Big project (for me) and lacking experience, any help's appreciated

[FFtSmg47]

I determined that I wanted to revamp a scratch and dent guitar I picked up a while ago, it's a Jackson Kelly (if I screw up I won't feel so bad. It's not the greatest thing but I like how the neck feels on it). Here's the breakdown:

- Installing new pickups (Gibson 57' in NECK, DiMarzio FastTrack2 in MID and a DiMarzio X2N in BRIDGE)
- All new hardware but primarily electronics

There's other stuff going on too but I just got done browsing through the tone pot discussion a couple links down and feel that I got myself way in over my head. I have 0 background in any of this minus playing and having an opinion on something when it sounds good or doesn't. I do little things for maintenance and all that but never have I gone near electronics.

I was looking at some Gibson 500k pots I was planning on installing but even going back now on their site, there's still a PPAT-510: 500k Ohm Audio Taper Short Shaft and a PPAT-520: 500k Ohm Audio Taper / Push-Pull / Short Shaft. The first one is just a volume pot, no? Second is a vol/tone pot?

Obviously, I'm trying to figure out the best set up. I play a lot of newer metal (drop tuned, technical with a lot of jazz influence) with clean sections somewhat randomly thrown in, but I don't know what route to go. Do certain types of pots go better with certain types of pickups (i.e. - Gibson pots with Gibson pickups) or do they all function the same way just differently? I have an 82' Explorer right now and it doesn't have any tone controls on it, unless I have push-pull pots and somehow never realized it. I'd like to have tone controls on this guitar that I'm building, even though I haven't used them much in the past. I guess I'd be going down a push-pull pot sort of setup then, right? I'm trying to avoid drilling into the body more than I have to.

Digressing, for what I'm going to be playing, what avenue should I be looking towards certain types of pots to get the sound I'm looking for? (If I lost track of anyone along the way, please feel free to tell me to reword certain things so I can get the point across if it's unclear. I'm somewhat scatterbrained.) Thanks again

[dpresley58]

Originally Posted by FFtSmg47

I was looking at some Gibson 500k pots I was planning on installing but even going back now on their site, there's still a PPAT-510: 500k Ohm Audio Taper Short Shaft and a PPAT-520: 500k Ohm Audio Taper / Push-Pull / Short Shaft. The first one is just a volume pot, no? Second is a vol/tone pot?

Do certain types of pots go better with certain types of pickups (i.e. - Gibson pots with Gibson pickups) or do they all function the same way just differently? I have an 82' Explorer right now and it doesn't have any tone controls on it, unless I have push-pull pots and somehow never realized it. I'd like to have tone controls on this guitar that I'm building, even though I haven't used them much in the past. I guess I'd be going down a push-pull pot sort of setup then, right? I'm trying to avoid drilling into the body more than I have to.

Digressing, for what I'm going to be playing, what avenue should I be looking towards certain types of pots to get the sound I'm looking for?

Hi...

As far as the Gibson pots are concerned, you really don't need a "Gibson" pot to go with one of their pickups. Yes, certain value pots go better with single- or double-coil pickups.

There are a couple of websites that really could help you with information regarding the electronic aspect of guitars. Try guitarnuts.com for good tech info that assumes no previous electronics experience. Also, guitarelectronics.com for a very large selection of wiring diagrams, with options for 1, 2 & 3-pickup configurations.

While you're looking through this information, you'll come across some discussion on the capacitor used on tone controls, and how the value of this capacitor (or "cap") affects the tone of the guitar. This tone cap, in conjunction with the value of pot you use, offers you the greatest opportunity to shape your tone.

Get yourself a multimeter, learn to solder (if you haven't already), and do a little research to understand the principles involved. You'll be just fine.

A few words of caution from someone who had to learn it the hard way, though : Make a sketch of the way things are connected before starting any work. It'll help you understand what you're looking at as well as giving you a roadmap back in the event things get a little confusing.

Also, sketch out what you want to do beforehand. Makes it a whole lot easier to check your work.