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Topic: Deluxe Blend Pot |
Leon Grizzard
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2019 2:59 pm |
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I bought a Deluxe 8 with a fairly rough appearance. I loaned it a young friend and he reported the bridge pickup cut out when he would anchor his hand on part that sticks out beyond the strings, and sure enough, it does. I took off the control plate to see if there could be some dodgy connection that could be affected by the pressing down. I don't see anything obvious, but all that is maybe the subject of future questions.
I sprayed out the tone and volume pots with electronics cleaner, but they just don't have much usable sweep, and so I thought I might replace them, kind of as a junior practical electronics project, and I am not going to devalue the guitar. (I have wired a few Teles and want to get more understanding of the circuitry and soldering experience.)
My question is about the blend pot. When I look at replacement pots, they all have two rows of lugs, but the pot in my instrument just looks like a three lug 250k audio pot. Can someone please explain?
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Joe Major
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2019 7:09 am Deluxe blend pot.
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Guess I'll chime in since no great minds have answered yet. Here's a link to the a wiring diagram:
Picture file
The "blend" pot on the Stringmaster isn't what's called a blend pot nowadays. Instead it's a regular pot wired to both pickups. Hope this helps.
Mr. Grizzard, I've appreciated your western swing guitar playing and your online lessons. I'm a little better player because of you. Thanks.
Joe
_________________
"Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from...poor judgement."
'54 Fender D-8 Dual Pro, Magnatone G-65-W6, Tweed 5F1 Champ |
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Leon Grizzard
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2019 8:22 am
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| Joe - Thank you so much, on both counts. I really appreciate hearing my videos have helped someone, and that I correctly identified a 250k audio pot. |
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Jeff Highland
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 9 Jul 2019 8:53 am
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Yes that's right its a standard 250k audio pot.
This is because the pickups are wired in series rather than in parallel. A standard blend pot is used where blending pickups in parallel as is standard in most Guitars. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 9 Jul 2019 1:21 pm
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Agreed and it is a one way blend, as well...from bridge on to bridge+neck (in series), most modern blends are as described, each pickup fully on by itself with the middle being both on in parallel.
The Stringmaster wiring is a lot like a single humbucker with a coil split...one coil (neck) sent straight to ground and bypassed, except instead of a on-off switch it is a potentiometer that applies the split gradually...
I seem to always keep mine on full on, both pickups in series! 
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Leon Grizzard
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 20 Jul 2019 1:49 pm
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Thanks again, all y’all, for your help. I replaced all three pots, tone cap, and output jack. I’m pleased to report everything works, and the pickup that had been cutting out seems to be fine.
Everything I do like this, that seems like it ought to take half an hour, always takes me three hours, but it gets a little better each time. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 31 Jul 2019 10:54 am
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Like Nic said, they really are not "blend" pots or systems.
I prefer calling them "insertion circuits" to avoid confusion with normal 6-lug blend pots..
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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