Hey Fatboy

[bonzo]

Hi everyone, some help and advice please.
I've had a Hondo Fatboy that I picked up at a charity shop knocking around for a while and want to install new pots, tone, volume and a master volume. I've posted a pic so you can see the configuration.
I'm also looking for a single tuner to match existing Grovers if anyone has one in a toolbox or drawer!
I've never replaced pots before and an archtop with f hole access might not be the best place to start but there you go!
I have no knowledge of pots at all so advice on type and ratings? would be appreciated.
I've posted a pic of one that I think is original so will be from the late 70,s or there abouts.
I think the pickups are Di mazio again original but I may be wrong.
Help and advice greatly appreciated, best wishes to you all John

[bonzo]

Sorry for the awful layout, haven't mastered installing pictures.

[neilm]

Hi Bonzo
I dont think there are truely fixed rules but generally humbuckers use 500k ohm pots and single coil 250k ohm, you can also get type A and Type B pots, again generally type A for volume and type B for tone ( think) but it really is personal preference as they will all work . The tone capacitors are also different 0.47uf for single coil and 0.22uf for humbuckers, and this will make a noticable difference...get a good capacitor like an orange drop.
some good reference sites i use are
guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/
www.seymourduncan.com/resources/pickup/wiring-diagrams
sixstringsupplies.co.uk/pages/guitar-wiring-diagrams

hope some of this helps......happy new year.

Neil

[neilm]

I forgot to add......WHERE are these charity shops, all i ever see are horrendous Strat copies priced at more than they would have cost when new.

[bonzo]

Thanks for the info Neil.
I guess you haven't read my thread 'charity shop Duolian'.😉👍🎸

[neilm]

I havent.....i have to admit i`m curious but get the feeling that it will totally ruin my day

[pete1951]

No m/heads like the one you want in my spares box.
As to rewiring, there are several YouTube videos on the subject. As neilm says 500k is the common pot for humbucking pickups. The classic why to rewire is to pass the pots etc. through a pickup hole. With small pots they can also be passed in and out through the F holes, small pots are generally of lower quality but sometimes it’s best to use them for convenience sake. There are 2 different ( but similar looking) splined pot types . Far Eastern (coarse) and US standard (fine). Knobs are not interchangeable, so don’t get expensive US CTS pots if you want to reuse your knobs.
Pete

[pete1951]

Also you should have a fairly large ( high wattage) soldering iron. Most guitar electrics can be done with a 15-20 watt iron ( so use this for the tags on the pots etc)But to solder the wires to the back of a pot it’s best to have one 30-40 watts. You can manage with a smaller one but a large iron will fix the earth wire on the back of a pot in a second, a smaller one will need longer and heat starts to get places you don’t want it!

Pete