Dudz Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 I've been thinking about rewiring the push pull (or as I like to call it a slap) pot wired to a coil tap on my ibanez saber with a cocked wah circuit. I'm just wondering how I would go about doing this. I'm pretty sure it makes use of a 0.01 uf capacitor going to ground but I'd just like to confirm this and see if anyone could give a diagram of how it would be done. I also think I'm stickin a dimarzio fred in the bridge postion (surprise, surprise) for a bit more bite but that I know how to do. Thanks for the help guys. And I just have to say that the pot on this guitar is amazing rather than push/pull it's spring loaded so you just have to push it to activate or deactivate it. Quote
psw Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 Well...to get a wha sound, you need an active wha circuit...a cap to ground is only going to activate a fixed passive tone control. I think guitar fetish has a wha circuit of some kind...batteries required...but I got a tremolo circuit and was not happy with that mod board. I have not tried them...but the push, push switched have been reported as fragile...so beware slapping them around too much...you may be expecting way to much of it if you think you could use it as a performance tool like a kill switch kind of effect. I did actually do a kill switch at one time though that instead of off and on, it alternated between full and completely off tone...kind of like a wha effect I suppose, more of a mute really...but this was with a heavy duty push button switch, I wouldn't dare do it with a push push pot... pete Quote
Dudz Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 I was planning on using the circuit used by arlo west on one of his guitars in this video he has on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWZcVMevP0c It doesn't seem like he's usin batteries in this Also, I dont slap the pot hard howeverI have a few times nad seems pretty durable! It also is a very smooth volume pot that rolls off very easily Quote
Paul Marossy Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 Pete is right, you need an active, resonant "Q" filter to get that sound. I made a compact Maestro Boomerang wah circuit to put into my "SpankenStrat": http://www.diyguitarist.com/Guitars/SuperStrat.htm - I'm pretty happy with it, but I honestly don't use it that much... Quote
psw Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 Hmmm...strange... Well, this is esquire wiring with caps and resistor to ground...but especially callibrated for this guitar and pickup combination. Really though, that is so subtle with the guitar sound he is using and the tone control could do the same thing with a twist. It isn't a "cocked wha" sound at all...but I guess I see what he means...it is just rolling off the high end like any other tone control... For a more interesting passive Wha like effect, check out Mark Knophlers famous tele sound on tracks like "industrial disease"...similar thing. Also, it is a particularly tele kind of thing really...the escessive high end kind of lends itself to it. He calls it a cocked wha...but I don't know who else does! All the circuit and the details and values are presented on the actual clip...so there's nothing more to add there... With the P-P pot...I didn't mean it will break off or anything, just that the contacts have a limited life span, over use will result in it wearing out, and a lot foster than a push pull or a conventional switch...but the idea seems pretty good...I have been tempted to get some to try...where did you get yours? pete It could be worth investigating what a real "cocked wha" sounds like...very popular with metal...kind of an extreme filter and also good to control feedback on specific notes for effect...if you don't have a sustainer...lol Quote
Dudz Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 I will look into what you guys are saying. I quite like the sound that arlo west is getting with his circuit and that is why I wanted to try this I'm just not sure how I'de wire with the push pot instead of a switch. As for the pot it came on the guitar it is an ibanez saber from either 87 or 88 and the only non stock feature is that it's been refinished from yellow to black Quote
Dudz Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 I actually quite like the soun that knophler is getting on that song! Quote
psw Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 Yeah...my brother had a guitar like that...I'd like a yellow one! That knophler sound is great, but this isn't the way to get it...the guitar is unique in sound...it seems to be the only sound it makes...hahhaa If you like that kind of effect...my fav guitarist Jeff Beck gets some fantiastic sounds (some like a harmonica) by adjusting the tone down on one pickup and combining it with full tone on another pup. I'm obviously not convinced that this kind of circuit is really useful...however various combinations of resistors (you could try a little trim pot to make it adjustable) and very small cap between hot and ground. ... If it were me, and I was just looking for a function for such a switch, I'd probably go for a phase switch on one other the pickups (I did this on my tele and can be heard in the link in my signature) or if you have three pickups like a strat a neck on switch (allowing all three and neck/bridge combos to a standard fiveway)... The easiest and most useful perhaps would be a blower switch...hook it up so all the controls are bypssed, full volume and no tone drain...then you could switch between this full on sound and whatever other selection with a slap...you could also use the tone control much as in that clip and switch easily from the blown sound and anything else. My sustainer switches have a similar effect, the bypass function selects the bridge pickup and the sustainer automatically then returns to whatever selection you choose with the flick of the switch. Quote
Dudz Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Posted February 17, 2009 The guitar has an individual mini switch fr each pickup so I already get every combination of pickups possible. I think I will try the phase wiring to see if I like that. I just don't like the coil tap with these pickups and am tryin to find a use for the push pot so I think phase switching is what I'll do with it. Quote
Paul Marossy Posted February 17, 2009 Report Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) Here's something you could try, which I personally think would sound better than messing with pickup phasing: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/inde...p?topic=42087.0 I haven't built it myself, but it's kind of a very simplified passive version of the Eric Clapton mid boost circuit. The effect would be much more obvious than simply reversing the pickup phase because it's somewhat resonant due to the inductor. Edited February 17, 2009 by Paul Marossy Quote
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