Electric Guitars

[Branden]

Hey all. My pickup situation is an EMG 81 in the bridge postion, and an 85 in the neck. There is a 3 way toggle switch, and 1 volume and 1 tone knob shared between them. What I want to do is disable the tone control and eliminate the selector switch. Replace all that with one single push pull knob that controls just volume, and selects between only bridge and neck pickup. Having the option of both pickups engaged is not of interest to me. Just one push pull knob that controls only volume, and two pickup options. I never use the tone controls, and I never use the two pickups at once selection. So dont ask me why I want to do this.

[Sparky Coldfire]

Check number 12 in this list of EMG wiring diagrams

[Branden]

Ok. So I am looking at solderless kits from EMG. It seems that the pots in these kits are made for coil tapping. How would you take this kit: http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/266/290/4 and make it to select between pickups? Could this be done?

[Sparky Coldfire]

No, not with the part you pointed to.  That's a pot, but it doesn't have a push pull switch.  This one would be more appropriate. Pot with switch You may have been thrown by the word split in the description.  That doesn't refer to splitting the coils, it refers to the split shaft on the pot. 

A word of caution, passive pickups get brighter when the tone circuit is bypassed.  I assume actives do too, although I haven't done any work on them myself.  I would do some research on this to see if you are going to like the sound of this mod when you are done.  If you go ahead with it, be prepared to either keep the tone circuit in tact, but hidden in the cavity, or you could build your own little fixed value RC circuit which might fit more easily if you're short on space in there. You may have to tune this little circuit to get an optimal tone (I know I would).

I guess what I'm saying is this might not be a simple mod. If you've never done any guitar wiring, you might consider taking this to your local tech or just leaving it the way it is.

[Branden]

It doesnt seem like anything to complicated. With just one pot being involved? I have rewired my guitar for emg 18 volt mod before. I know how to solder. I think I can tackle this. I just need accurate instructions.

[Mr.Grumpy]

Yeah, diagram 12 is what you need. The wiring for the battery and output jack doesn't change, that's the same as diagram 4. 

The push-pull pot you need can be purchased here:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Potentiometers/Push-pull_Pots.html

I believe active pickups use 25K ohm volume controls. I don't think it will be too big a deal to omit your tone control, you should be able to adjust your amp to compensate. But if it's really trebly without the tone control, you could put a "always on 10 tone circuit" by a capacitor and a resistor in series from hot to ground to simulate the pot and cap in the circuit. 

[Branden]

Rock on thanks everyone! Now what type of wire should I buy for all this soldering to the one pot?

[Sparky Coldfire]

If your cavity is shielded, then just about any wire will do.  A typical easy to find size is 22 AWG.  Personally I like stranded wire because it's easy to snake it around.  But a friend of mine likes solid core wire because it holds it's shape.  So it's really just a mater of preference.  Just do a search for guitar wire.  Here is a place for example.  One thing I will recommend is that you use a standard color convention.  Use red for hot, black for ground etc.  It will help you remember what's going on when you open it back up in a year or two.