Mors Phagist Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 I got this Diagram from the Dimarzio site, and I was wondering on how to do this correctly, or if Parallel wiring would be a better option. Links are here: http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/1hum1vol1tone.pdf http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/1hum1vol1tone_parallel.pdf I also don't have a resistor (Or capacitor, the word is slipping me right now for some reason), so is there any way to get around that? The pickup is a Dimarzio D-Activator 7, and I have 1k potentiometers for the tone and volume. Can I get around the resistor/capacitor in some way? Is it really needed? What are the benefits/trade offs of parallel wiring? If I recall correctly, it lessens cancelling power but gives more high end tone. Could anyone elaborate more upon this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 (edited) First of all, the capacitor is what makes a tone knob what it is. Without the capacitor, it's just another volume knob. The good news is that a capacitor only costs pennies. If you live anywhere near a Radio Shack, you can get one there. If you haven't developed a definite opinion regarding series/parallel wiring, go with series. Go to YouTube and listen to some recordings. That wiring diagram is fine, although I'd recommend against soldering to the back of your potentiometers. It's a good way to fry them. A good alternative is solder lugs, like the ones you can find here: http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_shield.htm You place them over the shaft of the pot and solder to them instead of the back of the pot. Edited August 29, 2011 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted August 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Ok, So I need a capacitor, but I might be able to get one... Series seems more appropriate as I would rather not take a chance with wiring. Soldering to the Pots is only for grounding, correct? Could I instead ground to the bridge? Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 You can definitely get one. If you're not sure where to look for one, pm me your mailing address. I'll send you one. Or this would work: http://www.amazon.com/0-022uF-500V-Ceramic-Disc-Capacitor/dp/B005FMX7RQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1314718525&sr=8-6 So here's what you want to do for grounding: 1.) Connect all ground wires to one central point. It can be anywhere you choose, as long as it doesn't make electrical contact with any non-ground wires. 2.) Send a wire from the ground to the bridge. It's not that the bridge itself needs to be grounded. It's the strings that need to be grounded, but since on most electric guitars the bridge is made of conductive metal, connecting to the bridge makes sense. 3.) Connect the ground to the ground terminal of your jack. The guitar won't work unless you do this. Hope that helps. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted September 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Ground wires in Dimarzios are the green and the bare wires. They are both attached to a pot. I have wires connecting that spot to the bridge, and the ground terminal of my jack. Is there any other kind of troubleshooting I should try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I got this Diagram from the Dimarzio site, and I was wondering on how to do this correctly, or if Parallel wiring would be a better option. Links are here: http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/1hum1vol1tone.pdf http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/default/files/diagrams/1hum1vol1tone_parallel.pdf I also don't have a resistor (Or capacitor, the word is slipping me right now for some reason), so is there any way to get around that? The pickup is a Dimarzio D-Activator 7, and I have 1k potentiometers for the tone and volume. Can I get around the resistor/capacitor in some way? Is it really needed? What are the benefits/trade offs of parallel wiring? If I recall correctly, it lessens cancelling power but gives more high end tone. Could anyone elaborate more upon this? Are you sure they are 1k pots? You wouldn't get much volume out of the pickups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Yeah, I'm positive they are both 1k potentiometers. Would this be a problem? I thought it would help with the guitar overall but if its whats making it NOT work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) Actually, the value of the pots shouldn't matter much if you have them turned all the way up. Basically, a potentiometer uses a variable resistor. Think of it like this. Your pot has three little lugs on it. You can think of one as "input." The other two you can think of as "output." One of the "outputs" leads to ground, and the other leads to your actual output jack, though it may go through some other things first. When you turn the pot down, the resistor comes into the picture and sends some of the signal to the ground, which is like throwing it away. Hence, if you turn it down all the way, you have no sound left. It all went to the ground. If you have the pot turned up all the way, the resistor is bypassed, and the sound travels through the pot without theoretically being modified. Of course, that's theoretically. The truth is you're gonna lose a tiny bit of tone. Anyway, as long as the pots are turned up all the way, it shouldn't any different with a 1 Meg pot than it would be with a 250k pot. The 1M/500k/250k value refers to the value of the resistor, and if the signal is going around it rather than through it, who cares what the value is? Edited September 6, 2011 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Even when the pot is turned up full, you would still have only 1k resistance between signal and ground, which will pull the signal down, making it very quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvs Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Even with maxed volume, there's still voltage division happening with the pickup's own resistance. For example with an 8K pickup and 1K volume, the pickup's output is attenuated by 16dB and the resonance peak is gone. The result is the same as plugging the guitar into a low impedance input. A 1K tone pot is like having one of "normal" resistance but turned down almost completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Dpm you would be right as long as the guitar is unplugged but as soon as you plug it up it becomes part of a much larger circuit and the first thing that the signal is gonna see when it enters the amp is a resistor. I think now you should be able to see the problem with a 1k pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) I wasn't paying good enough attention. He said 1k pots, and I thought he said 1 meg pots. I'm really no expert on this. I just repeat what I've heard, as I haven't done a lot of crazy experimenting with pot values, but I guess I'm wrong on this one. Edited September 6, 2011 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Oh ****. I might've just started some massive misdirection. I forgot that when pots are measured they go by 250k, 500k, or 1000k-1meg. When I think of those numbers, the k isn't really needed as its implied, so when I said 1k, I meant 1000, which would be 1000k, which is a 1 meg. I am using two 1 MEG pots. 1000k potentiometers, for the tone and volume. I am terribly sorry about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mender Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Oh ****. I might've just started some massive misdirection. I forgot that when pots are measured they go by 250k, 500k, or 1000k-1meg. When I think of those numbers, the k isn't really needed as its implied, so when I said 1k, I meant 1000, which would be 1000k, which is a 1 meg. I am using two 1 MEG pots. 1000k potentiometers, for the tone and volume. I am terribly sorry about that. In which case, you should get plenty of volume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Oh ****. I might've just started some massive misdirection. I forgot that when pots are measured they go by 250k, 500k, or 1000k-1meg. When I think of those numbers, the k isn't really needed as its implied, so when I said 1k, I meant 1000, which would be 1000k, which is a 1 meg. I am using two 1 MEG pots. 1000k potentiometers, for the tone and volume. I am terribly sorry about that. In which case, you should get plenty of volume mostly you will notice a little more top end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted September 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2011 I got them because I heard they would give me some more responsive/clear tone. Still wondering why this thing isn't working, but I'll string it and set it up before trying to wire it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted September 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Tapping on pickups is a crude way at best of testing to see whether pickups are wired, or wired properly Thats how I tested, but I also took another guitar, strummed all the strings, and held it up to the pickup while twisting the volume and tone knobs. I'll string the instrument up and pursue wiring correction at a later time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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