ShortScale.org

New to the site. Glad you're here. Hope you can help.

I'm just competent enough to know that stock pups can and should be replaced, and had replaced my stock MIM Strat pups with a Fat '50 neck, Cool Rails mid, and Screamin Demon bridge. I'd left the original switch, pots, and jack in place. I did this upgrade myself two years ago or so, and I was (relatively) happy with it. The Screamin' Demon never quite sounded right, but I'll get to that.

Fast forward to now. I just bought a Duo Sonic. Love it. HOWEVER, I ripped it apart BEFORE EVEN PLUGGING IT IN, because in my little pea-brain, this is potentially going to be my new shredding machine and I'd planned on popping new pickups and pots into it before our NYE gig and it's due for a local professional paint job in the meantime anyway. I have two big piles of guitar guts in my living room, with pickups and wires and pots everywhere, and in searching for wiring diagrams, I came across a few posts that scared the ever-lovin' crap out of me about getting this wiring all wrong . . . something about polarity, leads, how the pups are wound, etc.

So I need a serious wiring Jedi to help. My specific questions are as follows, but I'll take whatever general advice anyone's willing to share.

1. My current lineup of available pickups to share between the SSS Strat and Duo Sonic are: Fat 50s (complete set, and the neck is so creamy that I insist it stay put), one DiMarzio Area '58 (neck/mid), one Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon, and one Seymour Duncan Cool Rails (neck/mid). Of that menu, what two pickups will be the most fun in the Duo Sonic?

2. I'm intrigued by blend pots. I have a 250 coming in the mail that's destined for my Strat. I know they make mini blend pots, but should I go for a 250 or 500? What's the general rule here?

3. And now the big, big favor. I hope someone can explain the issue of polarity, how pickups are wound, and how the above setup(s) will play out. The "extra" wires on the DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan really mess with my head. In fact, the Screamin' Demon always sounded a little plinky - I wonder if I had it wired incorrectly. Any thoughts?

Thanks much. I realize this entire post is a bit complicated and asks a lot.

Welcome to the site, I'm not your huckleberry but I'm sure there's a few here that'll take it on

I have a dimarzio area set in my strat (58 neck, 67 middle, 61 bridge) and I gotta say the 58 in the neck is my favorite of the pickups. I dont think you can go wrong with that in the neck honestly. As far as the pots go I am not too sure, mine are 250 and sound great and I only think it matters for certain pickups. I know some of the more higher output dimarzios are recommended using a 500 then again using 250 is fine as well.

Trout wrote:stock pups can and should be replaced

Trout wrote:2. I'm intrigued by blend pots. I have a 250 coming in the mail that's destined for my Strat. I know they make mini blend pots, but should I go for a 250 or 500? What's the general rule here?

I'm not sure that there is one and, to be fair, I've never heard or been able to wire a blend pot that worked particularly well. Individual volumes, yes, but getting that all on one knob and getting a predictable taper is more complex. IMO, I don't think it can be done with standard passive guitar electronics (at least not well).

Trout wrote:3. And now the big, big favor. I hope someone can explain the issue of polarity, how pickups are wound, and how the above setup(s) will play out. The "extra" wires on the DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan really mess with my head. In fact, the Screamin' Demon always sounded a little plinky - I wonder if I had it wired incorrectly. Any thoughts?

Polarity refers to which way the electrons move relative to the string movement. When coils have the same polarity they are in-phase, and out-of-phase is the opposite. With multiple coils (2+ single coils or any number of humbuckers) the individual coils can be either in or out of phase with eachother. In-phase means the electrons are being pushed or pulled by both coils at the same time; out-of-phase is the opposite. With the 2 coil humbuckers, the four wires allow you to access each coil as if it were a separate single coil pickup. This allows the PUP to be out-of-phase with itself, only one coil to be active, etc. For standard humbucking operation, the two coils are connected one through the other and basically in-phase (actually out-of-phase but magnetically in-phase, though that's a technicality). One wire is signal, one is ground (or neutral), and the two remaining are connected to eachother. For which is which, just follow the color code. Fortunately, Duncan uses the same code for every PUP.

Heh. I meant "can and should be replaced" from a strictly tone perspective, not a technical aptitude perspective.

Funny, I've heard/read good things about blend pots. Ima give it a shot anyway. . . in the Strat.

But what say you all about the Duo Sonic pup setup? Does the Area '58 and Screamin' Demon sound like a reasonable pairing?

Thanks all. Fun site.

Try a 300k linear taper pot. Lug 1 and 3 wire the respective pickup leads, lug 2 to your output jack.
The pot can be 250/500, I've just found a liking in 300k for my strat.

Trying to stay technical and avoid the "pickups can and should be replaced from a struck tone perspective"
So.... hard to..... resist!

Not that I blame you, I've swapped pickups out in most of my guitars, but never would gut one before I gave it a good go-round. I'll probably never change the ones on my cvc Tele or musicmaster though, damnnnn good them squier pickups are.