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Post subject: problem with middle pickup
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:47 pm
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My HSS strat came stock with Tex-Mex pups. I didn't like the sound of the Tex-Mex so I replaced it with a different one. Since I replaced it I noticed that my middle pup sounds very "nasaly" and the volume isn't as loud as the neck pup.

I'm pretty sure I ran all the wires to the right places according to the diagram. Could this be a bad solder joint?

Everything sounds good except when the pup selector is in the middle position. I never use that position but I figured it would sound similar to the neck pup. Any ideas?

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Post subject: Re: problem with middle pickup
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:22 am
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Pasloade74 wrote:
My HSS strat came stock with Tex-Mex pups. I didn't like the sound of the Tex-Mex so I replaced it with a different one. Since I replaced it I noticed that my middle pup sounds very "nasaly" and the volume isn't as loud as the neck pup.

I'm pretty sure I ran all the wires to the right places according to the diagram. Could this be a bad solder joint?

Everything sounds good except when the pup selector is in the middle position. I never use that position but I figured it would sound similar to the neck pup. Any ideas?


I doubt very strongly its a bad solder joint. Rather, it may be the pickup itself. What brand of pickup is it? How many leads and their colors?

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:46 am
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Hi Martian, thaks for replying.

I bought a Fender Deluxe Fat Strat(black). I got a great deal on a new one. However I didn't like the Tex-mex humbucker that comes stock in it. So I replaced it with a DiMarzio Super Distortion. The DiMarzio sounds great.

I used the wiring diagram from this sight for that guitar to install the new humbucker. But in the process I think something happened to the middle single coil pup. Which is also a Tex-mex along with the neck pup. The neck pup sounds great however the middle sounds very quiet and almost muffled.

Maybe I did something to the actual pup to damage it but I was pretty careful. I guess I should just open it back up and check it out.

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:57 am
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Pasloade74 wrote:
Hi Martian, thaks for replying.

I bought a Fender Deluxe Fat Strat(black). I got a great deal on a new one. However I didn't like the Tex-mex humbucker that comes stock in it. So I replaced it with a DiMarzio Super Distortion. The DiMarzio sounds great.

I used the wiring diagram from this sight for that guitar to install the new humbucker. But in the process I think something happened to the middle single coil pup. Which is also a Tex-mex along with the neck pup. The neck pup sounds great however the middle sounds very quiet and almost muffled.

Maybe I did something to the actual pup to damage it but I was pretty careful. I guess I should just open it back up and check it out.


I'm somewhat confused and please correct me if I'm wrong:

You put a full sized DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position of your guitar and it works fine but the middle Tex-Mex pickup BY ITSELF sounds weak and tinny, is this correct?

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:21 am
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Strange something would go kaput with the middle just like that ?

Must be a wire or switch deal.


You used this right?

http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/ ... 02CPg2.pdf


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:52 am
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sjtalon- I actually used this one. Its not an American Deluxe rather than just a Deluxe(MIM).


http://www.fender.com/support/diagrams/ ... 00CPg2.pdf.

Martin- Yes, that is correct. Tinny is a good word for it.
This probably sounds stupid but it sounds like the intro to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here".

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 12:05 pm
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Pasloade74 wrote:
...Martin- Yes, that is correct. Tinny is a good word for it.
This probably sounds stupid but it sounds like the intro to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here".


Not only doesn't it sound stupid, but it pinpoints what I've been thinking. There are only two practical possibilities here:

1. Somehow, when you switch to position #3 of the toggle, the middle pickup (the 'deficient' Tex-Mex) is in fact, not the only pickup on. Rather, it is somehow on with the DiMarzio and the two are out of phase.

2. The coil is shorted in the subject Tex-Mex.

If I were you, I'd verify that your pickup selector switch wiring is absolutely clean and correct with no stray strands of wire or drips of solder anywhere. This includes not just the terminals but the mechanical parts of the switch too. If there's no doubt in your mind here, next, you should jump that pickup out and test it by itself. I know this may be a nuisance but you do have to get to the bottom of this.

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 3:00 pm
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Martian- Thanks for your input, I bet there is a stray strand somewhere. When I have the toggle in the 3rd position I can still tap on the new humbucker and hear it through the amp.

I know that the link I posted earlier isn't coming up, but I can still use Fender's wiring diagram with the new pup, right? I really don't have any interest in coil splitting.

If memory serves me correctly. The Dimarzio pup has 4 wires and Fender's wiring diagram has connections for 3 wires. So I'm wondering where I soldered the 4th wire. Maybe I had the idea to split the coils at the time of installation. I guess its time to open her up. I'll report back........

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 5:12 pm
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Pasloade74 wrote:
Martian- Thanks for your input, I bet there is a stray strand somewhere. When I have the toggle in the 3rd position I can still tap on the new humbucker and hear it through the amp.

I know that the link I posted earlier isn't coming up, but I can still use Fender's wiring diagram with the new pup, right? I really don't have any interest in coil splitting.

If memory serves me correctly. The Dimarzio pup has 4 wires and Fender's wiring diagram has connections for 3 wires. So I'm wondering where I soldered the 4th wire. Maybe I had the idea to split the coils at the time of installation. I guess its time to open her up. I'll report back........


You're quite welcome.

Well then, there you have it, the DiMarzio is linked to the third position of the switch somehow.

First off, using a 'regular' Strat wiring diagram, verify that your neck and middle pickups are hooked up correctly. Now, with the DiMarzio, solder the black and white wires together and insulate them. Lastly, solder the DiMarzio's red wire to ground and the green wire to the appropriate terminal on the pickup selector switch.

If you want one of the tone pot to work for more than one pickup and your guitar isn't currently wired for this, let me know.

Remember one of my sayings: "Slow and steady wins the race."

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:15 pm
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Martian- I was just on the DiMarzio web sight and checked out their wiring instructions. Isn't the red wire hot and the green is the ground?

As far as the tone pots are concerned, I really want to keep this as simple as possible so I'll probably leave them alone. I'll probably start this tomorrow. I'll need to buy a new set of strings because of my "vintage tuners". Replacing those will be my next project.

Thanks for your help.

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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:11 pm
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Pasloade74 wrote:
Martian- I was just on the DiMarzio web sight and checked out their wiring instructions. Isn't the red wire hot and the green is the ground?

As far as the tone pots are concerned, I really want to keep this as simple as possible so I'll probably leave them alone. I'll probably start this tomorrow. I'll need to buy a new set of strings because of my "vintage tuners". Replacing those will be my next project.

Thanks for your help.


Ordinarily, yes. However, that hollow, nasal sound and volume drop you are getting is in fact, because the DiMarzio and the Tex-Mex are currently out of phase with each other. Consequently, to put them in phase with each other, thereby getting rid of that hollow, nasal sound and volume drop when using the two together, you have to reverse the red and green wires of the DiMarzio.

Actually, if you put a rubber band snugly around the neck at the headstock, right above the nut, you can loosen all the strings and they should still remain in their respective tuner posts to where you'll have enough room to remove the pickguard and still be able to save the strings.

Glad to help!

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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:22 pm
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Ok, all this info worked and I got all the pickups working. However I've just encountered a new recent problem. It seems when I play single notes around the 12th fret (solos) I hear a faint pulsating sound through the amp. As I keep reaching higher notes, the pulse gets faster.

At first I thought it was the amp, but it doesn't happen with other guitars. Could this be another wiring mistake? Or is something not grounded? Just when I thought everything was alright, this new problem appears.

Any ideas? Thanks

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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:37 pm
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Pasloade74 wrote:
Ok, all this info worked and I got all the pickups working. However I've just encountered a new recent problem. It seems when I play single notes around the 12th fret (solos) I hear a faint pulsating sound through the amp. As I keep reaching higher notes, the pulse gets faster.

At first I thought it was the amp, but it doesn't happen with other guitars. Could this be another wiring mistake? Or is something not grounded? Just when I thought everything was alright, this new problem appears.

Any ideas? Thanks


You are experiencing, "Stratitis". A few possibilities:

Any one, two or all of your pickups may be too close to the strings. If you have the DiMarzio reasonably close to the strings, the DiMarzio has a VERY powerful ceramic magnet in there and so, I'd check it first.

If you've had the full tension on and off that string set several times, you could have also prematurely killed the set which would also account for the warbling you are experiencing.

You may want to synchronize the pickups' magnetic flux as well.

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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 3:13 pm
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Do I need a flux capacitor like the one in Back to the Future? :lol: . Ok, bad joke. Anyways, I'll try lowering the pups first.

I only had the tension on and off one time. It was actually the last time we talked about this.

If its a matter of synchronizing them, I might have a few more questions.

As always Martian, thanks for your help. :D

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Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:06 pm
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Pasloade74 wrote:
Do I need a flux capacitor like the one in Back to the Future? :lol: . Ok, bad joke. Anyways, I'll try lowering the pups first.

I only had the tension on and off one time. It was actually the last time we talked about this.

If its a matter of synchronizing them, I might have a few more questions.

As always Martian, thanks for your help. :D


You're welcome and we'll be here!

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