It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:54 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Weak Pickups
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:40 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:02 pm
Posts: 10
Good Morning Fender Enthusiasts

I have recently custom wired a fender guitar and i love the results except for the Weak Pickups. I know for a fact that its not pickups, but possibly the wires or the Pots that im using. I currently have a HSS set up with 62 Custom Shop pickups and Seymour Duncan 59 PAFs in the bridge. When i plugged it in the Seymour Duncan sounded great, loud thick beefy sounds, however when i changed it to the middle or neck pickups, they were very weak twangy sound unless its meant to sound like that. When I select Middle and Bridge a VERY weak sound comes out barely audible. The 59s aren't as pronounced as they were when they were selected alone.

I don't know too much about Electric Theory but i am wondering if the wire or Pots i chose is causing too much resistance for the signal to make it to the amp. The Seymour Duncan seems to be doing fine, maybe single coils aren't meant to be used with these wires or pots. I used my other strat (SSS) to check the wiring on the Neck and Middle and they all match up so its not a wiring issue. (I also followed the Seymour Duncan Wiring Diagrams he offers on his website for the Humbucker)

anyway i have "12 Feet GAVITT Cloth-Covered Pre-Tinned Pushback 22AWG Vintage-Style Guitar Wire" and "Fender 099-0834-000 500K, Split Shaft Potentiometer for Volume or Tone" from Amazon.

Hopefully someone can assist me in this little situation. Thank You Very Much! :D


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:11 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
It could be that the S-D is wound out-of-phase with the Fender single coils and its leads need to be reversed at the switch. Another possible issue -- traditional dual-coil humbuckers work best with 500KΩ pots while conventional Strat pickups use 250KΩ. Give the Martian a holler......he can walk you through a minor wiring mod that will permit the use of 500KΩ pots that will work with both types of pickups.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:51 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4241
Most likely it's that out-of-phase situation Arjay mentioned (pot value should change the tone/sound, not significantly the volume/power). If your mid only/mid+neck/neck only positions are OK, this is almost a certain diagnose.

Did you notice the SD instruction: "If your neck and middle pickups are Fender pickups, you need to reverse the GREEN&BLACK wires on the Seymour Duncan"..?
SD HSS Wiring Diagram


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:03 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
jmattis wrote:
Did you notice the SD instruction: "If your neck and middle pickups are Fender pickups, you need to reverse the GREEN&BLACK wires on the Seymour Duncan"..?
SD HSS Wiring Diagram


Thanks for the confirmation, JM. At my age the "data banks" aren't what they used to be and I was afraid I'd dreamed that up.

:wink:

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:49 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:22 pm
Posts: 141
Try playing it with one string and the humbucker disconnected before reconnecting it.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:24 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4241
Retroverbial wrote:
At my age the "data banks" aren't what they used to be

Dunno about your age, but I'm a) old but b) still kinda novice in guitar electronics, so I just gotta rely on things like comfort of strangers & friends, data banks & wiring diagrams.
:lol:

rdclmn7 wrote:
Try playing it with one string and the humbucker disconnected before reconnecting it.

This one I don't get - what should the one string - no humbucker combination tell?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:08 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:22 pm
Posts: 141
Using just a 3d string will save you time, and its good enough to tell a difference in tone and volume.
Disconnect the humbucker to isolate it from the other two pickups you want to check.
If the mid and neck pickups work, its the humbucker and the way its wired that's causing the problem.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Weak Pickups
Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:33 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:23 am
Posts: 17
Location: London and Maidstone, England
The issue of whether the pickups could be "in phase" or "out of phase" with each other, as suggested by Arjay, can be addressed using a pretty straightforward procedure. I use the following for checking this and also identify the wiring colour-code of an unmarked humbucker with 4-core wiring.

The only equipment required is a test meter and something made of steel such as a screwdriver.
To check the wiring colour code the procedure is as follows:

Set the meter to a resistance range (0 - 20K or 0 - 200K), measure the resistance between any two wires. If you get a reading, which could be anywhere between 2k to 10k, then you know that these are the start and finish of one coil. Otherwise you have one wire from each coil. To confirm, check the resistance between the other two wires. Then check the polarity.

To confirm the polarity of the coils, the procedure is as follows:

Set the test meter to a DC voltage range (0 - 2V or 0 - 20V) and connect the probes to the wires from one coil. Move your screwdriver on to the poles of the coil and observe the meter as you do so. You will see a momentary reading which will be either positive or negative.

If the reading is positive then the wire connected to the red meter probe is the positive wire. If the reading is negative then the wire connected to the black meter probe is the positive wire. When you remove the screwdriver, you should see the meter give the opposite reading.

Note these results carefully.

Hope this is of assistance.

_________________
It's all about the tone...


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: