crafty Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Well, I guess the title sort of explains it all. I want to replace the pickup selector on my new LP with a pot that would allow me to blend the pickups together while being able to select either pickup at the end of the sweep on either side of the pot. I'm thinking that I could just solder the bridge pickup wire to the left lug and the neck to the right lug and use the middle for the output. I'm not sure if I should use a 500K pot or a full 1M ohm, though. I'm sort of embarrassed about forgetting how to design a simple rheostat, but it's been just shy of a decade since I've messed with something like that. Any ideas? Lovekraft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Okay, I figured it out! If anyone else is interested in doing this mod, I found an info sheet on StewMac: Blend Pot Diagram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 The StewMac blend pot is a true panpot (ie, when turned towards either side from center, only one of the pots changes resistance). Results with a standard linear dual-ganged pot are, shall we say, somewhat less than optimal, and a dual-ganged audio taper is a complete Charles Foxtrot - it's definitely worth it to spend the money for the real thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 LK, do you mean that the wiper on one stack is at zero impedence clockwise from center and the other is at zero counterclockwise from center? It isn't all that clear from their schematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 That's it - at the center detent, both pots are at maximum resistance from wiper to the ground lead, and as the pot is rotated towards either stop, only one pot changes its resistance. It's like having a clockwise log taper pot ganged with a counterclockwise antilog taper pot, except each only operates during half of the complete range of rotation, and maintains a constant resistance for the remainder of the rotation. So, starting at the full CCW stop, clockwise rotation turns up one pickup (with the other at max volume) until the center is reached, and past center, the first pickup remains wide open while the second is attenuated as rotation continues. OK, now I'm confusing myself - is that clear as mud, or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 No, it's as clear as can be but I just don't believe they make such a cool pot. You know, why make it easy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Well, I'm pretty sure it's an existing design that they've simply adapted - panpots have been standard studio electronics parts since the advent of stereo recording (although usually in much lower resistances). I'm not sure though - if you can stand the minimum order (usually a 1k-2k lot), Alpha Taiwan will make you just about any kind of pot you can dream up for 4 or 5 bucks a piece (allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery). Wanna go halfsies? j/k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 cRAP, i GOT IT NOW! Who keeps turning the caps lock on? Boogers! A stereo L/R balance pot! Duhhh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.