Electronics, can't live with em, can't live without em....

[Zac Meyers]

Hey all,

I've had an electric guitar build thats been a slow 2 year project and after wiring it all up a while ago I ran into issues. The setup that I have is two pickups (Seymour duncan P-rails) which go through corresponding Seymour Duncan triple shot rings. From that they each go to a separate push-pull pot, where the push is meant to be volume and pull is tone. These go into a 3 way toggle then off to output.

This is where I was having issues. Only certain combinations. I can't remember exact details because I dissembled it a while ago but I wouldnt work if you have both pots in or both out. It was very touchy about when it would work and thats not what I want from my guitar

Heres the schematic that past-drummerguy drew up




Any assistance as to what is wrong with my schematic would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, drummerguy103

[Art Davila]

I have fumbled thru alot of mods over the years, but I always went from known wiring designs,
and then modded the circuit from there one piece at a time, get that part working, and then add the next thing.
Doing everything your trying to do all at once is great, but when you have problems take some of the complexity out of the circuit,
and get that fixed then add in the next problematic level of complexity.

Ok I get that the big squares as pick ups. I never saw a 3 wire pick up where is the 4th wire?
So the first block you come to is the triple shot, is that right? (Which does a coil tap and phase change Right? Or am I remembering that wrong?)
then the push pull pot directly underneath right? I don't see a ground on the pots
So is the last thing before the input jack the 3 way toggle?

It would help if you could label each component.
And what were you trying to do with this circuit?

[Greg Robinson]

Hi Zac,
There are a couple of obvious problems with your schematic.
First off, using push pull pots in double service as both volume and tone controls will mean that you are only able to use one function at a time - if you roll down the tone and then push for volume, the tone will be reset. This is a very unconventional approach - no reason it won't work, it just probably won't work how you are expecting.

Secondly, you're a missing ground connection for both the volume and tone controls. You will need to rewire the left hand side of the push pull switches, and the leftmost contact on either control pot in your diagram. I will refer to the switch lugs from top to bottom as A, B and C, and the leftmost lug of the pots as lug 3.
Disconnect all connections as currently shown, including the capacitor. Wire lug 3 to lug A. also wire one end of the capacitor to lug 3. Wire the other end of the capacitor to lug C. Finally, wire lug B to ground. You will need to repeat this for both push pull pots. This will give you a working circuit.

If this isn't clear enough, I should be able to put a diagram together for you later.


Art, the pickups themselves are 4 wire (+shield), this is all wired to the triple-shot rings. There are then three wires that come from here - signal, return and shield. This is a simplified wiring diagram that does not show the function of the triple-shot rings.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

I would start with making sure the pick ups work as advertised. You can do this by alligator clipping each pick up individually direct to the jack. You should also check with a meter to see if you're getting both coils etc. The Duncan website shows the DC resistance. Then wire each pick up to the pick up ring and check the output of the ring the same way.

I agree with Greg about the dual function pots. it does add a few layers of complexity to your troubleshooting. If you must have two volumes, then I suggest wiring the tone cap so it is in circuit (no adjustment) when the pot is pulled. So tone will be an all or nothing affair. Personally I'd have a single volume and tone and be done with it. You have a better choice of pots, as well.

After assuring yourself the signal from the pick up rings is as it should be, then wire the pick ups either to the pots/switches per your ideas, or to the selector per my suggestion and test again. You should be in business. The point is to follow the signal sequentially. Double check your connections at each step.

A customer brought me a guitar that had 3 holes for pots and 4 holes for mini switches (all factory), wanting to have P-rails installed. I wired each pick-up with the Duncan 3 way coil selector (each coil individually plus the coils in series) and a series parallel switch, which bypassed the coil selector. This was a very versatile set up but more complicated than I'd like. But we had all those holes to fill. The controls were two volumes plus tone, wired like a Jazz Bass. That's one more volume than I'd like, but there was that hole...

Joshua

[Zac Meyers]

Thanks all for your input. By the sounds of it it might be better off for me to get rid of the push pulls and just have a single volume and tone pots.

Heres a slightly nicer looking version of schematic with a few missing grounds etc but Its just the idea that counts



Anything wrong with this? Should volume go before tone perhaps? I would imagine that would make some weird changes..

Cheers, Zac

[Greg Robinson]

Zac, sorry, but that won't work at all.
Follow the first diagram on this link: http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Electro ... -1240.html