I have a semi hollow body guitar in which access to the switches is through the f hole, there is no access through the back of the guitar, no cover plate.
I'm wanting to install a push pull pot in place of the existing tone pot in order to split the coils. The guitar has dual humbuckers and a single master volume and master tone. There doesn't seem to be enough clearance to get the new pot in there. I was hoping to be able to get the shaft of the new pot up through the tone control mounting hole and then be able to swing the pot up into position but it is just too tight in there so it seems.
I was conversing with a tech and he said that he has gotten those switches up into some pretty tight guitars and he said there was a "trick" to it. He wasn't willing to share the trick however. So, is there some type of trick of the trade for doing this. Never was much of a physics guy so maybe I'm missing something here. I have a common short shaft 500K audio taper push pull pot I'm trying to use here. I don't think there is anything more compact than the one I have. The body of the pot is just a hair over 1 inch long not including the shaft. The inside body of the guitar measures about 1 1/8" clearance although it naturally varies a little bit in there. So, that's what I'm working with. Is there any way to do this? If not, is there a smaller version or an offset version of this switch available anywhere? I do not want to permanently modify the guitar in any way with any more holes for switches or anything like that.
Thanks for any help or advice you can give.
Couple of thoughts come to mind. One would be to use the mini-pots their about 1/2 the size of a regular pot. Another thought and the way I have mine setup is that I use mini toggle switch's. That way all I have to do is flip the switch. I did it that way because having the three switch's looked better and I didn't like the tone I was getting from the double pot's. They just didn't sound good to me, kind of thin, I even tried different caps to adjust the tone, couldn't find the tone i was after.
Sorry this may not be that answer you asked for I'm only explaining way I decided to go the route I did.
Joe
No, not the answer but I appreciate the input anyway. The problem is that I don't want to add another switch so a mini toggle is out. As far as using a mini pot ... I cannot find a smaller push pull DPDT pot than the one that I already have. I can actually probably use a push pull pot with a spst switch which has a bit shallower body but I have only seen these with the long shaft which won't work and will make it so it won't fit anyway.
Thanks
If you're able to get the pot in through the F-hole, the "trick" is to have a thread, piece of dental floss, whatever, running through the pot hole and tied to the shaft of the pot so you can gently tug it and guide it into position. Most easily done if you first tie it to the shaft of the pot you're removing.
I doubt any "trick" is going to work if there's just not clearance enough between the guitar's top and back for the pot and shaft to fit.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Thanks ... I know about the string pull trick. I use a flexible set of mini grabbers ... it's a flexible shaft with a plunger handle that opens and closes 4 mini wire hooks/tongs on the other end, pretty cool little tool.
Yeah, there just isn't enough clearance for the shaft to go all the way through the mounting hole and the pot body to swing up through behind the shaft.
I thought that maybe there was a trick with removing the shaft of the pot then replacing it after getting everything line up or something like that. But I guess not. Not enough clearance is not enough clearance I guess.
Thanks
There are pots with shafts that unscrew, but you may or may not have one of those. They're less common nowadays, but you can still buy 'em that way. Look on the big electronics parts sites.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Not sure how much clearance you need to add, but would using a rat-tail file to re-shape the hole slightly help at all? I've done this for similar situations, but it only works if all that is needed is just a little bit more room. For best results, one would want to tilt the file close to the same angle as the pot's shaft and file only on the inner and outer hole edges that are "getting in the way." If done correctly, a little of top (outside) of the hole away from the pups and a little of the bottom (inside) of the hole generally toward the pups would be removed to allow the pot shaft to side through the hole at an angle. This should only require a small amount of filing, and would easily be hidden by the pot washer and nut and knob. You may need to add a shaft washer to the inside for stability.
Not sure this helps. Good luck
-=tension & release=-
Thanks Gnease. I'll have to take another look and see if a little filing would be enough to get the pot in there. I'm not averse to trying that if it will work but only if it will require a small amount. The top isn't very thick on this guitar or on most HB's for that matter so too mcuh filing would really weaken things and I'd be worried about cracking the top around the mounting hole. But it's a great suggestion and I'll take another look and see if it looks doable.
The thing is that it isn't really necessary for me to get this done with this axe. But now its become a challenge and I hate to lose. I'm sure you know what I mean ...
If it will work, and is done carefully, it would probably require only a small amount of wood removal -- not so much that would weaken the top.
-=tension & release=-
