H-S-S Pickup Vol and Tone pot value/wiring question?

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

HSS Configuration
1 Vol
1 Tone
5 Way switch

Humbuckers need 500k pots and Singles need 250k pots I'm thinking here...

How can you do this with the differnt types of pickups or is it even possible to make it work

Thanks!

G.

roadifier · Jul 17, 2011

My dad has this setup in one of his Jacksons, I'll see if I can get the wiring diagram from him.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

roadifier":1jt9i17e said:
My dad has this setup in one of his Jacksons, I'll see if I can get the wiring diagram from him.

thanks... any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

Just eliminate whatever tone pot you don't use. Or you can bridge them together for a master tone.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Code001":1pfab7tu said:
Just eliminate whatever tone pot you don't use. Or you can bridge them together for a master tone.

So I can use a 500K vol pot and a 250k tone pot with a resistor to cut down the vol pot to 250 for when I'm in the middle and neck positions?

I'm thinking of punting the on the full size humbucker and going with a hotrails in the bridge as every thing can just be 250k... lol...

g.

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

Yes, that's how it works. You need a 470k or 510k resistor as they don't make a 500k resistor unless you put two 1 megaohm resistors in parallel. Both the hot rails and a full sized humbucker should generally have 500k pots unless you have a really bright pickup that you need to calm down.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Code001":3cbqcmnl said:
Yes, that's how it works. You need a 470k or 510k resistor as they don't make a 500k resistor unless you put two 1 megaohm resistors in parallel. Both the hot rails and a full sized humbucker should generally have 500k pots unless you have a really bright pickup that you need to calm down.

On the duncan website they show 250k pots with the hotrails on the wiring diagram link on the hotrails details page. I guess that is because the minis are a bit brighter than full size...

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

500k is the norm. for those.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Code001":a74yv29a said:
500k is the norm. for those.

I think they voice thier little humbukers for 250k pots as most strats have em'...

https://www.seymourduncan.com/images/pro ... 15-100.pdf

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

Trust me, you want 500k pots. The Hot Rails are very dark. I have these in my own guitars and used them for the past 8+ years.

Edit: in case you want more opinions besides mine:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... rails-need
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... -Hot-Rails
https://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/show ... hp?t=36666

JakeAC5253 · Jul 17, 2011

I used that hybrid setup with my Strat for a while, but I found that I like 500k pots even with my low output singles. Even back in the day Fender used 500k pots with their single coil guitars. 250k wasn't really the norm, at least once you got out of the realm of the first run prototype electric guitars and the ES-335 series guitars, and into the time period of Fender and Gibson where people actually sat around and thought up ways to make electric guitars better. That's my understanding anyway.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Man I have read like 300 threads today on this subject... my head is a spinning!

What happens of you use a 500k vol and 250k tone?

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

Moshaholic":16fd21b7 said:
What happens of you use a 500k vol and 250k tone?

You then have a 500k volume pot and a 250k tone pot. :lol:

I find tone pots to be useless anyway. 250k, 500k. Doesn't really matter to me. 500k gives you a touch more versatility, but if I'm going to keep a tone pot in my guitar, I open it up and modify it to be a "no load" pot. Scrape some carbon away, and when it's on 10, it's out of the circuit completely. Move it to 9, and you get the normal tone pot sound and function.

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Code001":1uzluo05 said:
Moshaholic":1uzluo05 said:

What happens of you use a 500k vol and 250k tone?

Click to expand...

You then have a 500k volume pot and a 250k tone pot. I find tone pots to be useless anyway. 250k, 500k. Doesn't really matter to me. 500k gives you a touch more versatility, but if I'm going to keep a tone pot in my guitar, I open it up and modify it to be a "no load" pot. Scrape some carbon away, and when it's on 10, it's out of the circuit completely. Move it to 9, and you get the normal tone pot sound and function.

Well after thinking through which pickups I want to use I have come up with this now.

Bridge = Super Distortion full size or Hot Rails
Middle = Seymour Duncan STK-S4m Classic Stack (vintage sounding hum caneling stacked single coil)
Neck - JB Jr. neck model strat size humbucker

WWYD with the two pots? Just go all 500k? I want one tone and one vol...

Code001 · Jul 17, 2011

500k is what I'd use, yes. Any reason you're not going to use normal singles now?

Moshaholic · Jul 17, 2011

Code001":27g2cosw said:
500k is what I'd use, yes. Any reason you're not going to use normal singles now?

Well, I played a custom strat that someone had set up this way recently and I decided I really like the sound of the JB Jr. in the neck...

With the 5 way switching and the hum canceling single coil in the middle, the guitar was still able to get that nice clean strat sound in position 2 believe it or not.

He has a hot rails in the bridge... I need to find this guy and ask what his pot values are im thinking now... never thought to ask when I played the guitar.

I have a custom shop 58 relic time machine fender strat for the whole vintage vibe anyway and I want to just jack this other strat i have up a bit... lol.

luxxtone · Jul 17, 2011

All depends what you prefer, but I would go all 500k. I think all of the pickups you mentioned sound punchier and need that slight added brightness of 500k.