Gibson SG faded- pickup suggestions.

[olddawg]

P90s are single coils, but they are not like a Tele or a Strat pickup. They have a much larger and resistive coil. (They were one of Gibsons first pickups and also why they are so large) The thing with a lot of modern HB pickups is that they are overwound for higher output (hot pickups). It tends to make them darker.
Wiring ANY pickup direct simply removes all other variables so you can start from a real base line situation. It takes 2 minutes. If you like the way it sounds direct, then I would suggest 500k or even 1meg pots.

[TomCarlos]

Chief... my first guitar was an SG Classic with the Vibrola bar. So your post caught my curiosity. Check out this video.

Gibson SG Standard, Special and P90 Comparison

It might be a good example of comparing the P90 to a standard pickup.

[olddawg]

Deja Vu, Anyone?
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t37746/
T

Lmfao! I forgot that one! Same guy?

[Sea Chief]

Deja Vu, Anyone?
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t37746/
T

How old are you, i guess about 5?

[Sea Chief]

Lmfao! I forgot that one! Same guy?

Yes- I thought Id asked a similar Q sometime ago on another forum tbh.

Oh well. If its going juvenile comments now theres no point continuing- I'll take my Qs elsewhere.

Thanks anyway. SC

[Jazz P Bass]

What was so 'juvenile' about linking to a post that you made 8 months ago on the same unresolved subject?

Curious I am.

[Sea Chief]

Its cartoon guys et al with fkall to add but childish !comments! sniping or just mean posts etc JazzP. I didnt resolve last time as once the kids like big-teeeee! (I assume maybe a teenager) & other desperate noises start their sad ass sh*t I dont read anymore of it/ lost interest/ whats the fkin point etc.

I dont quite get how testing the neck P/U to the jack will tell me what a 500K will sound like compared to a 300K. Is that such a stupid Q to ask? no point just doing suggested X if Im not yet clear why.

[Jazz P Bass]

A 500K pot will put less of a load on the pickup.

If you do not have the part, wiring the PU direct to the jack will 'simulate' the 500K affect.
If you like the sound direct, then a 500K pot will help.

[Sea Chief]

Ok I get the basics, but therefore why not the suggestion "1M pot"? IE why the small jump to 500K? suggested, & not a 1M for eg (or max possible).

If I wire direct to the jack I assume the vol will be more than 300k at max rotation. As its a lin pot I assume therefore 500k would be an audible jump in vol at max rotation compared to the 300k.. but what k does wiring to the jack simulate? infinite k? (or indeed if 500k, why does it simulate specifically this figure?).

[Jazz P Bass]

Get out the soldering iron & try it.

[John_H]

Yes- I thought Id asked a similar Q sometime ago on another forum tbh.

Oh well. If its going juvenile comments now theres no point continuing- I'll take my Qs elsewhere.

Thanks anyway. SC

Promises, promises....

I can't believe people waste their time on you.

[Sea Chief]

Promises, promises....

I can't believe people waste their time on you.

(..such as this idiot you see JazzP)..

so- thats YOU then ffs.

[eschertron]

Ok I get the basics, but therefore why not the suggestion "1M pot"? IE why the small jump to 500K? suggested, & not a 1M for eg (or max possible).

If I wire direct to the jack I assume the vol will be more than 300k at max rotation. As its a lin pot I assume therefore 500k would be an audible jump in vol at max rotation compared to the 300k.. but what k does wiring to the jack simulate? infinite k? (or indeed if 500k, why does it simulate specifically this figure?).

The different pots (with their different resistance values) 'load down' the signal more or less, depending on how close to zero (off) or infinity (no load at all) the value of the pot is. In addition to the volume that you mentioned, the real system will have effects that include rolling off high or low frequencies more than any calculation based purely on resistance would indicate.

Short answer, the smaller the pot, the darker the sound by the time it gets to the guitar's output jack. Wire the pup directly to the jack and hear for yourself what the effects of your vol and tone controls are, by process of elimination. If the pup - all by itself - does not strike your fancy, then logic tells us that you will want to change the pup.

If the result of this experiment is that you like the pup all by itself, then there's hope that a brighter (read: higher-resistance/impedance) vol and tone control network will get you where you want to go. That's it. Simple experiment and simple go/no go test result.

Wiring the pup direct is WAAAAY easier than swapping out parts that you don't know will work for you.

[John_H]

I'm devastated, the troll doesn't like me.

[Sea Chief]

The different pots (with their different resistance values) 'load down' the signal more or less, depending on how close to zero (off) or infinity (no load at all) the value of the pot is. In addition to the volume that you mentioned, the real system will have effects that include rolling off high or low frequencies more than any calculation based purely on resistance would indicate.

Short answer, the smaller the pot, the darker the sound by the time it gets to the guitar's output jack. Wire the pup directly to the jack and hear for yourself what the effects of your vol and tone controls are, by process of elimination. If the pup - all by itself - does not strike your fancy, then logic tells us that you will want to change the pup.

I understand the principle of the test: what the p/u sounds like with no load.

What Im trying to ask is why not as high a pot as poss? surely only a "~" value pot will give any indication of what the p/u sounds like unloaded. Im curious as to why the figure 500k is being used, as it seems only a little more than the stock 300k.

I unhooked the inner + wire from its vol lug and linked it direct to the hot jack terminal. Do I have to undo the shield of p/u cable from pot back & send to the - jack terminal? IE as its going to the - lug as it is, can it not just stay put?