to mod or not to mod: that is the question

[vector]

The volume knob on my SL2H is driving me batty. I know: old news, been beaten to death. Looking for suggestions as to how to remedy that short of selling it off (which I've tried-)
No denying it looks killer, has a super sweet neck and sounds f*cking amazing with the Blackouts I put in in place of the stock emg's. Just seems a shame to get rid of it because of one small but incredibly irritating design flaw.
Am tempted to have a VERY talented luthier re-drill the volume pot hole a few milimeters south and perhaps to the back. It would mean the possibility of an ugly hole left and possible damage to finish which sh*t cans the value. Another suggestion included moving volume pot to toggle hole and moving toggle to tone pot hole (since I never use tone knob anyway) but that puts toggle quite a ways away from pick hand (and I do use the toggle a bit) and still leaves a gaping hole on the front.

[Grandturk]

What's your problem with the volume knob? Do you bump it down or just bump it?

Remember the 3-way switch hole is larger than the pot hole.

[vector]

What's your problem with the volume knob? Do you bump it down or just bump it?

Remember the 3-way switch hole is larger than the pot hole.

Yeah, I bump it especially when I'm picking (tremolo picking, etc.) on the low e string and end up rolling the volume down almost every f*cking time. In short; it gets in the way of both my picking technique (or lack thereof) and also in the way of the Floyd bar when I depress it. I don't have this issue with any of my other axes- DK1's, Kellys, RR1's, Cali's, Gunslingers, Mocks, Diablos, LP's, Strats etc.
Yeah, I'm aware of the hole for the toggle being bigger. It'd have to be doweled up and then re-drilled.

[Axewielder]

Volume knob -> Tone position, Tone knob -> control cavity, hole plug -> Volume position

[vector]

Axewielder- sweet warrior- ironically, my SL2H is a ghost flame (green) as well. Can you be more specific about the tone -> control cavity? Do you mean just place the tone pot (sans knob obviously) in the cavity? What did you plug the hole with?

[Axewielder]

If you remove the tone knob completely, some guitar/pickup combinations can sound a little brittle. This is because even with the tone knob dimed, it still cuts the highs a bit. A lot of early Jacksons had no tone knob and sound perfectly balanced, so go figure. Some guys leave the tone pot in the cavity. That has the advantage of allowing you to roll off the pot setting if a darker tone is required. On this guitar, I actually went with a 500Kohm resistor instead of the tone knob. It was a good permanent setting for that pickup, and is a bit cleaner than having a big honking pot moving around in your cavity. I've come up with a few different hole plugs that work for me. I found that chrome one at Home Depot.

[Axewielder]

The main downside is not having the volume knob close to your fingers. Marty Friedman didn't seem to mind. I mean seriously, how often do your really need to play Cathedral??

[Hellbat]

I must be a freak because I love the volume knob placement on my RR's, it's perfect for me.

[MetalMedal II]

Volume knob -> Tone position, Tone knob -> control cavity, hole plug -> Volume position

This is the easiest cos no soldering is involved. Sometimes I'll just disengage the volume and get rid of it.

I've had decent luck finding various plugs at auto parts stores....the plastic parts for interior of cars have worked for me.

[Twitch]

Volume knob -> Tone position, Tone knob -> control cavity, hole plug -> Volume position

To Axe. Why move the tone to the cavity? Up the value of the volume pot to 500k and lose the tone pot all together. Or put the disconnected tone pot in the volume hole to fill it so your guitar doesnt look screwed with.

[Axewielder]

To Axe. Why move the tone to the cavity? Up the value of the volume pot to 500k and lose the tone pot all together. Or put the disconnected tone pot in the volume hole to fill it so your guitar doesnt look screwed with.

This doesn't make any sense! :think:

[Twitch]

This doesn't make any sense! :think:

Take the tone pot completely out of the circuit. Each pot is worth 250k, each togteher puts 500k load on the pup/s. So acquire a 500k single pot to replace the volume pot. Move the volume pot to the hole that once held the tone. Move the now disconnected tone pot to fill the hole where the volume pot used to be. While it will still be physically in the way, rolling it will not affect your tone.

To OP, the same can work for you, but Im not familiar with the Kohm ratings required for active pups and am too lazy to research it.

[Axewielder]

Each pot is worth 250k

FAIL. Jackson almost always uses 500K pots

each togteher puts 500k load on the pup

FAIL. The tone pot is wired to a filtering cap, does not put a "load" on the pup, and cannot be combined with the volume pot and function in the same way

While it will still be physically in the way

FAIL. This completely defeats the purpose of doing the mod in the first place!

[Twitch]

FAIL. Jackson almost always uses 500K pots



FAIL. The tone pot is wired to a filtering cap, does not put a "load" on the pup, and cannot be combined with the volume pot and function in the same way



FAIL. This completely defeats the purpose of doing the mod in the first place!

Key word, "almost''. Mine happen to have 250k's, stock or not, the math's the same. The cap makes the pot attenuate the frequency roll off or "q" instead of attenuating the output. Just like putting a resistor and cap in parallel with each other in an eq circuit. Furthermore, it still has a resistance which applies a load, the cap does not negate the load of the tone pot.

Sorry I misinterpreted the issue. To me the usual issue is inadvertently turning your guitar down while playing.

[Mazz]

FAIL. Jackson almost always uses 500K pots



FAIL. The tone pot is wired to a filtering cap, does not put a "load" on the pup, and cannot be combined with the volume pot and function in the same way



FAIL. This completely defeats the purpose of doing the mod in the first place!

So I assume that his post failed then?