Fitting a push/pull pot.Difficult?

breakstuff

I'm toying with fitting a push pull pot to my Charvel San Dimas,mainly to get more of a single coil tone from the neck pickup.Can anyone give me any ideas to how hard/easy a job it is to carry out yourself.I've rewired guitars before but never done this mod.
My main concern is,will the guitar need a full rewire or is it just a case of rewiring in the new pot and connecting the extra two wires from the pickups.

Cheers.

steamabacus

If you've rewired guitars before and have a circuit diagram it should be easy enough for you. A push pull pot has two separate sets of connectors - one for the pot itself and one for the switch. It's basically a switch stuck on the end of a pot.

One thing to check is that you have enough depth in the cavity to accommodate the pot. As mentioned above, the switch part is on the bottom of the regular pot part and so you need more clearance to fit it in there.

One more thing - you might want to consider a push/push switch rather than a push/pull. The wiring will be the same but many prefer the action of a push/push in use.

xSkarloey

As steamabacus said make sure you
have enough depth in the cavity (ooer missus).

Follow the right diagram you'll be okay.

Only other caveat I'd add is that the pots I've bought in the past have tended to be smaller, with smaller, slimmer connections for solder etc. Not a big prob but obviously you've got to be pretty neat and efficient with the soldering iron. Don't want to be weakening them through heating/ reheating etc.

Have you seen the Seymour Duncan site with its large collection of diagrams? Always a useful first point of reference.

breakstuff

Thanks guys did check the Seymour Duncan sight but need to check the wiring on my San Dimas to see if it's the same as I don't want to have to do a full rewire.

@sreamabacus push/push sounds good.Any recommendations which make to go for?

steamabacus

I put a push/push in my Lag Jet - I don't remember exactly what make it was but nothing too expensive. Probably an Alpha from Axesrus like this. I've not had any problems with it and it's been in there a few years now although I haven't gigged the guitar.

Some say that push/push are not as robust as push/pull but whether that is down to poorer build quality or users' tendencies for over-enthusiastic hitting of a push/push, I'm not sure. I have replaced a push/pull where the owner pulled the shaft out of the pot, though.

Grumpyrocker

breakstuff said:

I'm toying with fitting a push pull pot to my Charvel San Dimas,mainly to get more of a single coil tone from the neck pickup.Can anyone give me any ideas to how hard/easy a job it is to carry out yourself.I've rewired guitars before but never done this mod.
My main concern is,will the guitar need a full rewire or is it just a case of rewiring in the new pot and connecting the extra two wires from the pickups.

Cheers.

I added a push-push pot to my PRS SE to do coil-split. It was pretty easy. And I'm a cack handed imbecile when it comes to soldering and the like.

breakstuff

Just had a look at the wiring on my San Dimas and it matches the diagram I looked at on the Seymour Duncan site so looks pretty straight forward.Think I'm gonna give it a go.I'll check out that Alpha one @sreamabacus.I know people prefer CTS but if yours had lasted that long it's probably worth trying.
Cheers.

Adam_MD

I've used this guy from wd music in a few guitars now I really like the pot taper and it feels better quality than the push/push I've had from anywhere else.

http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/500k-pushpush-pot-with-us-specs-1124-p.asp

breakstuff

Yeah,did look at that one @Adam_MD but it's showing out of stock.

Adam_MD

Wick sorry @breakstuff I didn't notice they wee out I just linked to the one I usually buy.

10thumbs

Just did one last week on my PRS SE wreck ,did a series/parallel tap, sounds great and no volume loss, worked like a charm and easy to do , good luck.