linear enough, to scale proportionally like we'd like.

 

As a lefty, I am just used to turning a knob clockwise to increase and counter (anti) clockwise to decrease...I ignore the numbers.

And Fender will NEVER wire a lefty guitar pots correctly. You have to swap 2 wires.