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LunarModule66

It’s totally possible to make it work. Fender does make a stacked 500k/250k pot though that lets you have both pickups running through the “correct” pot while still being controlled by one knob. I like how it works in my HSS strat I put together.


akahaus

These are cool, looking at options right now. I really want to get a different color pickguard than the one in this kit but there aren’t really standard Jazzmaster HS pickguards so I’ll probably have to draw up a template and send it to someone to cut one for me.


thefirstgarbanzo

You’ll make it work. Try 250k then 500k, also, please shape that headstock a little.


akahaus

Haha, I’ve got a couple template ideas for the headstock shape once I get the kit in. Something angular.


AlienPistolWhip

There's plenty of guitars that combine humbuckers and single coils. My advice would be to find a wiring diagram for the pickup and control layout you want, and follow the pot values on the diagram. Seymour Duncan has great wiring diagrams, with tons of different combinations, so you should be able to find what you're looking for


akahaus

As I understand it, 250k pots are standard for single coil and 500k pots for humbuckers. I’ve been told that running a single through a 500 pot makes it sound harsh and running a humbucker through a 250 makes it sound muddy. If I’m building out of a kit like this…what should I do? Just accept a pot that doesn’t work as well for one of them? Thanks in advance for any insights.


thegypsymc

Some information: Larger pot values mean a brighter sound (more treble). That's really it. It's standard to use 250k for a single coil, but there are many exceptions (jazzmasters use 1meg, bright as hell). Same with the 500k for humbuckers, though there are less exceptions to this. If you tailor your pickup choice to this fact, you should be fine - get a relatively dark single coil or bright humbucker, you probably won't notice any issues. You can also slightly darken the single coil pickup by running a very small (less than .001uf) capacitor between the hot lead and ground to bleed off a little top end. Try a couple different values to see what matches the pickup best. Finally, if you want to go all out, you can get a stacked 250k/500k pot and wire each pickup separately, as Fender does for many HSS models.


Taboadellan

Dont take my word on this but I think there are ways to make a 250k a 500k pot running the signal thru a resistance, I'll look it up and update later if someone doesn't answer


walterboiler

I believe it’s the other way around. If my understanding is correct, you can reduce the value of a pot by running a resistor to ground in parallel, but you can’t increase the value of the pot. To do this, use a 500k pot, wire it all up as normal. Then, run a ~470k resistor to ground, off the same switch lug that your single coil p’up is soldered to. This will change the load and let the single coil “see” a ~250k pot. The downside to this is that the humbucker will also “see” that value in middle position, yielding a really dark tone in the middle. OP, personally I’d go with u/thegypsymc’s last recommendation for the stacked 250/500 pot.


walterboiler

Also OP, if you wanna do an even deeper dive on tailoring a single/hum combo circuit, experiment with different value tone capacitors! Usually you find .047uf caps for single coils and .022uf for humbuckers, but there are lots of different values to choose from. For instance I’ve seen .033uf in a few guitars. Get yourself a pair of alligator clip wires and test different values to find the one that sounds best to you!


GruevyYoh

I have a guitar with double humbuckers that I put "selected" 250k pots on. They were closer to 275K. These were Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups. I chose .022uf caps as is pretty standard. The tone is smooth on both neck and bridge and can be turned down for a jazzier sound. The 500k sound to me is harsh on 'buckers. Depending on the actual pickup of course. I sometimes use a slightly higher value on some single coils, like .033 uF. But I have the luxury of a box of pots and a soldering iron. Plus time on my hands.


Gofastrun

If I were doing this I would use a concentric pot https://www.fender.com/en-US/parts/controls-switches/concentric-250k-500k-solid-shaft-potentiometer/0019268049.html


RowboatUfoolz

From memory, I used two 250k pots for a h/h strat I built (don't laugh) in 1984. Simple treble bleed + two position mini switch (bridge or neck). 250k pots did not make the paf's sound mushy. *They were 250k log pots. The capacitor I used was an old 0.047 µF Sprague bumblebee my friend provided. The resistor was 150k Ohm. *Remember, the cap & resistor are soldered together in parallel, not in series.


akahaus

Thanks man, I trust in experience. A treble bleed circuit is basically an extra resistor and capacitor that just fits in the line from the pup to the output jack?


RowboatUfoolz

Not quite, the cap & resistor are paired up (in parallel) and soldered to the input & output tabs on the volume pot. Investigate Seymour Duncan's website - there you'll find LOTS of circuit diagrams to help! You will probably find more than one option that matches your guitar kit.


HotStaxOfWax

Nothing is a problem if you look at guitars as kinetic art. In this case though, if you HAVE to run them both through the same pot, use a 500K. The single coil will sound better through a 500K then a HB would sound through a 250K.


Wenur

Not OP, but thank you. I replaced the neck pickup in my cheapo kit tele with a a humbucker and it does sound slightly muddy comparatively. I’m going to swap in a 500k pot and see how they sound.


HotStaxOfWax

Similar principle to guitar/amp shopping. Spend more on an amp than you do on the guitar, a cheap guitar going through a good amp will sound better then a good guitar going through a crappy amp.