Yuku free message boards

Ok, I'll answer my own post. I installed an L-45 and L500 XL with 500 K Volume - 500 K tone - Q_Tone wired as "EQ System" with the cap that came from Lawrence (? uF) and a 22K Ohm resistor. Wiring diagram said try a 25K Ohm for the bridge and though I have both pickups using the Q-Tone I went with the forums advice that the 500XL benefits the most.

In addition, I connected a 270K Ohm in parallel with the hot wire from the neck. This gives the neck a total load of 129 Ohms (close to the 125 Ohm load of a 250K volume -250K tone) and the L500 XL has the 250 K total load (500K vol - 500K tone). This can be helpful for figuring total resistance if you are experimenting and didn't major i physics --> http://www.1728.com/resistrs.htm

In summary, I like it a lot. The L-45 is very nice. I didn't have my guitar with L-280s to A/B and the wiring was different but my first impulse is that it is slightly different. Didn't even play with pickup height but it seemed exceptionally clear - very good high end without any harshness. Possibly, again possibly, better suited for a cutting yet not harsh tone.

The Q-Tone? Now I know the difficulty in describing the sound ($20 - try it). Whatever the frequencies are being filtered/accentuated, it is completely usable throughout the entire sweep of the pot. As advertised, the L500 XL quickly cleans up (almost dehumbuckerizes) from tone positions 10-8 and continues to sweep frequencies somewhat like having a parametric eq on board but never gets too bright or dull. I didn't have a full range speaker to test the acoustic tones but any increased high end content never introduces harshness. It's somewhat like hollowing out the sound and getting in-between strat tones even with a single pickup. I'm usually a straight up neck player for clean and solo bridge player for overdrive but this cool flexibility.

My only question is whether it makes a dramatic difference not using a 250K tone pot as specified in the diagram from the Bill Lawrence. I was trying to get an appropriate total load for each of the soloed pickups but didn't consider the effect on the q-tone (if any). Don't want to take off the neck again so quick advice is appreciated.