Introducing: Lindy Fralin’s Push Pull Blender Pot
We’re excited. You should be, too. Lindy finally pulled the trigger on something he has always wanted – a Push-Pull Blender Pot. This custom pot can add a load of versatility to your Stratocaster®, Telecaster®, or Gibson®. Now, you can achieve more advanced wiring customization by adding a Blender Pot and a Push-Pull configuration.
Lindy has been taking normal Push-Pull pots apart and modifying them to achieve this mod for years. He finally decided to do it right!
Our Push-Pull Blender Pot:
Our Push-Pull Blender pot will allow you to do Push-Pull Blender Pot mods within itself. For instance, you can achieve our Gradual Tap modification, or our Phase-Reverse mod, within itself. Being a Blender Pot, you can now have multiple push-pull pots on a Strat®, and a Blender. That means you can create even more modifications than before. We wanted you to get a jump start on this cool modification, so we’ve worked up a few examples of how you can achieve cool mods:
BLENDER POT WITH COIL SPLIT:
With this modification, you can use the Blender Pot, like usual, but use the Push-Pull switch section to split any Humbuckers you may like. This is a great modification when we hear customers who want a Blender Pot on their HSS Strat, but also like to use the Tone 2 as their Split.
If you have an HSH or HH Strat, this modification allows you to independently split humbuckers, as well as use the Blender function to achieve blended single-coil and full humbucker tones.
BLENDER POT COIL SPLIT (PARTIAL TAP):
Just like the above-mentioned modification, except this time, with a Partial Tap Resistor. This helps any Low-Output Humbuckers achieve a more convincing single-coil tone when split. Furthermore, you can run the Blender Pot separately to achieve a blend of Single Coil & Humbucker tone.
This is perfect for our Pure P.A.F. A low-output humbucker, our Pure P.A.F. sounds pretty wimpy when split. If you use the aforementioned Partial Tap Resistor, you’ll achieve a more convincing single coil tone when you split the humbucker.
BLENDER WITH PHASE REVERSE:
This modification allows you to reverse the phase of one pickup, then use the Blender Pot to blend between fully in, and out-of-phase tones! Lindy uses this on a custom Telecaster with 2 P90s. He will pull up, giving him an out-of-phase tone. Then, using the Blender Pot Element, he can dial in just the right amount of Phase Reversal – pretty cool!
NO-LOAD PUSH PULL POT:
Our Blender Pot element takes the pot completely out of the circuit when it’s on “10”. This means that you can use this Push Pull Pot as a No-Load pot! A great example would be a No-Load Tone Pot. On 10, the pot is out of the circuit. On 9 onwards, the pot acts like a 250K pot. Simply wire the pot section like a normal Tone Pot and the Blender Pot as needed!
Also, this Push-Pull Pot’s Shaft is 1/2″, long enough to go into Les Pauls. So…let the modding begin!
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I have a few questions about this pot, could it be used to gradually go between full humbuckers and single coils for two humbuckers separately? I’m in the process of getting two concentric pots for a two humbucker equipped guitar, each humbucker pickup will have it’s own seperate output signal going to a stereo output jack, and I want an addition option to gradually split the humbuckers, would I need one or two of the Lindy Fralin push pull blend pots for this mod?
Hi, loving this mod concept, my question is as a blender pot can the pot be wired to also be a double capacitor mod push pull- down as normal single coil on strat 47uf cap, and on the up switch a higher capacitor value or does the no load on the up cancel the capacitance function? The sweeper at some point will hit the cut on the resistant material but I’m wondering if when on the up position therfore no load blender mode will the tone be drawn and affected by the no1 tone pot capacitor like a standard blend for example what I ha a 5 way single wafer superswitch three pots 250k, one volume one master tone and 2nd tone is the blender pot(but with no capacitor),
So I’m thinking.. keep the 1st tone pot as master tone but make it a cts dpdt 250k push pull with two capacitors one for up and one for down, and add in this mod in the 2nd tone pot as a dpdt push pull 250k, have it as a blender as above but as phase shift also, I’m trying to see where there the mistakes can be made to avoid them.
My strat Is currently set up for a 1/4 blend where the super switch has less links so the 1st position is bridge and neck and blender pot, everything else on the 5 way superswitch would be as per standard stratocaster pup switching configuration.
I want to keep it that way, although am curious to try the mods as above- out of phase blender dpdt 2nd tone pot, dual capacitor 1st/master tone pot and volume as normal no treble bleed.
I’m scouring the Internet and have found parts of what I want to do however I hear you can do great things in regards to tone, ui would welcome your wisdom on this.
Regards,
Mike.
Does this have a center click, and can I use this as a standard blend pot between neck and bridge pups on a bass with passive pickups and active preamp with the push pull changing if the coils in one of the humbuckers are wired in series or parallel?
Hey Zach, this does not have a center detent. What you’re referring to is a Pan Pot which will blend either pickup separately, then together in the middle. This pot does not have the ability to pan between pickups, it only blends a pickup in with an already selected pickup.
Regarding the Push Pull section, you can wire it up so that it’s a Series / Parallel Humbucker switch.
Hey fellas!
I’m looking to add split and blending to my HH modded tele. I’ve got a free spot due to using a stacked concentric pot for my knobs, and have already reversed the plate and done a 4-way switch mod previously. Do yall have a wiring diagram on hand to work in the blending/splitting functionality, or am I being a little nutty here? Thanks for humouring my rambling!
Could this pot be used to turn on a piezo bridge pickup and blend it into the standard pickups
Hey Patrick, I’m not sure if this will work as you intend. You can certainly get the Push-Pull section to turn on the pickup, but I’m not sure if you can use the Blender section to “blend” the piezo back in.
Could we use this as a blend pot for bridge and neck pickups, as is a common stratocaster mod, with the up and down positions being pickups wired in parallel or series? If yes, could you give us a sketch of the wiring diagram? Thanks.
Hey Daniel, yes, this is possible, but we don’t have a diagram for this modification. I’d imagine you can combine both a Series / Parallel Stratocaster Mod push-pull diagram with the Blender wiring to achieve this.
Hello,
With the BLENDER WITH PHASE REVERSE mod. If you do not pull the phase reversal nob can you still blend the two pickups? Or does the blend feature only work when the pickups are out of phase. Thinking about doing this with a Blues Special Tele set.
Thanks!
Hey Andy, that’s correct. In the “Down” position, the blender pot works like normal. In the Up Position, the phase is reversed of one pickup, therefore allowing you to blend in and out of phase.
Do you accept a custom order, to make some 10 pieces in 500k pots of this ‘push pull blender pot’?
As it turns out, we do not. If used as a Blender Pot, and not a “no-load” push-pull pot, the value of the pot doesn’t matter.
I want to use this switch as a bright switch mod from the tone (see https://www.fralinpickups.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bright-Switch-Mod.pdf). On the referenced diagram there are inputs labeled A-F. Mapping from that diagram to this switch, is it the case the A -> 1, B -> C1, C -> 2, D -> 3, E -> C2, and F -> 4?
I recently ordered 2 of your push pull blender pots. My plan is to install them on a couple of Teles. One of which has a Nashville set up with 3 SD hot stacks and a Sigler 7 way control with a 5 way switch and push pull tone knob. My hope is to replace the tone pot with your push pull blend blending in the middle pickup to the blend function and pulling up to deactivate the middle and deactivating the blend. Is this hopefully possibly and could you send me a schematic? It would be most helpful.
I already have a blender circuit in my sss Strat. I’d love to replace my blender pot with this one so I can use the push/pull action to change the wiring of positions 2 and 4 from parallel to series. Does anybody anyone with the wiring diagram for this?
I have 4 way switching on my tele. Is the blender pot likely to be of an advantage to me?
Thank you
Hey William, not particularly. There is a way to wire this up so that pulling up on the Blender Pot acts as a “Tone Switch”. I find it more useful in 3-Pickup guitar settings.
I am wondering if anyone has a diagram on how to wire this pot to be an blender on/off switch. So when the pot is down it is on and when it is pulled out it is off? Thank you!
I have a single humbucker guitar with single volume and single tone. Can I replace the tone pot with the Push-Pull Blender pot to act as a single/humbucker blender in one position, and as tone control in other position? or would I need to have no-load concentric pot to achieve this?
In Lindy’s orange Tele video, I think he has two volume controls, so I wonder what it’s like to install it on a traditional Tele with master volume & tone configuration. Does it have to be installed on a volume pot, or can I install it in the tone pot position; and if so, when I pull up for phase reversal/blend, does the tone setting remain what it was before I activated phase reversal, or does pulling up take the tone control out of the circuit? It’s probably answerable to anyone who understands electronics wiring, but I’m learning by doing.
Is this a 250k or 500k pot?
I’ve never modded a guitar but would like to convert my strat to a HSS fat strat, blend neck and bridge pickups, and have the option to split my humbucker – this tone pot seems to be the only thing out there that can do all this which is amazing but I’d like to know what other tone and volume pots I should use alongside this one (250k or 500k)?
250K No Load.
Is it possible to use this as a tone pot (I like the middle detent for that+the no-load) but have the Push-pull functionality to split two HB pups? (this is for a HSH assembly)
I absolutely cannot use a push-pull on my Strat – my fingertips are too dry and slick to get a grip on it. A push-push version would be well-received!