Hamer Rewire?

[dynac0mp]

Has anyone ever been tempted to (gasp) rewire their 3 knob Hamer?

My P90 loaded Hamer has a very useful and great sounding (hum cancelling) middle position.

Problem is, in order to vary the volume and keep the hum cancelled, I find myself using two fingers to roll down both volume pots at to the same degree. So I was thinking to have a tech kill the functionality of one knob and just simplify things.

Have any of you tried this? Did you regret it?

There's the argument that having two preset volumes is much more practical for bouncing between rhythm and lead work (which I do), however, the middle is such a nice sound on its own, that I'd use that more if I had a master volume.

Is there another way?

Thanks in advance for any experience here.

[gorch]

Usually, I adjust the pickup heights to that both pickups are equaly in volume while both volume pots are set to full and pickups were switched. The effect never appeared to me though. I don't think it has anything to do with Imports with regards to the thread title.

[veatch]

Welcome, dynac0mp.

I ain't no expert on, well, anything, but i have rewired (almost) all of my Hamers. In my case, i just like the first control i reach to be the bridge volume, so i swap the pup leads and reverse the toggle connections.

That being said, assuming you have decent soldering skills and a decent iron, you can easily change your guitar to be a master volume / master tone setup, and simply leave the other control in there for "looks". (or use it to launch the flame thrower attached to the headstock... )

If you don't have the soldering skills, this should be a fairly inexpensive mod for a local tech to do. No new parts are needed, so it would just be bench time.

Hope that helps. (my apologies for the pups in the pic being buckers...)

[dynac0mp]

Usually, I adjust the pickup heights to that both pickups are equaly in volume while both volume pots are set to full and pickups were switched. The effect never appeared to me though. I don't think it has anything to do with Imports with regards to the thread title.

Gorch, I use P90's which hum when not combined (sounds like you might be referring to humbuckers?). If the volume of either pickup is not matched in this position, the hum gradually creeps back in.

Also, regarding the Import question, I have to say that despite this particular Hamer being an import, I find the wiring to be stellar looking and sounding. I think Hamer may be one of the few companies to have done the outsourced build thing 'right'. I have minor mods to my guitar (which is how I received it): Amalfitano P90's and a well cut bone nut.

That being said, assuming you have decent soldering skills and a decent iron, you can easily change your guitar to be a master volume / master tone setup, and simply leave the other control in there for "looks". (or use it to launch the flame thrower attached to the headstock... )

Veatch, I like the flame thrower idea! I may just leave it 'for looks' however. Thanks for the wiring diagram.

I guess an important question that remains is for any who have done this if it changes the 'taper' of the conrols or the 'loading' effect to such a degree that I may cause more problems.

[veatch]

I guess an important question that remains is for any who have done this if it changes the 'taper' of the conrols or the 'loading' effect to such a degree that I may cause more problems.

Good question. I think with 500K pots, you should be alright. There are some other folks on this board who understand electronics and wiring better than i do, so maybe they'll chime in.

[dynac0mp]

Do the XT (import) series typically use 500K pots?

[veatch]

That's my understanding, but i believe they are linear instead of audio taper. If you're in there already, it might be a good time to upgrade the volume pot with a 500k audio taper CTS. Those run about $5, and if you go all out for some more boooteeek special taper pots, you're probably in for $15 to $20. The US Hamers use a special taper pot that i like quite a bit. You can surely order one through one of the dealers on the board if you want one.

The special tapers are really only important for the volume control (i don't use the special taper Hamer pots on the tone controls...). Whether you like linear or audio taper at the tone position is a matter of preference. If you like how the master tone is working for you now, use that pot for the master tone when you rewire.

Hope that helps.