(guitar) electrics question
 

Possibly a dumb one-

I'm rewiring a guitar and have got myself a push-pull switched pot.

I'm assuming the circuit for the push pull soldering tags is completely seperate from the potentiometer circuit.

Someone please tell me I'm right...

Re: (guitar) electrics question
 

Yes, completely separate, it sort of hangs out the bottom. I've rewired quite a few, drop me a line if you get stuck on anything.

Re: (guitar) electrics question
 

Cheers- I think I've got my head around it now.

Tis an Epiphone Black Beauty 3 pickup. It's got a 5 tab connector to the switch which threw a bit of hard thinking into my plan on rewiring the pickups-

Want to go from

Neck Only, Bridge and middle out of phase and Bridge only

to

Neck only, Bridge and Neck with middle switchable and bridge only

I'd like to get the phase changed too or even get another push/pull pot onto it at some point, but it really depends if the middle pickup is 4 conductor, I think.

That aside, I'm replacing 3 pots with decent quality ones (CTS) and Sprague Orange Drop capacitors, so should have it sounding quite nice. The pickups are actually quite decent- some of Epi's better efforts, only they're so microphonic, you could put a Neumann logo on them! I reckon potting should give them a little more punch and possible a tighter low end. We'll see (or hear).

Cheers for the reply- I posted on Gearslutz and My Les Paul ("Epiphone pickups are already potted- if it's gone microphonic, you need to replace them" -yeahthanks. They only started doing that after my guitar was made!) and barely got a word and nothing constructive!

I've got the bits for the double boiler- just need to construct it. Basically a deep, square roasting tray (fiver for a pair from Robert Dyas!- Bargain!) and some metal bbq skewers to suspend it on the pan. Just need the paraffin (mail order- nowhere in the shops!) and a thermometer.

It's a budget job- I'd love a set of Bare Knuckle pickups, but at about £270, it's a bit out of budget.

I will hopefully be doing a before/after recording and chucking some photos together.

Wish me luck- if I don't burn the flat down wax-potting the pickups, I should have it sorted by the time we reach Alderaan :)

Re: (guitar) electrics question
 

Right. I've got the bits.

Got 1kg paraffin wax. Beeswax. Equipment to make a double boiler (MacGuyver stylee!) and a milk thermometer.

Plan is-

Record guitar as is, before surgery.

Take some pics of control cavity, for reference.

Study wiring diagrams and produce final plan for this.

Wire up the new control harness

Rip the pickups out (as gently as possible!)

Dunk em in hot wax til they're done and not melted avoiding "Aaaaargh! I'm on fire!" situations.

reinsert pickups into guitar and replace old wiring harness.

Wire it all together again.

Plug in. Rock out as it's all gonna be good FIRST TIME!