Pekollio Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 (edited) Hello All, I'm in the process of building a Warmoth strat and will be installing Fender Hot Noiseless pickups. Unfortunately, the diagram that came with the pickups looks to be a 7th generation photocopy of a photocopy. I have plenty of diagrams from online sites but I do have a couple of questions. 1. Fender suggests using 1meg pots for both volume and (2) tone controls but because of the horrible diagram I cannot tell what cap to use, any suggestions? 2. Is there a recommended brand of capacitors? 3. I came across a Jeff Beck Strat wiring diagram and although it looks to show the exact pickups I purchased, it shows a 500k volume pot and two 1meg tone pots. Will this method make a serious difference? I have contacted the Fender Customer Service department and found it to be pretty worthless as it took them 20+ minutes to find out that the pickups I own are manufactured in the color 'vintage white'. I have some experience with the installation replacement pickups but this will be my first time attempting a complete wiring of a guitar, so please bear with me if these questions seem ridiculous. Thanks for the time, it's greatly appreciated. Rich ~~Pekollio~~ Edited June 15, 2005 by Pekollio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 Pretty much any .022uF (or you might prefer .01uF if your tone pots are 1 Megs) film or ceramic disc cap will work (I prefer film caps, but I can't swear that there's an audible difference). Most any brand you have access to will work fine - I've used Xicon, Mallory and Illinois interchangably without any complaints, and this isn't an application where the sterling qualities of a Solen or some other high quality audiophile cap is really going to make any difference (IMO). Using a 1Meg volume pot will make the overall sound somewhat brighter than using a 500K (so long as the volume is wide open). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that with the higher-output pickups, either JB or the Strat designers wanted to darken the tone a little coming off the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 I think you will be happier with the .01 caps, as LK said. The noisless(sic) are my #1 refit and I have no clue why. People are always happier with the lower value cap, when given the choice. If I don't show them the alternative, they don't know but that would be decieteful. What horrible spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 If I don't show them the alternative, they don't know but that would be decieteful. I know what you mean - no telling the amount of time I could save on repairs and hotrodding if I'd just learn to shut up and stop offering all the options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pekollio Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 (edited) Thanks for the info. Now, despite the fact that Fender recommends using 1meg pots, the customer service person @ Fender told me that I could also use 500k pots if I prefered. Will this make a huge difference in terms of brightness? The body is made of Black Korina. Rich ~~Pekollio~~ Edited June 17, 2005 by Pekollio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Thanks for the info. Now, despite the fact that Fender recommends using 1meg pots, the customer service person @ Fender told me that I could also use 500k pots if I prefered. Will this make a huge difference in terms of brightness? The body is made of Black Korina. Rich ~~Pekollio~~ ← Pots are cheap, so why not experiment? Guys like EVH and SRV used to hack their guitars to hell and back looking for the right sound. Buy both and see which ones you like best. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pekollio Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 Pots are cheap, so why not experiment? Guys like EVH and SRV used to hack their guitars to hell and back looking for the right sound. Buy both and see which ones you like best. I hear ya, that's what I decided to do try both values of pots and see how I like the end result. Thanks for the information and tips folks, it's greatly appreciated, Rich ~~Pekollio~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oli Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 THERE IS AN ARTICLE IN MARCH 2004 ARCHIVE ON ALLTHINGSGUITAR.COM CALLED VOLUME POT MOD THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST IF YOU PLAN ON USING THE CAPASITOR AND RESISTOR FOR THE TREBLE BLEED ON THE VOLUME POT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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