Miracle Man vs Ceramic Warpig vs Ceramic Nailbomb.

[jonathanf]

@AndyR.
Yes, the guitar is already H/S/S(yamaha pacifica 112v limited edition)and I am only replacing the existing bridge humbucker. Yes, everything works but will 250k pots work fine?(actually, I might have 500k pots, dont know, but I think I have 250k pots).

Anaway, thanks A LOT.

[jonathanf]

But can the miracle man work fine on 250k or will their be problems or it won't work?

[MDV]

It will work, in that it will relay guitar-like sounds to the amp, but its not gonna sound like it should.

[jonathanf]

So I guess I'll buy 2 bkp 550k pots(1 tone and 1 volume). Whats the difference between the 2 bkp 550k custom pots?

[jonathanf]

Tim recommended a painkiller :? and for electronics:2 550k pots and a 0.022mfd capacitor and new jack socket. The guitar will also need to have an earth wire fitted from the bridge through to the wiring cavity.

[MDV]

Then get what tim says.

[jonathanf]

Yeah, but a lot of people say that a painkiller in alder is very bright, and as for electronics I'll probably just buy the pots. Can that capacitor thingy and other stuff make a big difference?

[jonathanf]

Bank holiday today and tommorrow for spain.

[jonathanf]

I looked in my guitar and it turns out that I have 2 500k pots. Can I use the pots again right or do I have to buy new ones? I'm getting a painkiller, they also run on 500k or 550k pots, right?

[MDV]

The 500s will be fine. Or they're the right value at least. Cant tell the quality of the pots from here! 550s from BK are just supposed to add (or allow, rather) that little extra bit of cut and clarity from high output pickups.

As I said any pickup will WORK on 250k, 500k, 550k, 1M pots, its a question of how well matched they are. The higher the value of the pot, the brighter the sound, up to no pot at all and direct to jack wiring, which is the brightest, highest attack sound you can get out of a pickup.

[jonathanf]

I don't know anything about electronics(I'm only 12) but do passive routed guitar all have a .022mfd capacitor or very similar at least.

[jonathanf]

So wouldn't a painkiller be better anyway with 500 instead of 550 since their meant to be bright?

[MDV]

Just stick with the cap thats in there for now. Theres no need to complicate things if youre a bit green to this. Dont worry about it for now.

Not all capacitor values are the same in all guitars, no. Very broadly speaking the higher the value of the capacitor the less high end the guitar will have and the more dramatic an effect lowering the tone control will have, because the capacitor takes high frequencies out of the sound.

When the tone control is on '10' or max or whatever then the tone control is in fact off, or as close to off as it can get, and the capacitor isnt having that much effect on the sound (it does still have an effect, just not much). Lowering the tone control routes some of the signal through the capacitor and cuts out some high end from the sound. (Though in reality some high end is lost from the existance of a tone control at all, but its not a very big deal and I wouldnt worry about it for now if I were you).

[MDV]

So wouldn't a painkiller be better anyway with 500 instead of 550 since their meant to be bright?

I've used them before with 500s, and never 550s, so I cant say for sure.

If its too bright, but you like the overall voicing of it, then you can try changing the pots to 250.

BE CAREFULL though; if youre 12 and new to this then you want to read up on soldering technique, be uber-vigilant around the soldering iron, only do it while theres an adult with some at least modest experience with soldering irons around. They can burn you, they can set fire to stuff. Dont get paranoid and scared about it or anything, but do the job safely, carefully and responsibly. I'm all for kids learning practical skills, and I was using soldering irons at your age (with dad around), but if youre unsure at all, then get someone to do it for you.

[jonathanf]

One more thing, miracle man vs painkiller or other recommendations.