Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: schenr on September 03, 2011, 06:28:25 AM
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Hi all,
Something that I've been wondering about for the last few days, and can't seem to find anything online about it.
Is it possible to convert a tone control to a volume control?
I've got a PRS with 5 way rotary selector, and there is one tone and one volume control. Is it possible to wire it such that there is one volume for the bridge pickup and one volume for the neck pickup?
I think I would get more benefit from having the ability to have my neck volume turned down for cleans and the bridge all the way up for lead stuff.
It's either this, or consider buying a les paul...
Cheers
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It would be a straightforward change if you just had volume, tone and a 3-way switch. Just look at a Les Paul or SG wiring diagram (and exclude the tone controls).
But it might not be possible with the PRS 5-way rotary. I don't know exactly how the PRS is wired, but presumably most of the wires from the pickups connect to the rotary, then there's just one output wire from the rotary to the volume? I can't think how you'd rewire so that each pickup could connect to its own volume control.
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Well at the moment, the neck goes to the tone then to the selector, and the bridge straight the the selector. and from the selector to the tone and volume.
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I found this wiring diagram:
http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/schem08/custom5wayrotary.pdf (http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/schem08/custom5wayrotary.pdf)
Which scheme has your guitar got?
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It's the pre2007 wiring. And scr@p what I said about the neck going straight to the tone pot.
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I can't claim to understand the workings of the rotary switch, but presumably all the pickup wires have to connect directly to it for the coil-splits etc to work. That being the case, I can't really see a way of running separate volume controls.
If it was just a normal 3-way switch and two volume pots, then you'd have:
White to "hot" lug of respective volume pot
Black to ground
Red taped off (as not being used to coil-split)
Output lug of pot to one side of the switch
Centre lug of switch to jack
You could play around by connecting the white wires to separate pots, then take the outputs from the pots to the points where the white wires currently connect on the switch. I'm 99% sure it won't work though, because I suspect with the 5-way switch some positions have white as hot, black as ground.... but in other positions it will be reversed to black hot, white ground. So you'd probably have silence in certain positions on the 5-way! :?
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Bummer :( thanks for the input though!
I guess I'll just have to get another guitar with 2 volume controls already...
Either that, or live with one volume
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Another option is to look at the emg afterburner, it works with both active and passive pups and is a push pull tone but whenit is activated it boosts your tone/signal giving you more umpf....but you may have to check as you have enough room for the circuit...though it aint massive....