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Been out of the game a while. Help with my guitar.
Posted on 5/5/22 at 10:27 am
Posted on 5/5/22 at 10:27 am
I used to play in a band years ago. I had a bunch of gear, several guitars, half stack, pedals, etc.. Well, long story short, I lost a lot of it in a flood 10 years ago. I still have one electric guitar (LTD MH-100) and my Yamaha acoustic.
I had kinda been looking around for a while in classifieds and the Facebook marketplace for a used amp so I can start playing again, but there was mostly overpriced crap, or full and half stacks that I really have no room or need for anymore. But yesterday I came across a good deal on a Marshall MG100 DFX combo. So I snatched it up, put strings on the 20+ year old LTD, and tried to start knocking the rust off (the guitar and my fingers).
While that particular guitar was not lost in the flood, it probably did get some moisture in it. It has been a wall decoration for the past 10 years so I never really assessed whether or not it still worked. When I plugged it up I couldn’t get any sound. I inspected the wiring and finally after wiggling things around I was able to get some sound. For some reason it only works when I lift up on the volume knob. So as a temporary fix I wrapped a piece of wire around the pot post in order to keep it propped up. I currently have a somewhat working guitar.
So after some further assessment, only my bridge pickup appears to be working, and my tone knob does nothing. So I want to try to replace and rewire at least the pots and toggle switch. Maybe upgrade the humbuckers, too. Which brings me to some questions. I was looking through he wiring diagrams on the Seymour Duncan website.
This is currently how the guitar is wired.
But then I noticed a few other options and was intrigued. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of push/pull coil split pots? Would it be better than my current wiring? Should I do both pots? Just one?
Like the title suggests, I’ve been out of the guitar game for a long time and am kinda relearning this stuff. I can do the soldering and electronic work, that’s no issue.
Also, I may want to upgrade the old humbuckers. Especially if one doesn’t work. Was looking at the Seymour Duncan Alpha Omega’s. I like to play a mix of classic and new metal. They seem to have a few options out there. Thanks for any suggestions.
I had kinda been looking around for a while in classifieds and the Facebook marketplace for a used amp so I can start playing again, but there was mostly overpriced crap, or full and half stacks that I really have no room or need for anymore. But yesterday I came across a good deal on a Marshall MG100 DFX combo. So I snatched it up, put strings on the 20+ year old LTD, and tried to start knocking the rust off (the guitar and my fingers).
While that particular guitar was not lost in the flood, it probably did get some moisture in it. It has been a wall decoration for the past 10 years so I never really assessed whether or not it still worked. When I plugged it up I couldn’t get any sound. I inspected the wiring and finally after wiggling things around I was able to get some sound. For some reason it only works when I lift up on the volume knob. So as a temporary fix I wrapped a piece of wire around the pot post in order to keep it propped up. I currently have a somewhat working guitar.
So after some further assessment, only my bridge pickup appears to be working, and my tone knob does nothing. So I want to try to replace and rewire at least the pots and toggle switch. Maybe upgrade the humbuckers, too. Which brings me to some questions. I was looking through he wiring diagrams on the Seymour Duncan website.
This is currently how the guitar is wired.
But then I noticed a few other options and was intrigued. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of push/pull coil split pots? Would it be better than my current wiring? Should I do both pots? Just one?
Like the title suggests, I’ve been out of the guitar game for a long time and am kinda relearning this stuff. I can do the soldering and electronic work, that’s no issue.
Also, I may want to upgrade the old humbuckers. Especially if one doesn’t work. Was looking at the Seymour Duncan Alpha Omega’s. I like to play a mix of classic and new metal. They seem to have a few options out there. Thanks for any suggestions.
1
Posted on 5/5/22 at 12:04 pm to PillageUrVillage
Coil splitting adds sounds, but their usefulness is a you-call. Coil splitting comes with a roughly 50 percent output decrease (aka, volume drop) compared to full humbucker mode, plus the introduction of 60-cycle hum into your signal.
You can compensate for the shortcomings of splits with a compressor and/or a noise gate respectively, or you can just deal with it. I say wire the splits in, because even high quality push-pull pots are very affordable. Even if you rarely use the split sounds, they are there in case you want or need them.
The Alpha Omegas are cool. My favorite rock Duncans for the bridge position are the Custom 5 (Alnico V mag) and the Nazgul (ceramic mag). My favorite neck position is the Duncan '59 (A5). Titan is my favorite Dimarzio in this class.
You can compensate for the shortcomings of splits with a compressor and/or a noise gate respectively, or you can just deal with it. I say wire the splits in, because even high quality push-pull pots are very affordable. Even if you rarely use the split sounds, they are there in case you want or need them.
The Alpha Omegas are cool. My favorite rock Duncans for the bridge position are the Custom 5 (Alnico V mag) and the Nazgul (ceramic mag). My favorite neck position is the Duncan '59 (A5). Titan is my favorite Dimarzio in this class.
Posted on 5/5/22 at 1:05 pm to TheFretShack
quote:
You can compensate for the shortcomings of splits with a compressor and/or a noise gate respectively, or you can just deal with it. I say wire the splits in, because even high quality push-pull pots are very affordable. Even if you rarely use the split sounds, they are there in case you want or need them.
So I can essentially turn my humbuckers into single coils? Am I understanding that correctly? Are there any particular push-pull pots you'd recommend? If they're cheap enough I may go ahead and give them a try. I've always played on dual humbuckers full output, but maybe I'll discover a sound that I like from splitting. If I don't like it I can always go back to traditional 500k pots. Or I guess I could just leave the humbuckers in full output.
quote:
Custom 5 (Alnico V mag)
This is what I currently have on my bridge. My neck pickup is whatever came with the guitar. And I'm not sure if the humbucker doesn't work, or if there is an electronic issue. That's why I figured I'd rewire with new pots first.
Thanks for the reply.
This post was edited on 5/5/22 at 1:08 pm
Posted on 5/5/22 at 3:23 pm to PillageUrVillage
Engaging a coil split grounds out one of the pickup's two coils. So yes, you are basically turning the pickup into a single coil that is approximately half its humbucker operation output.
Posted on 5/5/22 at 4:20 pm to TheFretShack
Ok. My electronics knowledge is almost as rusty as my guitar playing. I just looked up some schematics and that makes sense to me now.
That's also got me thinking that if my tone pot does nothing, then I probably have a bad capacitor. I'll have to put my multimeter on it when I get home. I'm not sure what is in there currently. I may have to replace that too. I noticed the Duncan wiring diagram has .047 uF, but I know .022 uF is very common as well. Another thing I guess I could potentially experiment with.
That's also got me thinking that if my tone pot does nothing, then I probably have a bad capacitor. I'll have to put my multimeter on it when I get home. I'm not sure what is in there currently. I may have to replace that too. I noticed the Duncan wiring diagram has .047 uF, but I know .022 uF is very common as well. Another thing I guess I could potentially experiment with.
This post was edited on 5/5/22 at 5:21 pm
Posted on 5/16/22 at 7:55 pm to TheFretShack
Update:
Got all my parts, cleaned this poor old guitar up, put in some Alpha and Omega pups, push-pull pots, toggle switch, and input jack. Complete rewire.
Old wiring:
Ready to put the new stuff in:
Got her all wired up:
Ready to rock!
She is sounding better than ever!
Got all my parts, cleaned this poor old guitar up, put in some Alpha and Omega pups, push-pull pots, toggle switch, and input jack. Complete rewire.
Old wiring:
Ready to put the new stuff in:
Got her all wired up:
Ready to rock!
She is sounding better than ever!
This post was edited on 5/16/22 at 7:56 pm
Posted on 5/16/22 at 8:11 pm to PillageUrVillage
Changed up a Les Paul of mine. EMG 81s were added, along with tuners and knobs
This post was edited on 5/16/22 at 10:28 pm
Posted on 5/17/22 at 12:30 am to PillageUrVillage
I notice the new pickups are tagged specifically for neck and bridge. What's the difference in their electrical makeup that designates one for one end or the other?
Posted on 5/17/22 at 6:17 am to UKWildcats
quote:
What's the difference in their electrical makeup that designates one for one end or the other?
Different impedance. Neck is 8.02k, Trembucker is 14k.
quote:
SEClint
That’s a beautiful guitar.
This post was edited on 5/17/22 at 6:30 am
Posted on 5/17/22 at 8:44 am to PillageUrVillage
Different impedance. Neck is 8.02k, Trembucker is 14k.
Those numbers are actually DC resistance. Measured in ohms.
I use DCR, inductance (measured in henries) and magnet type and gauss ("pull" strength) to "sort" our pickups into general classes.
VERY generally speaking, middle pickups are overwound compared to neck pickups, and bridge pickups are overwound compared to middle pickups. Because the strings vibrates physically less the closer one gets to the bridge ... meaning less disruption of the invisible electromagnetic field surrounding the pickup.
You overwind as you get closer to the bridge to balance perceived output between pickups. AKA, no volume drops or spikes as you bounce between pickups.
Those numbers are actually DC resistance. Measured in ohms.
I use DCR, inductance (measured in henries) and magnet type and gauss ("pull" strength) to "sort" our pickups into general classes.
VERY generally speaking, middle pickups are overwound compared to neck pickups, and bridge pickups are overwound compared to middle pickups. Because the strings vibrates physically less the closer one gets to the bridge ... meaning less disruption of the invisible electromagnetic field surrounding the pickup.
You overwind as you get closer to the bridge to balance perceived output between pickups. AKA, no volume drops or spikes as you bounce between pickups.
Posted on 5/17/22 at 8:49 am to TheFretShack
quote:
Those numbers are actually DC resistance. Measured in ohms.
Right, semantic error on my part. I forget that impedance is AC circuit resistance.
Good explanation.
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