Wiring help needed again - Tele pickups to wire

aerocol · #1 04-09-2002, 12:37 PM

Hi,

I have a humbucker now for my Tele and I would like to be able to coil tap it. I have surfed the net and found that the tone pot can be used to tap the humbucker although I can't figure how it does it. It is a standard pot and the diagram can be found at guitarelectronics.com Does this work ??? Are there any other possibilities with standard controls and 3 way switch???

Many thanks
Col

SalemB · #2 04-10-2002, 05:28 AM

It would help if you gave the exact link to the wiring diagram.
There's more than one at guitarelectronics.com.

aerocol · #3 04-10-2002, 12:32 PM

Hi,

Sorry about that, didn't realise lol

here is the page

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/tonemods.html

It is the 4th picture down and is called Tone controll with auto coil tap.

Can I do this mod so that it only affects my humbucker and therefore gives me 5 sound options??

Cheers
Col

SalemB · #4 04-10-2002, 03:47 PM

Right, I think I got the idea of it now. I made a rough schetch of it with just one humbucker and a black box containing the volume pot, other pups and the switch. It looks something like this:

I omitted (forgot) the capacitor from the drawing at guitarelectronics.com but it must be there for the wiring to work properly.

Note that it is the center connection of the tone pot that is connected to ground. When you turn the tone pot to one side, the coils is wired in series. When you turn the pot to the other side, you will shorten the middle point of the coils to ground and only one of the two coils will be giving you a signal.

It will only affect your humbucker as it is the middle connection of the coils that is connected to the tone pot.

I must say that I've never thought of this before and that it is a very cool mod. You will have unlimited options because you vary the effect of one humbucker coil from 0 to 100 while the other coil always gives you a 100%.

To make this wiring mod work on your tele you need to get rid of the wiring you already got on your tone control. Connect the live wire from the jack to one side of the tone pot, the middle of the tone pot connects to ground and the two connected wires on the humbucker to the third tone pot lug.

Right now this looks and sounds correct to me but I make no guarantees

aerocol · #5 04-10-2002, 07:12 PM

Hi,

That is absolutely fantastic. Thankyou so much for this assistance, it is of great help to me.

Once wired, will the sound be altered by the use of the tone control?? What I mean is, will the sound of the humbucker (used as a humbucker by rotating the pot to give both coils 100%) be the same as if I had just wired the humbucker in series as normal???

Thanks again
Col

PS I'll let you know how I go on

SalemB · #6 04-11-2002, 06:03 AM

In the case of both humbucker coils giving sound you will have a 500kohm resistor in parallell with the coils. The effect of this should be negliable, but I haven't tested it.

aerocol · #7 04-11-2002, 03:11 PM

Hi!!

OK , now I have the pickup and I am going to perform the mod. I must admit that I don't know how this works. The humbucker hot is connected to the switch and the black and white wires are connected to the pot (im using a dimarzio humbucker fast track).

I'll be back when it is done lol!!!!!

Cheers
Col

Two hands31 · #8 04-11-2002, 11:02 PM

Hmm...interesting. *Would this work sorta like the Washburn VCC (Voice Contour Control) knobs? *(switch gradually from humbucker to single-coil sound, with hum always cancelled)

SalemB · #9 04-12-2002, 05:49 AM

I think so, but I'm not absolutely sure. I think I need to test this out myself.
I have an guitar full of holes. Maybe I should put some stuff in them

aerocol · #10 04-12-2002, 09:36 AM

Hi,

I did it, but it doesn't work 100%

I'll try and sort it, but I think the problem is that I don't understand where the hot (series) connection goes on th eswitch/volume part and how the volume connects to the tone in order for the pot to act as a master once outputted!!!

Cheers
Col

SalemB · #11 04-14-2002, 06:44 AM

Here's another attemt at the diagram. This time there's no black box. I even got a capacitor in there.

In the diagram that you mailed me the volume control and the tone control (tap control) was wired in parallell. The tap control would probably have an effect in single coil mode too.

I can't guarantee that I got it right though...