Author: JW Date Posted:31 August 2026
If you play a dual-humbucker guitar with individual volume controls—like our Artist 58 Series, AP1, AG1, or AG100—you might have run into a quick quirk that leaves a few players scratching their heads.
Flick your pickup selector switch to the middle position, roll just one of the volume knobs down to zero, and suddenly… total silence. The whole guitar cuts out, even though the other volume knob is still sitting on 10!
First off: don't worry, your guitar isn't faulty! This is completely normal behaviour for standard two-humbucker wiring. Here is a quick breakdown of what’s actually going on under the hood.
When your selector switch is set to the middle position, both your neck and bridge pickups send their signals down the exact same path toward your output jack.
Because of this setup, your volume knobs don't just act as simple on/off switches—they turn into a blend control for your tone.
You can roll one knob back a bit to dial in the perfect balance for your sound:
Inside your guitar, each volume control (a potentiometer, or "pot") acts like a traffic controller. When you turn the volume up, it sends your signal out to your amp. When you roll it down, it diverts that signal off to "ground."
When you drop a volume control all the way to 0, you open up a direct, path-of-least-resistance straight to ground.
Since both pickups are sharing the exact same output path while you're in the middle switch position, that open ground path pulls the signal from both pickups down with it. That’s why the whole guitar cuts out instead of just one pickup!
This design is called dependent (or standard) wiring, and it’s been the classic factory setup on dual-pot guitars for decades. Guitar builders love it because it keeps your high-end clarity nice and crisp when you back your volume off slightly.
Some players prefer to rewire their guitars for "independent wiring," which lets you turn one pickup completely off in the middle position without killing the other. However, modifying it this way can take away a little bit of your top-end sparkle when rolling back the volume.
If your guitar operates as expected when switching to just the neck or just the bridge pickup on their own, your controls are working 100% as intended.
Instead of turning a volume knob to zero to kill a pickup in the middle position, simply use your pickup selector toggle to switch between them. Use those dual volume knobs for fine-tuning your blend, finding unique tonal sweet spots, and shaping your overall sound!
Thanks for reading this blog! to give you even more great content, check out our pages.
I hope this article has helped. if you need any assistance please email:
sales@artistguitars.com.au or call us on 1300 489 816
© Artist Guitars 2026
We started Artist Guitars with a simple belief: quality instruments shouldn't cost the earth. By working directly with our manufacturing partners and selling straight to you, we skip the traditional retail markups that inflate prices. Need expert advice? We’ve got you covered. Our team of musicians is here to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
Read what the Artist Community have to say.
Need more info? You can find it here.
In stock products are dispatched from our warehouse just outside of Yennora within one business day of purchase. To get an estimate for shipping to your post code please use the Shipping Time Estimator on the product listing.
Drop us an email with your order number and a short explanation for why you'd like to return your purchase. We'll organise a return label for you to print and attach to the box then either drop into your local post office or we can arrange a courier collection if necessary.
If your item arrives damaged we have you covered! Just contact our Customer Happiness team at sales@artistguitars.com.au and we'll arrange a return and replacement for you as soon as possible.
All orders placed on our Australian website are dispatched directly from our local warehouse in Yennora, Sydney (NSW). This ensures fast, reliable delivery right across Australia.
You should receive an order confirmation shortly after you've placed your order. If you haven't received one, please contact us at sales@artistguitars.com.au and we'll look into it for you.
We sell direct to consumer! This helps us keep the cost of our products as low as possible and we pass those savings into our customers which is why our guitars are unbeatable value.
New Zealand
United Kingdom
