Coil tapping a p90 - what do I need and how do I do it?

[_tom_]

haha good point.. I'll just order one when I get my pot, it'll be cheaper than you posting one :lol:

[WezV]

fair enough, dont say i never offer... if you are putting one in it might as well not be a recycled epiphone one... that seems a bit of a desperate measure

[_tom_]

Yeah, thanks for the offer anyway :) is it worth buying expensive caps or will a regular 15p or so one be fine if I'm not a cork sniffer?

edit - this thread has got stupidly long for such a seemingly simple question :lol: :oops:

[WezV]

i tend to go for orange drops or better now, still experimenting with different brands and dabbling with the higher priced ones... i find they make the tone control a lot more usable

[AndyR]

edit - this thread has got stupidly long for such a seemingly simple question :lol: :oops:

Don't worry about that - it's keeping us all enthralled, waiting for the next instalment...
Will he/won't he...
Better than most soaps...
It feels like it's coming to the end though :(
Can't wait for the next series :lol:

EDIT: Actually, there's a good one starting on the other channel http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13620.0, looks like it could go either way: sitcom/tear-jerker/disaster-movie/casualty spin-off (Sorry badgermark!! :lol:)

[_tom_]

Well I finally got round to getting a push/pull pot and I have to say I'm disappointed - whilst it works fine (though I had to swap the red and white wires around) it feels REALLY cheap and nasty. It's so easy to turn and just doesnt feel solid :( I reckon I'm just gonna go back to untapped, the sound is useful but I hate having the cheap filmsy feel.

[Philly Q]

I know what you mean, that cheap wobbly feel is one of the reasons I don't often use push/pulls.  Having said that, the push/pull on my PRS feels nice and solid - but their standard pots are surprisingly flimsy.

It's actually really difficult to get pots which feel "just right".  Everyone always says CTS are the ones to get, but I find them annoyingly stiff - I like to use my little finger to adjust tone and volume, but the CTS pots on my Tele and Tokai SG are impossible to turn with one finger!  Maybe they loosen up with use and age.

[_tom_]

Whatever pots are in my Pearl and Epiphone now feel fine to me, they arent quite as stiff as CTS but arent too easy to turn either, I hate it when they're as loose as this pot I have now, waste of a fiver :(

[Will]

why not put it as a control you don't really use, like neck tone?

[_tom_]

I actually use that a fair bit with the MQ neck, rolled down a bit it does a good humbuckerish sound. The best thing to do would be to put in a small on/off switch for the tap but it'll ruin the look of the guitar.

edit - I just got rid of the push/pull and now my bridge tone isnt working :? It's hooked up the same though I did have to put new wires from the tone to the volume cos I managed to mangle the old ones :oops: Still, theres no reason it shouldnt work as the wires go to the same places. Any idea? Is it that I could've overheated the tone pot when I added the new ground wire?

[ilÿti]

It's actually really difficult to get pots which feel "just right".  Everyone always says CTS are the ones to get, but I find them annoyingly stiff - I like to use my little finger to adjust tone and volume, but the CTS pots on my Tele and Tokai SG are impossible to turn with one finger!  Maybe they loosen up with use and age.

They do. I found them stiff at first too but they really loosen up nicely.

Do you use the bridge tone much? If it was me, that's the one I'd lose for the push/pull. You could either live with the flimsyness or just leave it unwired, functioning just as a coil tap but not a tone control. You keep the look of your guitar that way.

[Philly Q]

They do. I found them stiff at first too but they really loosen up nicely. 

Thanks, that's good to know.  They're both pretty new guitars so hopefully they'll break in eventually.  It's a real pain at the moment, especially on the SG because the controls are so close together.

Do you use the bridge tone much? If it was me, that's the one I'd lose for the push/pull.

I agree.  I use the neck tone a lot, but the bridge pretty much stays on 10.

[_tom_]

I do use the bridge one a fair bit actually, takes the edge off it. I never use it on a humbucker guitar but on p90s it works well.

[ilÿti]

Wire it with a master tone then?

[Philly Q]

Then if you like the sound of the coil tap it might be worth getting a more expensive push-pull. 

You can get the PRS ones from Thomann but they're about £25(!).   You could probably get exactly the same type cheaper without the PRS "name", but I don't know what brand they use.  I think DiMarzio pots are good quality too, you might find one on eBay.