Westone Spectrum FX in a spot of bother.

I bought this guitar new in 1983 and after all this time I've gone and broken it. Somehow, something heavy has fallen off a bookshelf and sheared the bottom (bridge) switch/pot so that when it's pushed in it is flush with the housing. I've had a look at it and the sticker says M 500K (then an Ohm symbol or the letter O or zero) then a T. The second line down says 61T.

I've had a quick look on ebay and there are loads of 500K pots available from all over the world but which one should I go for?


Pot Push Pull 500K W/DPDT Switch (fits Les Paul / SG)


Push Pull Guitar 500K Switch Potentiometer Pots,PP01

Push Pull Linear Potentiometer B 500K Switch Pot,PP04

500K Push/Pull Audio Pot 3/4 Inch Thread


2x Push-Pull 500k Guitar Control Pot For Humbucker


(1) Are they all the same, function and wiring wise? For example, what's the difference between a PP01 and a PP04 etc.
(2) There seems to be around 7 wires to solder. Other than taking photos before dismantling it, I assume that if I get the right pot, it's a straight swap for all the wires?

Many thanks in advance.

Dafydd

Hi dafy, sorry to hear of your 'boo boo'.
For starters I can direct you to our main Information web site for a wiring schematic and some additional information:
Dynasty/Spectrum Wiring

This is for the Dynasty, but most of the Spectrum line including yours, is also wired the same way.

Cheers Barry. The wiring diagram matches my guitar perfectly. All I need to know now is which pot to use - if there are any differences etc.

This will be ok

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POTENTIOMETER-PULL-SWITCH-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-POT-A500K-NEW-/160468145585?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item255ca595b1

Thanks. Just ordered one.

Ordered the above pot and it arrived today so I fitted it. Pretty straight forward except that:

(1) The orange wire from the 3 way switch is green in my case (not a biggie)
(2) when I switch to single coil (I pull out the pot) I don't get a sound. However everything else works fine - Tone and full humbucker.

It seem that the white wire that is soldered to the capacitor (or whatever it is) and the body of the pot is what controls this. Any ideas on how I can fault find this? Any special thing I need to know about soldering to the body of the pot?

dafydd123 wrote:Ordered the above pot and it arrived today so I fitted it. Pretty straight forward except that:

(1) The orange wire from the 3 way switch is green in my case (not a biggie)
(2) when I switch to single coil (I pull out the pot) I don't get a sound. However everything else works fine - Tone and full humbucker.

It seem that the white wire that is soldered to the capacitor (or whatever it is) and the body of the pot is what controls this. Any ideas on how I can fault find this? Any special thing I need to know about soldering to the body of the pot?

I'm pretty sure soldering to the body of the pot is just for grounding purposes. That would not effect the coil tap. Maybe it was wired incorrectly? I'm sure someone with more knowledge will pipe in. Pictures?

dafydd123 wrote:
(2) when I switch to single coil (I pull out the pot) I don't get a sound. However everything else works fine - Tone and full humbucker.

It seem that the white wire that is soldered to the capacitor (or whatever it is) and the body of the pot is what controls this. Any ideas on how I can fault find this? Any special thing I need to know about soldering to the body of the pot?

coil splitting is accomplished by changing the location of the ground connection (from end of coil to center of two coils). and yes, the body of the pot is for grounding. if your signal disappears when you pull out (volume knob) for coil tap then check the ground connections. the metal bodies on all the pots should be connected together along with a ground wire to the bridge spring claw.

if you are working on the bottom knob (bridge tone pot), then the p/p switch you are working on is for phase reverse of the bridge pickup, not coil splitting.

if your signal disappears when you pull out the knob for phase reverse, then check your connections carefully, maybe something is not in the correct place.

important question: which p/p causes your signal to disappear?

some pics would be very helpful, i'm sure we can get you going again.

good luck and keep us posted

The pot that I changed out was the one nearest the bridge. Other than being ugly, I think my soldering is correct in that I followed the diagram linked by Westone closely (other than the orange wire coming from the 3 way switch being green in my case.) I've been away all weekend, so I'll re-read the posts, check what I've done and post some pics if I'm none the wiser. Thanks.

Good evening i have a spectrum bass FX and i need the board. I accidently burn it. Its been 26 years since i played and i notice that the battery mess my board if any one knows where i can parts for my WESTONE BASS.