Adding a push pull pot.

[tot_Ou_tard]

This'll seem tame after Vood's Full Boat Mod (call this the dinghy mod).

I'm thinking about changing the bridge 'bucker on my Godin SD for one that I can split. Suggestions? Can someone point me to a site that explains how to change the tone knob to a push pull pots to split the bucker.

This'll be my very first mod so I'm a little nervous.

[Plank_Spanker]

What's the current configuration of your guitar? Seymour Duncan's website has a ton of very well drawn and clear wiring diagrams.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/schematics.shtml

The push/pull pot is a direct replacement for the regular tone pot. It's just a matter of a bit more wiring.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Thanky Spanky,

Yeah, it has just a normal tone pot.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Well, in looking at pups I don't think I'm at the stage where I could possibly decide just what sound I am going for. My musical interests are too broad, while my chops are too weak. I'm gonna wait on this until there is a particular sound that I NEED to hear from my ax.

[Plank_Spanker]

Well, in looking at pups I don't think I'm at the stage where I could possibly decide just what sound I am going for. My musical interests are too broad, while my chops are too weak. I'm gonna wait on this until there is a particular sound that I NEED to hear from my ax.

Choosing pickups is a pain. You can solicit all of the opinions in the world, but everyone's tastes are different. Web sound clips don't tell the story at all. A particular pickup will sound different in every guitar. It's an expensive proposition to buy pickups and decide you don't like them.

It's a "leap of faith".

[tot_Ou_tard]

Choosing pickups is a pain. You can solicit all of the opinions in the world, but everyone's tastes are different. Web sound clips don't tell the story at all. A particular pickup will sound different in every guitar. It's an expensive proposition to buy pickups and decide you don't like them.

It's a "leap of faith".

And the descriptions! Yikes, its a bit like buying coffee on the basis of fading melon rinds only more expensive.

[Plank_Spanker]

And the descriptions! Yikes, its a bit like buying coffee on the basis of fading melon rinds only more expensive.

LOL! Sometimes the pickup descriptions look like they were lifted from The Wine Spectator. "This pickup has a lovely bouquet and is absurd, yet flaccid, all the while exhibiting a strong but delicate aural presence."

[tot_Ou_tard]

LOL! Sometimes the pickup descriptions look like they were lifted from The Wine Spectator. "This pickup has a lovely bouquet and is absurd, yet flaccid, all the while exhibiting a strong but delicate aural presence."

Absurd, yet flaccid!!! That is *CLASSIC*

[duhvoodooman***]

This'll seem tame after Vood's Full Boat Mod (call this the dinghy mod).

Hey, start with the little boats and work up to the big ones!

I'm thinking about changing the bridge 'bucker on my Godin SD for one that I can split. Suggestions? Can someone point me to a site that explains how to change the tone knob to a push pull pots to split the bucker.

This upgrade has two main components--the wiring/soldering stuff, and the physical replacement process, i.e. opening up the guitar, removing the old pot and installing the new one. How difficult this second part is depends upon the configuration of the guitar. I'm not familiar with how your Godin is set up, so here are the common configurations:

Fenders (and pseudo-Fenders) are probably the easiest, since pretty much everything is mounted to the pickguard, so you can unmount it, lift it out of the guitar, turn it over, and everything is right there & accessible. The biggest hassle with this type is that you have to remove the strings--or at least loosen them substantially--to remove the pickguard assembly.

The second main type is the "hole-in-the-back" style, typified by the Les Paul. You remove a cover plate in the back of the guitar and the control pots sit inside a routed-out cavity. These tend to be rather cramped and harder to work in. The other components (pickups, 3-way toggle, output jack) have their wiring run through channels drilled through the body into this main controls cavity. The pots are mounted through the top of the guitar itself. You remove them by taking off the knob, removing a hex nut and a washer or two, then flipping the guitar over and pulling the pot out through the rear cavity. Of course, you'll have to unsolder the various connections to do this. There are several of them, particularly on a volume pot, SO MAKE A DIAGRAM!

The third type is a hollow/semi-hollowbody, like my Dot. These are a raging pain in the *** to work on, since you can't get inside, so you have to unfasten all the components and pull the whole freakin' wiring harness out through the f-hole (Spuds says this is why they call them "f-holes", and I'm inclined to agree). But I doubt your Godin is one of these, so I won't bother expounding further.

The wiring part for making the coil-cut switch is very easy. Here's a simple diagram I posted on my site:



All you're doing is taking the two conductors that are normally wired together to put the two humbucker coils in series and soldering them to the middle contact of a double pole/double throw (DPDT) switch on a push-pull pot. You then solder a wire from the adjacent contact (the one that will be activated when the switch is pulled up) to the body of the pot itself, which will be grounded. Then, when you pull up on the switch, one of the coils gets shorted to ground, while the other is still active. Here's another diagram that shows which two connectors to use on the DPDT switch:



You'll need an "on-on, double pole, double throw" push-pull pot to do this mod. You can get them from StewMac or AllParts or several other places. GC usually has them, too. For a humbucker guitar, you'll probably want to use a 500K resistance pot, and I'd recommend audio taper (as opposed to linear taper). The ones I've used with good results are #1216 on THIS PAGE at StewMac. If your Godin has a very thick top, you may need a "long shaft" pot. These have a 3/4" long threaded section rather than the standard 3/8". I'd suggest you just loosen the pot you're planning to replace and look.

Obviously, you'll have to solder the other two conductors from your new pickup to the new pot, along with all the other stuff you unsoldered from the old pot. Here's where that diagram you made comes in handy. Fasten the new pot to the body, remount the knob, and (assuming you made good solder connections and no mistakes) away you go.

Here are links to a couple of good reference sites:

Guitar Wiring at 1728.com

GuitarElectronics.com

Seymour Duncan Schematics Page

This'll be my very first mod so I'm a little nervous.

I was nervous with my first, too. But it's really not too bad at all. Just take your time, work carefully, and double-check every step before you do it.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Thanks duhModderMan!

It's a Fender strat style.

It looks like your diagram has four wires. I have heard you & others mention 4 wire such n' sos. Does the bucker need to be one of those to put a coil tap on it? I don't know what mine is other than a Godin designed GHB-1.

I'll take off the scratch plate & have a look this weekend.

[duhvoodooman***]

It's a Fender strat style.

That makes life easier!

It looks like your diagram has four wires. I have heard you & others mention 4 wire such n' sos. Does the bucker need to be one of those to put a coil tap on it? I don't know what mine is other than a Godin designed GHB-1.

It either has to be a 4-conductor or a 2 conductor with a "pigtail" off the series connection between the coils. A straight 2-conductor (or single conductor/braided shield) won't do the job, without doing surgery on the p'up itself. And, believe me, you don't want to go there....

I'll take off the scratch plate & have a look this weekend.

That's where I'd start!

BTW, the Seymour Duncan site has a nice rundown on the various 'buckers they sell. You can go with anything from a vintage "PAF" style up though the super-hot distortion models that are popular with shredders & death metal types. I like the SHPG-1 Pearly Gates model in my LP for a more vintage tone, while the SH-4 JB in my Dot is a hotter p'up with a harder edge (still far from the high distortion ceramic types, though). I've also read some very good things from owners of the SH-14 Custom Five model; seems to do a lot of things well. All three of these are 4-conductor models....

[duhvoodooman***]

One other thing I should mention--wiring per the diagram above cuts the screw (or adjustable) coil of the humbucker. For whatever reason, this seems to be how coil-cut wiring is most often shown, but it can also be done slightly differently so that the stud coil is cut, leaving the screw coil active. Personally, this seems to me to be the more desirable way. Not only is this the adjustable coil, but the screw coil is also the one that is closest to the bridge in a bridge 'bucker (or to the neck in a neck 'bucker), so should have the strongest "positional character". Here's how to wire for a stud coil-cut:



Again, this diagram shows Seymour Duncan 4-conductor humbucker wiring colors. Other humbucker makes will almost certainly be different. There's a great color code page HERE.

[tot_Ou_tard]

That makes life easier!


It either has to be a 4-conductor or a 2 conductor with a "pigtail" off the series connection between the coils. A straight 2-conductor (or single conductor/braided shield) won't do the job, without doing surgery on the p'up itself. And, believe me, you don't want to go there....

I'm assuming conductor = wire.

I just opened 'er up & the there is only one wire (black) connected to the 'bucker. So, I guess the PP pot will have to wait 'till I decide on a new 'bucker.

Thanks all. I'll be back to this thread when I have a new 'bucker.

[Plank_Spanker]

Now begins the quest for the right pickup........

Good luck, man!